Raise Your Voice - Provide Your Opinion on Proposed VA Benefits
ACTION REQUESTED-LETTER FOR MOAA MEMBERS TO USE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC OPINION TO FEDERAL LEGISLATORS ON PROPOSED VA BENEFITS
Please cut and paste the verbiage below to comment on proposed changes to VA benefits. Comments will be received at this website until 24 August 2026. Share this with other veterans’ organizations you belong to, so the word gets out enabling additional responses, so the federal government knows we are a large constituency!
This is the website: Submit Opinion on Federal Register Website
Background:
VA Dependency & Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a monthly tax-free compensation paid by the VA to eligible surviving spouses, children and, in some cases, parents of deceased Servicemembers and Veterans. Eligibility is determined by the VA when a Veteran’s death is determined to be service connected.
Eligible survivors must apply, and the VA reviews and hopefully approves the application.
Currently, DIC payment for an eligible spouse is $1,678 with annual COLAs.
Under the current formula, DIC is approximately 43% of the monthly compensation paid to a Veteran rated 100% disabled. Pending legislation would raise that to 55%, an increase of about $468 per month, or $5,616 a year for eligible survivors (tax free)!
Your comment on the website becomes part of the official record and helps demonstrate to the VA and Congress the importance of this issue to eligible surviving military families. Whether you are affected by this proposal or not, your comments as a veteran, spouse or civilian MAKE A DIFFERENCE. PLEASE ACT NOW!
HOW TO MAKE YOUR COMMENT ON THE WEBSITE
When you get on the website, click on the green words that says, “SUBMIT A PUBLIC COMMENT”.
It will take you to a page where you can upload or enter your comment or use the verbiage suggested below (the cut and paste method from this article or from your hard drive). Once you do, in other fields, it will ask you to leave your email address, and if you represent an individual, organization or are anonymous. You will then need to check a box indicating you understand that your comments are publicly viewable.
Then you “SUBMIT” your comment. That’s it! As of 9 July, there have only been 5 comments submitted, so let’s all get busy! See below for proposed comments (which you can modify to your liking)!
PROPOSED COMMENTS:
I am commenting on a proposal that would increase VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) for current and future eligible recipients of same. The proposal would increase DIC for an eligible surviving spouse from about $1,678 (with annual COLA adjustments) to about $2,146 a month (or an approximate increase of $5,616 a year.)
Eligible recipients and their families have made selfless sacrifices for this country and deserve every thanks they receive for all they did and continue to do. This is but a small, though significant, way for all of us to say thanks for all they gave to preserve the life we enjoy as American’s!
Having said that, I strongly support this initiative. It is the right thing to do!