SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS NEWS from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 08-29-2005

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PRESS RELEASE

New Website for War Widows and Survivors Gets Praise

August 29, 2005

(Washington, DC) A new website for surviving spouses and dependents of military personnel who died while in the service of their nation has been launched by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It is located at http://www.vba.va.gov/Survivors and its development has earned the praise of the man who called for its creation.

"In February I asked VA officials to do a better job of informing survivors about the benefits they have coming and I am extremely pleased that this new ‘one stop’ website is now up and running. Is it perfect? No. But it is an important first step in the right direction and I expect this new website to improve over time and get updated regularly," said Senator Larry Craig, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

"Benefits are of little use if survivors don’t know about them, so I hope this new website helps as those left behind cope with the loss of a loved one, killed in the service of a grateful nation."

At a committee hearing in February, Tiffany Petty, a 25-year-old mother of two from Craig’s home state of Idaho, told the committee about the difficulty she had receiving clear information about the benefits and help she and her children could receive, after her husband Jerrick was killed in Iraq. At the same hearing, Jennifer McCollum, a 31-year-old woman from Jacksonville, Florida, told the committee that help from the government agencies "seems to be the exception, rather than the rule." Her son was born several months after her husband was killed in a military plane crash in Pakistan.

According to calculations run by the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, a surviving spouse and two children of an enlisted servicemember killed while serving in the military could receive over $600,000 in benefits. The money would break down as follows:

Social Security Death Benefit
One time payment $255

Department of Defense Death Gratuity
One time payment $100,000

Department of Defense Burial Allowance
One time payment $6,900

Department of Defense Housing Allowance
One time payment $7,626

VA Burial Allowance
One time payment $2,000

Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance
One time payment $400,000

Social Security Survivors Benefits
Recurring monthly payment $1,773

DoD Survivors Benefit Plan
Recurring monthly payment $786

VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation
Recurring monthly payment $1,737

DoD TRICARE Prime (Health Insurance)
Yearly benefit expressed as cash
equivalent $12,000

VA Dependents’ Educational Assistance
Total Assistance Per Family $108,405

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Total Benefits $641,482

Larry Scott