Introduced December 3, 2025 by Elizabeth Warren · Last progress December 3, 2025
The bill gives former Cadet Nurse Corps members formal recognition and commemorative honors (honorable discharge, headstones, and possible medals) while stopping short of granting most VA benefits and creating some administrative work to implement those recognitions.
Former Cadet Nurse Corps members (veterans) gain formal recognition through retroactive honorable discharges and become eligible for burial headstones and markers.
Survivors and communities can receive tangible commemorations because the Department of Defense is authorized to create medals/commendations or memorial plaques honoring Cadet Nurse Corps service.
Service in the Cadet Nurse Corps does not make recipients eligible for most VA-administered benefits (e.g., VA healthcare, disability compensation, pensions) tied to active military service.
Implementing retroactive discharge determinations may create administrative burden and delays for the Department of Defense and the VA, slowing recognition or delivery of eligible benefits.
This recognition explicitly excludes entitlement to interment benefits at Arlington National Cemetery for Cadet Nurse Corps service, so some families will still be unable to secure full burial honors there.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Treats honorable discharge from Cadet Nurse Corps service (7/1/1943–12/31/1948) as active duty for certain VA benefits and directs DoD to issue honorable discharges within one year.
Treats honorable discharge from service in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps between July 1, 1943 and December 31, 1948 as active duty for eligibility for certain VA benefits, including headstones and markers, while excluding benefits that relate only to interment in Arlington National Cemetery. Requires the Department of Defense to review records and issue honorable discharges within one year for those whose service warrants it, and allows the Secretary of Defense to create a medal, commendation, or memorial item to honor recipients. Recipients of these discharges are to be honored as veterans but are not otherwise made eligible for VA-administered benefits by reason of that service except as specifically provided in the active-duty treatment. The law sets administrative duties for DoD and creates a pathway for recognition and certain benefits for surviving family members and eligible former Cadet Nurse Corps members.