# 119-hr-1685: Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025

119-hr-1685, Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1685
- As of: 2026-08-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1685
- Congress: 119
- Title: Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-02-27
- Sponsor: Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA)
- Cosponsors: 32
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-19

## Summary

**Extends increased dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) to surviving spouses of veterans who die from ALS regardless of how long the veteran had the disease before death.** It also sets an eight-year continuous marriage rule for that DIC eligibility and would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to report within 180 days on other service-connected disabilities with high mortality and their average life expectancies. - Families: Surviving spouses married to a veteran for at least 8 continuous years would qualify for the higher DIC if the veteran died from ALS, even when ALS developed shortly before death. This gives a clearer route to benefits for those survivors. - Department of Veterans Affairs: The VA must deliver a report within 180 days identifying other service-connected conditions that should be treated like ALS for survivor compensation, and include a list of high-mortality disabilities and average life expectancy data. - Policy and future claimants: The required report could prompt Congress or the VA to extend the same DIC treatment to other high-mortality service-connected conditions in the future.

## Cosponsors (32)

- Rep. Pappas, Chris [D-NH-1] (D-NH), 2025-02-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13] (D-IL), 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2] (R-NJ), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Balint, Becca [D-VT-At Large] (D-VT), 2025-06-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7] (D-CO), 2025-06-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] (D-CO), 2025-06-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA), 2025-06-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Susie [D-NV-3] (D-NV), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Baumgartner, Michael [R-WA-5] (R-WA), 2025-07-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] (D-CA), 2025-08-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vasquez, Gabe [D-NM-2] (D-NM), 2025-08-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Crow, Jason [D-CO-6] (D-CO), 2025-08-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ), 2025-08-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] (D-CA), 2025-09-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA), 2025-09-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] (D-IL), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy [D-PA-6] (D-PA), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2] (D-NC), 2025-09-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41] (R-CA), 2025-09-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-7] (D-CA), 2025-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-09-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Riley, Josh [D-NY-19] (D-NY), 2025-10-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mills, Cory [R-FL-7] (R-FL), 2025-10-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hunt, Wesley [R-TX-38] (R-TX), 2025-11-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16] (R-PA), 2026-02-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott [D-IL-10] (D-IL), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Magaziner, Seth [D-RI-2] (D-RI), 2026-05-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1] (D-WA), 2026-07-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Larsen, Rick [D-WA-2] (D-WA), 2026-07-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2] (D-HI), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7] (R-NJ), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10] (D-CA), 2026-08-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More VA survivor pay for ALS deaths: benefit, high. If enacted, surviving spouses could get the higher VA survivor payment when a veteran dies from ALS. How long the veteran had ALS would not matter. To qualify, you would need to have been married to the veteran continuously for at least 8 years. This would apply only if the veteran’s death is on or…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-hr-3277: Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act
- 119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250
- 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-1685 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1685)

## Related
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2102)
- [119-hr-3277: Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3277)
- [119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9250)
- [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1685 (as of 2026-08-19).