Today, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) voted with a bipartisan majority to pass the Faster Payments to Veterans’ Survivors Act, which would modernize and expedite the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) processes for identifying, locating, and paying hard-to-find survivors of recently deceased veterans. As of September 2020, the VA estimates that the Department owes more than $155 million in undisbursed life insurance benefits to nearly 15,000 individuals. On average, this represents approximately $10,500 per family.

“Our nation’s veterans dedicated their lives in service to our country, and the last thing they should worry about is whether their families will be financially secure when they pass,” said Rep. Axne. “The Faster Payments to Veterans’ Survivors Act will cut down barriers and delays in locating surviving family members of fallen veterans so they’re able to access the benefits they’re owed in a timely manner. Supporting these families is the least we can do to repay them for the sacrifices that they've made."

Specifically, the Faster Payments to Veterans’ Survivors Act would:

• Shorten the time frame in which VA is authorized to designate, contact, and pay primary and appropriate alternate insurance beneficiaries from 2 years to 1 year and from 4 years to 2 years, respectively. Existing statutory constraints delay the release of undisbursed funds.
• Ensure that the procedures for paying alternate beneficiaries are uniformly applied and consistent between VA life insurance programs.
• Improve and better publicize an existing online tool that veterans' families can use to search for money they may be owed.
• Ensure VA has the staff it needs to reach hard-to-find beneficiaries.
• Set a goal of disbursing all funds that are owed to a survivor of a deceased veteran or beneficiary within two years.
• Require a report to Congress within 180 days on VA's progress.

Rep. Axne has long championed measures to support Iowa’s veterans and their families. Rep. Axne introduced the Transition for Success Act, bipartisan legislation to provide skills training and employment assistance to members of the National Guard and Reserve, and the Student Veteran Work Study Modernization Act to expand access to higher education for veterans, which cleared the House floor in April.

She also introduced the Sgt. Ketchum Rural Veterans’ Mental Health Act, which was signed into law last June to create more mental health resources for veterans living in rural areas. Most recently, she voted to send the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act to the President’s desk to ensure Iowa veterans who have been exposed to burn pits and toxic substances receive the medical treatment they deserve.

Original source can be found here.