# 119-hr-3123: Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act

119-hr-3123, Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] (R-NY); status passed_house; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-15).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3123
- As of: 2026-07-15
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-3123
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2025-04-30
- Sponsor: Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] (R-NY)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-15

## Summary

**Prioritizes payment of unpaid pension benefits after a veteran's death.** It sets who receives an accrued pension that was awarded before the veteran died and creates a one-year window for survivors to claim it. - Families: A surviving spouse is first in line to receive any unpaid pension. If no spouse, the veteran's children share equally, then dependent parents share equally. - Estates: If no application is filed within one year of the veteran's death the unpaid pension is paid to the veteran's estate, unless the estate will escheat. - Administration and timing: The rule applies to deaths on or after enactment. The bill also moves a VA payment-limit deadline from January 31, 2033 to February 28, 2033.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17] (D-CA), 2025-04-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Susie [D-NV-3] (D-NV), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z

## Votes

| Date | Chamber | Question | Result | Yea | Nay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-02T00:00:00.000Z | house | On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended | Passed | 405 | 1 |

## Provisions PRIA read

- Who gets unpaid veterans pension checks: benefit, medium. If enacted, this would set the order for paying a veterans pension that was awarded before death but paid after. The money would go first to the spouse, then to children in equal shares, then to dependent parents in equal shares, and then to the veterans estate unless the estate would escheat (go t…
- One-month extension for veterans pension limit: benefit, low. If enacted, this would change one date in a veterans pension rule. It would replace January 31, 2033 with February 28, 2033 in 38 U.S.C. 5503(d)(7). This would give a one-month extension under that payment limit.

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-1410: 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-1869: Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-hr-3123 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3123)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-1410: 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1410)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-1869: Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act of 2…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1869)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3123 (as of 2026-07-15).