Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Bost for yielding me the time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, the Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act, H.R. 3123. I also thank Ranking Member Takano for his comments and support.

I have represented the Peltz family for well over a decade, and that included Ernest Peltz, a World War II veteran and American hero, who died a few years ago between Christmas and New Year's Day.

At that time, I heard from his son, Charles Peltz, who found himself caught in a maze of bureaucratic VA red tape. Instead of being able to focus on honoring the life and service of his father, the Peltz family was forced to contend with a system that failed the very veteran it was designed to serve.

Hero Ernest Peltz did everything right. He served admirably and honorably in our military. He continued a lifetime of public service. He applied for his accrued veterans pension benefit, and the Department of Veterans Affairs approved it while he was still alive.

I even got a call from his family as Ernest Peltz was on his death bed, that he was asking to make sure the VA benefits would be there. I encouraged them and said that absolutely we would do everything to make that possible. Yet, due to a processing error, the VA did not deposit the funds until after Mr. Peltz' passing. In an even more troubling turn, the VA then clawed those funds back from the Peltz family even though Ernest Peltz was alive at the time that this benefit was approved and fully earned.

As a result, the Peltz family was left to shoulder the financial burden of his father's care on their own, compounding grief with stress, uncertainty, and frustration. In short, the Peltz family was penalized for the VA's mistakes. This is unacceptable.

This is why I have been working for over 2 years to pass the Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act. We have worked closely with the Peltz family, veterans service organizations, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including the lead Democrat sponsor, Congressman Ro Khanna, to craft this legislation to correct this moral wrong.

This bill eliminates the burden on a veteran's surviving family by ensuring that the veteran is entitled to receive their pre-approved pension benefits within the month that death occurs.

I represent New York's 21st Congressional District, representing the largest number of veterans in any district in New York State. That is why I am proud to take action to make sure no family mourning the loss of a loved one who is a veteran has to deal with VA red tape and these bureaucratic mistakes.

This commonsense, bipartisan legislation honors the legacy of World War II Veteran Ernest Peltz and takes a critical step toward improving the VA's effectiveness and accountability.

What was amazing about this process, while mourning the loss of their father, Charles Peltz shared with me his priority was making sure that this never happened to another family again. That is why we are working to pass this bill today.

I thank Charles Peltz for his work with my office and with me directly. I am grateful for the bipartisan support, and I urge a ``yes'' to pass it on the floor.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 3123, the Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act, as amended.

It is no secret that our offices get a lot of calls about casework on veterans' benefits. Sometimes these calls are a simple matter of getting people the right point of contact in the right office. Sometimes it is an ask to wake a sleepy bureaucracy to move faster on behalf of a constituent. Sometimes these calls highlight a loophole or a blind spot in the law that has been discovered because deserving beneficiaries have been wronged or overlooked.

It is imperative in those instances that we as Members of Congress work to fix those problems on behalf of those who elected us to this body.

That is the case with the Peltz family. Upon the death of Mr. Ernest Peltz, VA failed to pay the benefits he earned when his death occurred shortly after the benefits were awarded. This resulted in his family having to navigate grief, the cost of his care, and additional challenges posed by the bureaucracy simply because of the timing of his passing.

We have already asked so much of our veterans and their families. It is entirely unconscionable that while in the fog of grief, we ask them to navigate paperwork and uncertainty regarding benefits that were rightly earned just because the day their loved one died doesn't align well with VA's direct deposit schedule.

The Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act will relieve families of that unnecessary burden during a complicated time. This bill states that if a veteran dies before they are awarded their pension benefit and they pass away before the benefit has been paid out, that the pension benefit is awarded to the veteran's living spouse, living children, dependent parents, or the estate of that veteran.

H.R. 3123 closes an opening that families have unfortunately been slipping through.

We know of one family that this has affected, but we don't know how many other families have been touched by a bureaucratic system that felt cold and uncaring.

I thank Representative Stefanik for her work in addressing this oversight. Much of the work we do on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs is centered on the promises that we make to veterans and their loved ones. This bill is just that, honoring not only a promise to our veterans, but also their families.

This pension benefit is not, nor was it ever, a handout. It was an earned benefit that Mr. Peltz secured through his service in World War II. I will continue to fight until every beneficiary gets the benefits that they earned, no matter how long that takes. We must continue to expand veterans' benefits for all those who have worn the uniform of this Nation.

Madam Speaker, I support this legislation and urge all my colleagues to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing.

I encourage my fellow colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3123, the Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3123) to amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements to laws relating to the payment of certain benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs that are affected by death, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 3123, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3123, as amended, offered by my colleague Representative Elise Stefanik of New York.

This bill would require VA to pay out a due and unpaid pension to a veteran's next of kin in cases where the VA issues a decision granting a claim for a pension to a veteran, but the veteran passed away before VA had issued the first payment.

In the rare circumstances where an elderly veteran dies in the period between their VA pension being approved and receipt of their first payment, a surviving family should be able to rely on those funds as a source of support to honor their veteran's legacy.

Veterans eligible for the VA pension must be at least 65 years old and meet the annual net worth limit.

A great portion of eligible veterans served in the Korean war, Vietnam war, and Gulf war. This legislation would close the loophole and prevent VA bureaucracy from being forced to take back benefits delivered to the veteran who earned it through their service.

Families grieving a veteran's passing should not have to worry that VA will go after them to recover a pension payment.

This legislation would prevent those situations while recognizing our commitment to honor those who have served this country.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 3123, as amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, at this time I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik), the sponsor of this bill.

Madam Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, today I was absent for recorded votes due to travel. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: YEA on Roll Call No. 49, H.R. 980--Veterans Readiness and Employment Improvement Act of 2025, as amended, and YEA on Roll Call No. 50, H.R. 3123--Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act, as amended.

personal explanation

Mr. Speaker, on Roll Call No. 49 and No. 50, I am not recorded because I was absent due to delayed travel. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 49 and YEA on Roll Call No. 50.