In the wake of controversy over the treatment of Gold Star families, Montana’s Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Tester is calling for better financial support of spouses and children who lose a loved one in service to the nation.
Tester is introducing legislation called the “Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Improvement Act” that would increase the benefit for Gold Star families by about $300 per month. That would bring the benefit more in line with benefits paid for federal employee and Department of Defense survivors, said the senator.
“Families who are grieving the loss of their father or mother should never face financial uncertainty,” said Tester, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “These brave men and women have paid the ultimate sacrifice and it’s our duty to give their loved ones more economic security.”
The benefit would also be extended to survivors of disabled veterans who are 100 percent disabled as a result of their service and pass away less than ten years after receiving their disability rating. Currently, survivors are denied any benefit if a veteran passes away before the ten-year threshold Tester calls “arbitrary.”
Crystal Wenum, National President of the Gold Star Wives of America, Inc., spoke on behalf of that organization’s support for the bill. “Our family members gave the ultimate sacrifice, and this bill represents the equal treatment we have sought for many years. We think this is an issue that spans partisan politics and brings parity with other federal programs. It is the right thing to do,” she said.
Other veteran groups express- ing support for the proposed legislation include the Western Montana Military Officers Association, the Disabled American Veterans Association, and AM- VETS.
“We applaud Senator Tester for championing legislation that recognizes the fact that service-connected disabilities don’t just impact veterans, but their families as well,” said DAV National Commander Delphine Metcalf- Foster.
According to Tester’s office, there are approximately 1400 Death and Indemnity Compensation beneficiaries receiving survivor benefits in Montana.
The proposed legislation comes after a week of debate over President Donald Trump’s treatment of Gold Star families. The family of a service member killed in Niger has said Trump was disrespectful in a phone call to his widow, something he denies.
The situation has stirred discussion of past actions by Trump that critics say was disrespectful toward veterans and Gold Star families, including his comments about Sen. John McCain, a Vietnam-era prisoner of war. Trump discounted McCain’s service, saying he was only a hero because he was captured.
