H.R. 1685House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 24, 2025 at 2:19 AM UTC

The Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025 expands the increased dependency and indemnity compensation (IDIC) benefit to include surviving spouses of veterans who die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), regardless of how long the veteran had the disease. It also sets an eight‑year marriage requirement for a spouse to qualify and makes the change effective for deaths occurring on or after October 1, 2025. Additionally, the bill orders the VA to report on other high‑mortality service‑connected disabilities that might merit similar treatment.

Key Provisions

Amends the law so that a veteran who dies from ALS is treated the same as a veteran who meets the existing criteria for increased dependency and indemnity compensation, no matter how long they had ALS before death.
Defines a "surviving spouse" for this benefit as someone who was married to the veteran continuously for at least eight years before the veteran’s death.
The new rules apply to any veteran who dies from ALS on or after October 1, 2025.
Requires the VA Secretary, within 180 days of the law’s enactment, to report to Congress identifying any other service‑connected disabilities with high mortality that should receive the same treatment, including a list of those conditions and average life‑expectancy data.

Legislative Activity

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3 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Subcommittee Hearings Held

Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee

February 3, 2026

View full timeline

HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

February 27, 2025

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Veterans' Affairs Committee

February 27, 2025

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee

March 27, 2025

HouseCommittee

Subcommittee Hearings Held

Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee

February 3, 2026

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 1685 on the floor

1 Republican

Rep. Monica De La CruzR-TX-15 · Jul 9, 2026

Under clause 7 of rule XII, sponsors were added to public bills and resolutions, as follows: H.R. 7: Mr. Van Epps. H.R. 138: Ms. Norton, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, and Mr. Calvert. H.R. 491: Ms. Wilson of…

Under clause 7 of rule XII, sponsors were added to public

bills and resolutions, as follows:

H.R. 7: Mr. Van Epps.

H.R. 138: Ms. Norton, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, and Mr. Calvert.

H.R. 491: Ms. Wilson of Florida.

H.R. 516: Mr. Mullin.

H.R. 569: Ms. Fedorchak.

H.R. 614: Mr. Lawler.

H.R. 652: Ms. Moore of Wisconsin.

H.R. 1055: Mr. Costa and Mr. Keating.

H.R. 1065: Ms. Garcia of Texas.

H.R. 1105: Mr. Gallagher.

H.R. 1106: Mr. Riley of New York.

H.R. 1138: Ms. Salazar.

H.R. 1189: Ms. Clarke of New York.

H.R. 1227: Mr. Himes and Mr. Rulli.

H.R. 1229: Mr. Van Epps.

H.R. 1340: Mr. Obernolte.

H.R. 1589: Mr. Pappas.

H.R. 1685: Ms. DelBene.

H.R. 1700: Ms. McCollum.

H.R. 1782: Mr. Case.

H.R. 1787: Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Levin, Mr. Mrvan, Mr. Ivey, Mr.

Pocan, and Mr. Menefee.

H.R. 1946: Mr. Higgins of Louisiana.

H.R. 1970: Mr. Van Orden.

H.R. 2002: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 2028: Mr. Torres of New York.

H.R. 2089: Mr. Timmons, Mr. Van Epps, Mrs. Fischbach, and

Ms. De La Cruz.

H.R. 2120: Ms. Perez.

H.R. 2245: Mr. Carson.

H.R. 2305: Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania and Mr. Magaziner.

H.R. 2332: Mr. Carey.

H.R. 2350: Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania.

H.R. 2414: Ms. McBride.

H.R. 2509: Mr. Langworthy.

H.R. 2531: Mr. Costa, Ms. Schrier, Mr. Norcross, and Mr.

Van Orden.

H.R. 2587: Mr. Figures.

H.R. 2678: Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mrs. McIver, and Mr.

Conaway.

H.R. 2767: Mr. Lynch.

H.R. 2859: Ms. Ross.

H.R. 2936: Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Carbajal, and Mr. Amo.

H.R. 3045: Mr. Riley of New York and Mr. Whitesides.

H.R. 3057: Mr. Hunt.

H.R. 3105: Mr. Fitzgerald.

H.R. 3111: Mr. Pallone.

H.R. 3184: Mr. Crow and Mrs. Grijalva.

H.R. 3199: Mrs. Kim.

H.R. 3206: Mr. Cuellar.

H.R. 3223: Ms. Perez.

H.R. 3243: Mr. Cohen, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Casar,

Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Case, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms.

Pettersen, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Meng.

H.R. 3295: Mrs. Kim.

H.R. 3307: Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Mackenzie, and Mr. Buchanan.

H.R. 3310: Mr. Moskowitz.

H.R. 3505: Mr. Amo.

H.R. 3644: Mr. Subramanyam.

H.R. 3821: Mr. Riley of New York.

H.R. 3906: Ms. Williams of Georgia.

H.R. 4092: Mr. Fulcher.

H.R. 4119: Mr. DesJarlais and Mr. Van Epps.

H.R. 4180: Mr. Beyer.

H.R. 4443: Mr. Larson of Connecticut.

H.R. 4487: Ms. Waters.

H.R. 4525: Mr. Deluzio.

H.R. 4620: Ms. De La Cruz.

H.R. 4696: Ms. Crockett and Mr. Torres of New York.

H.R. 4763: Mr. Raskin.

H.R. 4876: Ms. Scholten, Mr. Frost, and Mr. Crow.

H.R. 4881: Mr. Case.

H.R. 4958: Ms. Schrier.

H.R. 5106: Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona.

H.R. 5199: Mr. Nunn of Iowa.

H.R. 5203: Ms. Stansbury.

H.R. 5335: Mr. Gimenez.

H.R. 5448: Mr. McGovern.

H.R. 5463: Mr. Onder.

H.R. 5486: Mr. Pallone and Mrs. Fletcher.

H.R. 5521: Ms. Salinas.

H.R. 5543: Mr. Raskin.

H.R. 5549: Mrs. Spartz and Mr. Fulcher.

H.R. 5731: Mr. Figures.

H.R. 5791: Mr. Carbajal and Ms. Meng.

H.R. 6056: Mr. Correa, Mr. Meeks, and Ms. Williams of

Georgia.

H.R. 6130: Mr. Gray, Mr. Mrvan, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Larson of

Connecticut, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Costa, Mr.

Garbarino, Mr. Rouzer, and Ms. McClellan.

H.R. 6181: Mr. Cisneros and Mr. Harder of California.

H.R. 6509: Mr. Mrvan.

H.R. 6520: Mr. Messmer.

H.R. 6529: Mr. Vindman.

H.R. 6574: Ms. Goodlander.

H.R. 6610: Mr. McCormick.

H.R. 6617: Ms. Hoyle of Oregon.

H.R. 6677: Ms. Hoyle of Oregon and Mr. Amo.

H.R. 6682: Mr. Riley of New York.

H.R. 6694: Ms. Velazquez and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.

H.R. 6718: Mr. Carson.

H.R. 6766: Mr. Landsman and Mr. Obernolte.

H.R. 6806: Mr. Olszewski and Mr. Amo.

H.R. 6832: Mr. Feenstra.

H.R. 6849: Mr. Costa.

H.R. 7016: Mr. Beyer, Mr. Raskin, and Ms. Simon.

H.R. 7411: Mr. Carson.

H.R. 7539: Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Fine, Mrs. Miller of

Illinois, and Mr. Stauber.

H.R. 7601: Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.

H.R. 7622: Mr. Carson and Mr. Amo.

H.R. 7625: Mr. Garamendi.

H.R. 7651: Mr. Alford, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, and Ms.

Boebert.

H.R. 7905: Mr. Bacon.

H.R. 7945: Mr. Kustoff.

H.R. 7961: Ms. Houlahan and Mr. Amo.

H.R. 7977: Mr. Norcross.

H.R. 7986: Ms. Lofgren.

H.R. 7998: Ms. Norton.

H.R. 8016: Ms. Wasserman Schultz.

H.R. 8045: Mr. Scott of Virginia.

H.R. 8073: Mr. Figures.

H.R. 8162: Mr. Lawler.

H.R. 8200: Mr. Bost.

H.R. 8205: Mrs. Miller of West Virginia, Mrs. Hayes, Mr.

Latimer, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Ms. McBride, Mr. Riley

of New York, Mr. Conaway, Ms. Stansbury, Ms. Ross, Ms.

Pingree, Mr. Himes, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Casten, Mr.

Landsman, Mrs. Grijalva, Ms. Mejia, Mr. Larson of

Connecticut, Mr. Sorensen, Mr. Peters, Mr. Jackson of

Illinois, Ms. Adams, Ms. Budzinski, Mrs. Beatty, Mr.

Magaziner, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Suozzi,

and Ms. Scanlon.

H.R. 8271: Ms. Tenney.

H.R. 8330: Mr. Gallagher.

H.R. 8373: Mrs. Grijalva.

H.R. 8375: Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Budzinski, and Mr.

Ciscomani.

H.R. 8411: Mr. Johnson of Georgia.

H.R. 8465: Mr. Keating.

H.R. 8468: Mr. Hunt.

H.R. 8490: Mr. Carson.

H.R. 8501: Mr. Figures and Mr. Thompson of California.

H.R. 8600: Mr. Whitesides.

H.R. 8666: Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Friedman, and Mr. Tran.

H.R. 8691: Mr. Carson and Mr. Costa.

H.R. 8730: Mrs. Miller of West Virginia, Ms. Crockett, and

Mr. Mrvan.

H.R. 8839: Mr. Moskowitz.

H.R. 8887: Mr. Neguse.

H.R. 8892: Mr. Carey.

H.R. 8898: Ms. McBride and Mrs. Miller-Meeks.

H.R. 8909: Ms. Velazquez.

H.R. 8939: Ms. Waters.

H.R. 8955: Mr. Crow.

H.R. 8979: Mr. Figures.

H.R. 8982: Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Simon, and Mr. Subramanyam.

H.R. 8990: Mr. Moran.

H.R. 9021: Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Titus, and Mrs. McIver.

H.R. 9032: Ms. Waters and Ms. Crockett.

H.R. 9043: Mr. McDowell.

H.R. 9048: Mr. Riley of New York, Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia,

and Mr. Weber of Texas.

H.R. 9129: Ms. Salinas.

H.R. 9169: Mr. Van Drew.

H.R. 9183: Ms. Crockett.

H.R. 9189: Ms. Tlaib.

H.R. 9199: Mr. Norman.

H.R. 9204: Ms. Chu.

H.R. 9205: Ms. Chu.

H.R. 9211: Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Bell.

H.R. 9216: Mr. Cohen and Ms. Waters.

H.R. 9250: Mr. Garbarino, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Moore of West

Virginia, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Harrigan, Mr. Levin,

Mr. Flood, Ms. Chu, Mr. Meuser, and Ms. Crockett.

H.R. 9289: Mr. Vindman.

H.R. 9293: Mr. Evans of Colorado and Mr. Mackenzie.

H.R. 9332: Mr. Vindman.

H.R. 9339: Mr. Vindman.

H.R. 9361: Mr. Finstad and Mr. Jackson of Texas.

H.R. 9370: Ms. Brown and Ms. Scholten.

H.R. 9371: Mr. Frost.

H.R. 9382: Mr. Mannion and Ms. Tenney.

H.R. 9401: Mr. Lawler, Mr. Crow, and Ms. DelBene.

H.R. 9411: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 9414: Mr. Vindman, Mr. Cisneros, Mr. Keating, and Ms.

McBride.

H.R. 9417: Mr. Moylan, Mr. Haridopolos, Mr. Rogers of

Kentucky, and Mr. McDowell.

H.R. 9421: Ms. Tenney and Mr. Steube.

H.R. 9441: Ms. Dexter and Mr. Tonko.

H.R. 9448: Ms. Ross, Mr. Lieu, and Mr. Nadler.

H.R. 9451: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 9492: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 9508: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 9535: Mr. Van Drew.

H.R. 9580: Mr. Messmer.

H.R. 9591: Ms. Crockett, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Ms.

Williams of Georgia, Ms. Underwood, Ms. Simon, Ms. Wilson of

Florida, and Ms. Chu.

H.J. Res. 12: Mr. Ciscomani.

H.J. Res. 135: Mr. Whitesides.

H.J. Res. 200: Mr. Menendez and Mr. Pallone.

H. Con. Res. 37: Mr. Tonko, Ms. Bonamici, and Mrs. Foushee.

H. Con. Res. 44: Ms. Pingree, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr.

Vargas, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, and Mr.

Pocan.

H. Res. 547: Ms. Waters.

H. Res. 1025: Ms. Waters.

H. Res. 1382: Mrs. Biggs of South Carolina.

H. Res. 1384: Mr. Bell, Ms. Brown, Mr. Garcia of Illinois,

Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Norton, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Goldman of New

York, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Strickland, Mr. Davis of

Illinois, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Mejia, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Takano,

Mr. Menefee, Ms. Salinas, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cohen,

and Mr. Gomez.

H. Res. 1395: Mr. Fields.

H. Res. 1415: Mr. DeSaulnier and Ms. Jayapal.

H. Res. 1420: Ms. Underwood and Ms. Bynum.

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued February 27, 2025

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1685

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 27, 2025

Mr. Fitzpatrick (for himself and Mr. Pappas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend increased dependency and indemnity compensation paid to surviving spouses of veterans who die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, regardless of how long the veterans had such disease prior to death.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025.

Extension of increased dependency and indemnity compensation to surviving spouses of veterans who die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

(a)

Extension

Section 1311(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

by inserting (A) before The rate; and

(2)

by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

(B)

A veteran who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis shall be treated as a veteran described in subparagraph (A) without regard for how long the veteran had such disease prior to death.

(C)

For purposes of the payment of compensation under this subsection by reason of the death of veteran described in subparagraph (B), the term surviving spouse means a person who was married to the veteran for a continuous period of eight years or longer prior to the death of the veteran.

(b)

Applicability

Subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 1311(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply to a veteran who dies from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on or after October 1, 2025.

Report on additional medical conditions

(a)

Report required

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report that includes an identification of any service-connected disability, other than amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, that the Secretary determines should be treated in the same manner as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is treated under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 1311(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, as added by section 2.

(b)

Contents

The report required by subsection (a) shall include the following:

(1)

A comprehensive list of service-connected disabilities with high mortality rates.

(2)

Detailed information on the average life expectancy for persons with each such disability.