One Step Closer: Senate Committee Includes BRAVE Act in Veterans Benefits Package
Brookfield, Wis. – Late yesterday, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee announced the Burial Rights for America’s Veteran Efforts (BRAVE) Act (H.R. 497/S. 597) has been included in the Veterans Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2020(S. 4511/H.R. 7952). Passage of this benefits package by the Committee clears the bill for a vote by the full Senate. This is a significant move forward for the BRAVE Act. NFDA will continue to work with the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and leadership to pass the bill before the end of the year. NFDA will also continue to work with the bill’s champions and leadership in the House to ensure it is considered on the floor.
“On behalf of the more than 20,000 members of the National Funeral Directors Association, I would like to thank Sens. Gary Peters and Marco Rubio for introducing the BRAVE Act and Sens. Jerry Moran and Jon Tester – and the entire Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee – for including it in the Veteran Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2020,” said NFDA CEO Christine Pepper, CAE. “We applaud their commitment to our nation’s veterans and ensuring they receive equitable treatment and respect when they die.
“As a funeral director who serves the families of veterans, I cannot express how delighted I am to see the BRAVE Act included as part of a larger benefits package for our nation’s heroes,” said NFDA President R. Bryant Hightower Jr. “This crucial step means that families will be able to lay their veteran to rest with the dignity befitting their sacrifice. I urge the full Senate to pass this bill and for the House to do the same. The veterans who gave of themselves deserve nothing less than our full support.”
The Veterans Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act will improve benefits for burial, education, pensions, compensation and other vital services veterans have earned; cut down on the increasing backlog of disability compensation and pension exams; and expand wartime benefits for certain Vietnam veterans.
Specifically, with regard to burial benefits, the bill will ensure all non-service-connected deaths are treated equally, regardless of where an eligible veteran dies, and ensures benefits for non-service-connected deaths are indexed for inflation, alleviating the need for further adjustments from Congress.
In 2018, during testimony before the Senate Veterans Committee, bill sponsor Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) stressed that veterans’ burial benefits have not kept up with inflation and the cost of funerals and burials: “Our brave men and women in uniform have sacrificed so much in defense of our nation. We owe it to them to ensure they receive the benefits that they have earned through their service, including a dignified burial … I believe we should honor our nation’s heroes by making commonsense updates to VA burial benefits – ensuring every veteran has a proper funeral and burial, no matter the circumstances at the end of their lives.”
The BRAVE Act received endorsements from the Department of Veterans Affairs and numerous veterans’ service organizations, including The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Officers Association of America, Vietnam Veterans of America, Association of the United States Navy and the Disable American Veterans.
NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving more than 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nfda.org.
Peters’ Bipartisan BRAVE Act to Improve Burial Services for Veterans Advances in Senate
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today applauded the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee for passing his bipartisan legislation to increase funeral benefits for eligible veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Peters’ Burial Rights for America’s Veterans’ Efforts (BRAVE) Act, which he introduced with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), would update the current burial benefit to treat all non-service connected deaths equally, regardless of where the veteran passes away. Under current policy, survivors of certain veterans who pass away in a VA facility are provided greater funds to cover the costs of funerals than for veterans who pass away in their home or another medical facility.
“Veterans who have served and sacrificed for our country should be treated equally based on their service, not the circumstances at their time of death,” said Senator Peters, a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “My bipartisan legislation that advanced in the Senate would take important steps towards finally fixing the VA’s funeral benefit system. I will continue pressing for swift action to enact this legislation. With veteran deaths from COVID-19 rising, this legislation is needed more than ever. We owe it those veterans and their families to ensure they are properly laid to rest with dignity and respect.”
“I thank my colleagues for approving legislation that contains the bipartisan BRAVE Act,” said Senator Rubio. “Our nation’s veterans have sacrificed so much defending our country, and while we will never be able to fully repay them, we can ensure they have a proper funeral and burial no matter where they pass away. The BRAVE Act ensures that each and every one of America’s heroes receives the honor and respect they deserve, and I am hopeful that the full Senate will soon have a chance to act on this bipartisan bill.”
“On behalf of the more than 20,000 members of the National Funeral Directors Association, I would like to thank Sens. Gary Peters and Marco Rubio for introducing the BRAVE Act and Sens. Jerry Moran and Jon Tester – and the entire Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee – for including it in the Veteran Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2020,” said Christine Pepper, CAE, CEO, National Funeral Directors Association. “We applaud their commitment to our nation’s veterans and ensuring our nation’s veterans receive equitable treatment and respect when they die.”
“As a funeral director who serves the families of veterans, I cannot express how delighted I am to see the BRAVE Act included as part of a larger benefits package for our nation’s heroes,” said R. Bryant Hightower Jr., President, National Funeral Directors Association. “This crucial step means that families will be able to lay their veteran to rest with the dignity befitting their sacrifice. I urge the full Senate to pass this bill and for the House to do the same. The veterans who gave of themselves deserve nothing less than our full support.”
Currently, the VA burial benefit provides:
- $300 for non-service-connected deaths;
- $796 if a veteran passes away in a VA facility;
- $2,000 if a veteran passes away from a service-connected disability.
The BRAVE Act would increase the $300 for non-service connected deaths to $796 to equal the benefit received if a veteran passes away in a VA facility. The legislation also indexes for inflation both the non-service and service-related passing funeral benefits, thereby eliminating the need for Congress to make further readjustments. The provision advancing in the Senate today will increase VA funeral benefits by grouping all eligible veterans who die of a non-service-connected disability into one category of burial benefits that is indexed to inflation, regardless of location of death.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association, national median cost of a funeral in 2019 was $9,135 – not including a vault, which is typically required by most cemeteries. Over the past five years, the median cost of an adult funeral in the United States has increased 7.3 percent and has not kept up with the pace of inflation. VA’s last increase to the non-service connected burial allowance occurred in 1978, meaning today’s benefit only covers a fraction of what it was meant to.
Peters has long been an advocate in the Senate for Michigan’s servicemembers and veterans. Most recently, Peters released a report detailing the results of his investigation into how operational changes at the United States Postal Service (USPS) ordered by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy resulted in compromised service and serious harm for countless Americans, particularly veterans.
Furthermore, Peters’ bipartisan provision was signed into law to help veterans who may have erroneously given a less than honorable discharge from the military due to negative behavior resulting from mental traumas such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Peters also helped introduce a bipartisan bill requiring servicemembers be assessed for exposure to toxic burn pits as part of their routine health exams and helped introduce the bipartisan Veterans Assistance Helpline Act to establish a three-digit hotline for veterans to gain assistance related to their Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits and other services. In addition, bipartisan legislation Peters authored to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) caregiver program passed in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee last month.
Peters is also focused on supporting veterans impacted during this pandemic, and previously announced a bipartisan effort to support veteran workforce development during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of that effort, Peters introduced bipartisan legislation to extend GI Bill benefits for veterans whose registered apprenticeships were cut short or ended due to COVID-19. In March, bipartisan legislation Peters introduced to allow more veterans to use their GI bill benefits toward securing a registered apprenticeship was signed into law. He additionally pressed on a bipartisan basis for the BRAVE Act to be included in Coronavirus relief legislation.
Rubio, Peters Bipartisan Bill to Improve Burial Services for Veterans Advances in Senate
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Gary Peters (D-MI) applauded the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee for reporting their bipartisan legislation to increase funeral benefits for eligible veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Senators’ Burial Rights for America’s Veterans’ Efforts (BRAVE) Act would update the current burial benefit to treat all non-service connected deaths equally, regardless of where the veteran passes away. Under current policy, survivors of certain veterans who pass away in a VA facility are provided greater funds to cover the costs of funerals than for veterans who pass away in their home or another medical facility. The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
“I thank my colleagues for approving legislation that contains the bipartisan BRAVE Act,” Rubio said. “Our nation’s veterans have sacrificed so much defending our country, and while we will never be able to fully repay them, we can ensure they have a proper funeral and burial no matter where they pass away. The BRAVE Act ensures that each and every one of America’s heroes receives the honor and respect they deserve, and I am hopeful that the full Senate will soon have a chance to act on this bipartisan bill.”
“Veterans who have served and sacrificed for our country should be treated equally based on their service, not the circumstances at their time of death,” said Peters. “My bipartisan legislation that advanced in the Senate would take important steps towards finally fixing the VA’s funeral benefit system. I will continue pressing for swift action to enact this legislation. With veteran deaths from COVID-19 rising, this legislation is needed more than ever. We owe it those veterans and their families to ensure they are properly laid to rest with dignity and respect.”
“On behalf of the more than 20,000 members of the National Funeral Directors Association, I would like to thank Sens. Gary Peters and Marco Rubio for introducing the BRAVE Act and Sens. Jerry Moran and Jon Tester – and the entire Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee – for including it in the Veteran Benefits Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2020,” said Christine Pepper, CAE, CEO, National Funeral Directors Association. “We applaud their commitment to our nation’s veterans and ensuring our nation’s veterans receive equitable treatment and respect when they die.”
“As a funeral director who serves the families of veterans, I cannot express how delighted I am to see the BRAVE Act included as part of a larger benefits package for our nation’s heroes,” said R. Bryant Hightower Jr., President, National Funeral Directors Association. “This crucial step means that families will be able to lay their veteran to rest with the dignity befitting their sacrifice. I urge the full Senate to pass this bill and for the House to do the same. The veterans who gave of themselves deserve nothing less than our full support.”
Currently, the VA burial benefit provides:
- $300 for non-service-connected deaths;
- $796 if a veteran passes away in a VA facility;
- $2,000 if a veteran passes away from a service-connected disability.
The BRAVE Act would increase the $300 for non-service connected deaths to $796 to equal the benefit received if a veteran passes away in a VA facility. The legislation also indexes for inflation both the non-service and service-related passing funeral benefits, thereby eliminating the need for Congress to make further readjustments. The provision advancing in the Senate today will increase VA funeral benefits by grouping all eligible veterans who die of a non-service-connected disability into one category of burial benefits that is indexed to inflation, regardless of location of death.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association, national median cost of a funeral in 2019 was $9,135 – not including a vault, which is typically required by most cemeteries. Over the past five years, the median cost of an adult funeral in the United States has increased 7.3 percent and has not kept up with the pace of inflation. VA’s last increase to the non-service connected burial allowance occurred in 1978, meaning today’s benefit only covers a fraction of what it was meant to.
