Amata Welcomes Final Passage of the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata, who serves as Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (HVAC), is welcoming final passage of legislation ensuring a cost-of-living boost for the year ahead in several Veterans’ benefits.
The House of Representatives passed the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2025. The bill had already passed the Senate, and it has been sent to President Trump to be signed into law.
“Thank you to all our Veterans for their service,” said Vice Chairman Amata. “I want to keep our people informed about Veterans’ legislation in Congress, and welcome these specific increases for Veterans and their families. It’s important to recognize changes in the everyday costs of living and make the well-being of our Veterans a constant priority.”
Under this Act, Congress is requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase the amounts payable for wartime disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Under the bill, the VA must increase the amounts by the same percentage as the cost-of-living increase in benefits for Social Security recipients that is effective on December 1, 2025. The bill requires the VA to publish the amounts payable, as increased, in the Federal Register. The VA is also authorized to make a similar adjustment to the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who have not received compensation for service-connected disability or death.
On Monday, the House passed by voice vote the Senate version of the bill, S. 2392, introduced by Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kansas).
A Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment bill must be passed annually to keep pace with changes in living costs. The bipartisan 2022 bill (for 2023) was the largest COLA increase in many years, an increase of 8.7 percent, to combat inflation.
In other Veterans’ news, the Senate last week passed by unanimous consent the House version of The Medal of Honor Act, which had already been passed by the House in a unanimous roll call vote. This legislation more than triples the monthly special pension for living Medal of Honor recipients, an increase to $8,333.33 per month, $67,500 annually, while creating a monthly pension for spouses that survive their Medal of Honor recipient spouses, at a rate of $1,406.73 per month. In history, there have been over 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients, and currently 61 living. The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military decoration for valor.
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