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The “death gratuity” paid to the families of fallen service members would double from $100,000 to $200,000 to keep up with inflation under legislation introduced earlier this month.
The Honoring Our Nation’s Obligation to Remember, or HONOR, Gold Star Families Act (H.R. 7932) introduced by Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., a drilling Tennessee Army National Guard officer, also includes a cost-of-living adjustment going forward.
It also applies retroactively to the beginning of 2026 to include the families of service members killed in Operation Epic Fury.
“We must ensure that when tragedy strikes, our nation stands fully behind the families left behind,” said Van Epps, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, in a press release.
He said the current $100,000 death gratuity was set in 2006 and has never been adjusted for inflation, which has almost doubled the cost of many everyday items in the 20 years since.
“As one Gold Star wife recently told me, ‘Your bills don’t get cut in half when you lose your spouse,’” Epps shared in the release. “Her words were a stark reminder of the difficult reality many Gold Star families face in the wake of unimaginable loss.”
NGAUS strongly supports the legislation.
“For too long, the military death gratuity has failed to keep pace with inflation, shortchanging those families who have sacrificed the most,” said retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the association president. “This legislation restores that promise and ensures Gold Star Families receive the immediate, meaningful compensation they deserve and that our nation’s commitment never again loses its value.”
The bill has multiple original co-sponsors, including Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, who are both members of the House Armed Services Committee.
“Our Gold Star families have felt the greatest form of pain and suffering in losing a loved one in service to our country,” said Kiggans, a retired Navy helicopter pilot, in the release from Van Epps’ office. “When a servicemember makes the ultimate sacrifice, we have the solemn obligation to ensure their families are supported and able to move forward with stability and dignity.”
Added Rep. Tokuda, “Freedom is never free, and Gold Star families have already paid the highest price. Our commitment as a nation to them must be as steady as their sacrifice. That means ensuring the support they have been promised keeps pace with the cost of living.”
Read the legislation here.
Read the one-pager here.
See the co-sponsors here.
—By John Goheen
