A cost-of-living raise for veterans with service-connected disabilities, and for the survivors of disabled veterans, is still not law. Two identical bills would make the increase effective Dec. 1, 2026. The Senate version has had no action since it was sent to committee on May 11, and the House version has been stuck in committee since a subcommittee passed it along on June 30.
The Senate bill, S. 4487, was introduced by Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, and “read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs” on May 11, 2026. That is still the last entry on its record.
What the December raise would change
The bill’s official title describes an increase in the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities. It also raises the dependency and indemnity compensation paid to the survivors of certain disabled veterans, the monthly benefit that goes to a spouse or child after a veteran’s death tied to service.
No new dollar amounts are written into either bill. VA says on its compensation rate page that it is “required by law to match the percentage of cost-of-living adjustments made to Social Security benefits,” and the table posted there still carries rates effective Dec. 1, 2025.
On that table, a veteran rated 100% disabled with no dependents is paid $3,938.58 a month, and one rated 50% is paid $1,132.90. Those are the figures that would move if Congress acts and the raise is signed.
The question for a disabled veteran, a surviving spouse or a child who gets survivor benefits is a practical one. Will a higher amount show up in the check on Dec. 1, and what happens if it does not? Both bills name Dec. 1, 2026 as the effective date, but that date means nothing for a paycheck until a bill is signed.
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Where each bill stands today
The House bill, H.R. 8552, was introduced on April 28, 2026 by Rep. Morgan Luttrell, a Texas Republican. It was assigned to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs on June 22, which held a hearing on June 25.
On June 30 the subcommittee held a markup session and forwarded the bill to the full House Veterans’ Affairs Committee by voice vote. Nothing has been recorded since. The bill has not passed the House, and a tracker for it at BillTrack50 shows the same June 30 entry as its latest.
The House bill has four cosponsors on its record: Reps. McGarvey, Riley, Vindman and Pfluger. The subcommittee’s voice vote was only the first committee step. The full Veterans’ Affairs Committee would still have to take the bill up before the House could vote.
Neither chamber has voted on the increase. A bill has to pass both the House and the Senate in identical form before it goes to the president, and the Senate bill has not moved out of committee.
The Senate bill has support. Its record lists 15 cosponsors from both parties, including Democrats Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Patty Murray of Washington and Republicans John Boozman of Arkansas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, along with independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont. A separate tracker for the Senate bill also shows the May 11 referral as the last step.
How last year’s raise got done
Last year’s increase offers the closest guide to the timing. The Senate passed that bill, S. 2392, by unanimous consent on Nov. 9, 2025, and the House passed it by voice vote on Nov. 17. President Trump signed it on Nov. 25, 2025, according to its official record, which lists it as Public Law 119-42.
That means the rates that took effect Dec. 1, 2025 were approved only days before they started. Sen. Moran sponsored that bill too, and the same pattern would have to repeat this year, with both chambers acting in the weeks ahead.
The difference this year is where the bills sit on Oct. 17. The Senate bill has had no committee action since May 11, and the House bill has cleared only its subcommittee.
What it means for the Dec. 1 check
VA’s table still lists the rates that took effect Dec. 1, 2025, and no higher table has been posted. Until a bill is signed, households should plan around the amounts now on that page, not around a larger December deposit.
VA has not said how it would handle a raise signed after Dec. 1, so households should not budget around a back payment either. The bills as written carry the Dec. 1, 2026 effective date, and the agency has published nothing beyond that.
Anyone who relies on this income can check the current rate table for a given rating and family status on the VA page. Any new action on either bill would show first on the bill records at GovInfo, where the last entries are still May 11 for the Senate and June 30 for the House.
Counting on the December raise, or is a VA pension also worth a look?
A late raise is one detail that can leave a household short in the winter months. The same is true of a benefit that was never claimed, since many wartime veterans and widows with limited income never apply for the VA pension that sits apart from disability pay.
The Veterans Benefits Action Kit lays out the three VA pension levels including Aid & Attendance, and it separates what continues for survivors from what has to be applied for. It also includes a claim tracker, so dates, forms and phone calls to VA stay in one place.
Get the VA pension levels and claim tracker for veterans and widows →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
