Sponsors (2)
The bill raises and inflation-proofs veteran burial benefits to better support surviving families, at the cost of modestly higher federal spending and added budgeting variability for the VA.
Surviving family members of veterans will get a larger burial/funeral payment — raised to $3,000 — that is automatically adjusted annually for inflation (CPI), helping preserve the benefit's purchasing power.
All taxpayers will face a modest increase in federal spending because the higher, inflation-indexed burial benefit raises VA outlays.
VA budget offices and other federal employees responsible for forecasting will face increased year-to-year variability and complexity in budgeting because benefit increases are tied to the all‑items CPI.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Raises the service-connected burial and funeral payment to $3,000 and requires annual CPI-based cost-of-living adjustments.
Official title: Amend title 38, United States Code, to increase burial and funeral expenses paid by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the case of death from a service-connected disability, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 17, 2026 by James Risch · Last progress March 17, 2026
Raises the flat burial and funeral expense payment for deaths from service-connected disabilities to $3,000 and requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to apply an automatic annual cost-of-living adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index. The CPI-based increase is calculated each fiscal year using the percent change in the all-items CPI for the 12-month period ending June 30 prior to that fiscal year, with amounts rounded to the nearest dollar.