Bipartisan Legislation to End the Military Widow's Tax Reaches Key Milestone in Senate Support
Washington, DC -- U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-Ala.) today announced that his legislation to end the so-called military "widow's tax" has surpassed a key threshold of support in the Senate. His bipartisan Military Widow's Tax Elimination Act has earned its 61st cosponsor, which surpasses the 60 cosponsors needed to protect the bill from being blocked from a vote on the Senate floor. The bill has also earned support from more than half of the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"This legislation is finally getting the support and momentum that it deserves and I want to thank all of my colleagues who have stepped up to do the right thing for our Gold Star families. Ending the military widow's tax is long overdue. These families have sacrificed more for our nation than most people can ever fully appreciate, and they deserve to get the full survivor benefits to which they are entitled and have paid for. This is an important milestone in the fight to end the widow's tax and I am hopeful we can continue to build on this progress and get our bill to the President's desk this year," said Senator Jones, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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Senator Jones introduced the bill last month in an effort to help the more than 65,000 military widows and widowers nationwide who are not receiving the full survivor benefits that they are due. All military spouses whose loved ones die from service-related causes are able to collect survivor benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In addition, many military families also choose to pay extra into an additional life insurance plan offered by the U.S. Department of Defense?. However, spouses are not allowed to collect full benefits from both programs. Instead, they subtract the annuity from the basic survivor benefits to which these spouses are entitled. This penalty is commonly known as the widow's tax.
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