# 119-s-1204: Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act

119-s-1204, Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH] (D-NH); status passed_senate; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-31).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1204
- As of: 2026-10-31
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1204
- Congress: 119
- Title: Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act
- Status: passed_senate
- Introduced: 2025-03-31
- Sponsor: Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH] (D-NH)
- Cosponsors: 8
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-31

## Summary

**Expands access to the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program by adding certain spouses as "eligible persons."** It inserts "eligible persons" into the program's eligibility language and defines that term to include spouses described in 38 U.S.C. 4101(5) and spouses of service members who died while on active duty. - Spouses meeting the 38 U.S.C. 4101(5) definition can now receive DVOP job and employment services that were previously limited to eligible veterans. - Spouses of service members who died while serving are explicitly included so surviving spouses can access the same DVOP services. - The change expands who can use existing DVOP services without creating new programs or new appropriations.

## Cosponsors (8)

- Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (R-TX), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Job help for veteran and surviving spouses: benefit, low. If enacted, this bill would let certain spouses get Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) career services. You would qualify if you are a spouse described in 38 U.S.C. 4101(5), or the spouse of someone who died while serving. DVOP staff would be able to serve these spouses under the same rules…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-1816: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.
- 119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham, a Senator from the State of South Carolina.
- 119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan.

## Sources
- [119-s-1204 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1204)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-1816: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1816)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-801)
- [119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former S…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-755)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1204 (as of 2026-10-31).