Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025

This bill would expand eligibility for increased dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses of veterans who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Under the proposal, the Department of Veterans Affairs would provide these increased benefits regardless of how long the veteran suffered from the disease prior to death, bypassing the current eight-year disability requirement. These expanded payments would apply retroactively to cases where a veteran died from ALS on or after October 1, 2022.

This bill affects the surviving spouses of veterans who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on or after October 1, 2022. It also impacts the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for determining the cause of death and administering the increased dependency and indemnity compensation. Under the bill, these survivors would qualify for increased benefits regardless of whether the veteran's disability was rated as totally disabling for the eight-year period currently required by law.

• Expansion of increased dependency and indemnity compensation. The bill extends increased compensation to the surviving spouses of veterans who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), regardless of the duration of the disease prior to death.
• Removal of the eight-year disability requirement for ALS. Current law requires a service-connected disability to be rated totally disabling for at least eight years before death to qualify for increased compensation; this bill waives that timeframe for veterans determined to have died from ALS.
• Retroactive application of benefits. The extension of increased compensation applies to the surviving spouses of veterans who died from ALS on or after October 1, 2022.

The extension of increased compensation applies retroactively to veterans who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on or after October 1, 2022.

This bill modifies existing Department of Veterans Affairs regulations regarding dependency and indemnity compensation by removing the requirement that a veteran must have been rated totally disabled for at least eight years prior to death if the cause of death was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It extends this increased compensation authority retroactively to include cases where a veteran died from ALS on or after October 1, 2022.

The bill aims to provide increased dependency and indemnity compensation to the surviving spouses of veterans who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), regardless of the duration of the disease prior to the veteran's death. This measure removes the standard requirement that a service-connected disability be rated totally disabling for at least eight years preceding death for cases involving ALS.