U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos, along with US Rep. Adam Kinzinger, and U.S. Senator Gary Peters, yesterday called for the inclusion of their bill to increase funeral benefits for eligible veterans in the next phase of Coronavirus relief legislation. With COVID-19 posing serious risks among elderly veterans and those with service-related health conditions, the Burial Rights for America’s Veterans’ Efforts (BRAVE) Act would upgrade the VA’s reimbursement for the costs of a veteran’s funeral, providing critical relief to surviving families suffering a loss. In a letter to Congressional lawmakers, they said, “Forty percent of veterans are over the age of 65 and many young veterans suffer respiratory damage…..a significant share of veterans are at high risk for COVID-19 exposure becoming fatal.” They state that veterans should be treated equally based on their service, but the current policy penalizes survivors based on the circumstances at the time of death. The lawmakers called for the inclusion of their bill to ensure all non-service connected deaths are treated equally. Currently, veterans that pass away in a VA facility are provided greater funeral benefits than veterans who pass away in their home or another non-VA hospital. Peters reintroduced the BRAVE Act last year and previously testified in support of the bipartisan legislation at a Senate Veteran Affairs Committee hearing. Bustos and Kinzinger have introduced companion bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
