Key Takeaways
- •The committee favorably reported 24 bipartisan bills en bloc, including measures to expand survivor benefits, prosthetic access, and toxic exposure research for veterans' descendants.
- •Sen. Moran (R-KS) highlighted the Love Lives On Act, which allows surviving spouses of fallen service members to retain benefits if they remarry before age 55.
- •Sen. Blumenthal (D-CT) recorded "no" votes on behalf of Sen. Hirono and Sen. Sanders regarding S. 1868, the Critical Access for Veterans Care Act.
- •Members expressed broad bipartisan agreement on the legislative package, though Sen. Blumenthal (D-CT) noted the need for future progress on the Major Richard Star Act.
- •Sen. Moran (R-KS) committed to identifying budget offsets for the reported bills before moving them to the Senate floor following final scores from the Congressional Budget Office.
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Hearing Analysis
Overview
On March 18, 2026, the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs held a business meeting to consider a significant slate of pending legislation. Chaired by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), the committee moved to mark up and report 24 separate bills and committee prints aimed at expanding benefits, healthcare, and research for veterans and their families. The hearing underscored a strong bipartisan commitment to veterans' issues, though it also highlighted the procedural and budgetary hurdles remaining before these measures can reach the Senate floor.
The hearing's primary purpose was the favorable reporting of a legislative package covering a wide array of veteran-centric policies. Chairman Moran opened the session by highlighting Senate Bill 410, the Love Lives On Act. This legislation is designed to allow surviving spouses of fallen service members to retain their survivor benefits even if they remarry before the age of 55. Chairman Moran emphasized that "military service is family service," and noted that the committee's work was particularly poignant as several members were concurrently attending a dignified transfer of fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base.
Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) echoed the chairman’s sentiments regarding bipartisanship, noting that nearly every member of the committee had contributed to the legislative package. Sen. Blumenthal specifically highlighted the Molly Loomis Research for Descendants of Toxic Exposed Veterans, a collaborative effort with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). This measure mandates research into the multi-generational health effects of toxic exposure on the descendants of veterans. Sen. Blumenthal argued that understanding these "invisible wounds of war" is essential to keeping faith with those who served.
Policy Proposals
The legislative package considered en bloc included measures to expand access to prosthetics, automobile adaptive enhancements, burial benefits, and opioid rescue medications. Additionally, the bills proposed expanding education benefits for Purple Heart recipients, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserves. While not on the immediate agenda for the markup, Sen. Blumenthal and Chairman Moran both expressed strong support for the Major Richard Star Act. This bill would address "concurrent receipt" issues, allowing veterans to receive both retirement benefits and disability compensation without offsets. Sen. Blumenthal noted he had already sought unanimous consent for this act twice on the Senate floor and hoped for its eventual passage.
Overview
The following organizations were identified and discussed during the hearing: - United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs: The committee served as the presiding body for the markup, with members collaborating to advance 24 pieces of legislation. - United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): The VA was cited as a key partner in developing the legislation and providing technical support for the bills under consideration. - Dover Air Force Base: Mentioned by Chairman Moran as the site where several committee members were attending a dignified transfer ceremony for fallen service members during the hearing. - Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Chairman Moran referenced the CBO regarding the pending "scores" or cost estimates for the bills. He noted that while the committee would report the bills, they would not move to the Senate floor until appropriate offsets were identified based on CBO data.
Policy Proposals
The partisan dynamics were largely cooperative, with both leadership figures praising the joint effort. However, a small point of contention arose regarding Senate Bill 1868, the Critical Access for Veterans Care Act. Sen. Blumenthal requested to record "no" votes for Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) specifically on that bill, though the broader package passed favorably.
Overview
The meeting concluded with the en bloc passage of the following: a committee resolution on lease authorizations; Senate Bills 342, 410 (Love Lives On Act), 649, 1116, 1657, 1665, 1726, 1868, 2061, 2220, 2264, 2309, 2328, 2333, 2397, 2683, 2807, 2981, 3033, 3119, 3138, 3303, and 3758.
As for next steps, Chairman Moran authorized committee staff to make necessary clerical and technical changes to the reported items. The primary hurdle for the legislation moving forward is the budgetary process. The committee is awaiting final cost estimates from the CBO, and Chairman Moran reiterated the committee’s long-standing practice of identifying funding offsets before bringing bills to the full Senate for a vote.
Transcript
Committee will come to order. Good afternoon. We are awaiting two additional members of the committee to have a quorum, but in order to give you some entertainment while you're waiting, I have, pardon me, Senator Cramer. I know. We'll begin our opening remarks and have that part of the process completed. This markup, this meeting of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs will come to order. As specified in the notice provided committee members, we have 24 pieces of pending legislation on our agenda today. These bills are sponsored by senators from both parties and represent a number of bipartisan priorities. One of those bills that I'm pleased to sponsor is Senate Bill 410, the Love Lives On Act. The Love Lives On Act will allow surviving spouses of fallen service members to retain certain survivor benefits if they remarry before age of 55. Military service, as we know, is family service, and no one knows that more clearly than a survivor does. I note this today because several members of our committee are currently attending the dignified transfer of fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base. Our thoughts are with the survivors of those fallen heroes, and we advance these bills out of this committee today to make sure that service members, veterans, and their families receive the benefits and services they deserve. I am grateful to Ranking Member Blumenthal for working with me to advance these bills on our agenda, to advance them out of committee today with bipartisan support, and to the VA and our veteran service organization partners for their work and support. I recognize that many of these bills may have significant costs associated with them. As we get final scores from Congressional Budget Office following today's markup, I remain committed to working with members of this committee identifying appropriate offsets before moving these bills to the Senate floor. It's been our practice of this committee for quite a while that we have advanced bills out of the committee but have not brought them to the Senate floor without solving the offset issue. With that, I yield to the ranking member for any opening comments.
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