# 119-s-2078: Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line of Duty Act

119-s-2078, Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line of Duty Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2078
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2078
- Congress: 119
- Title: Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line of Duty Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-06-12
- Sponsor: Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Creates a uniform federal death gratuity program for employees killed in the line of duty.** The bill would standardize who qualifies, extend coverage to deaths abroad, and raise funeral-related payments for survivors. - Families would receive a new Employee Death Gratuity set at $100,000 as a base, with the amount adjusted each March 1 using the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index. The bill sets a clear order of who gets the payment and allows payment to an estate if no survivors are eligible. - Households facing a federal line-of-duty death would see funeral expense assistance rise from $800 to $8,800, with annual adjustments tied to labor statistics. This change would apply to deaths covered when the law takes effect. - Federal employees serving overseas and service members would gain explicit agency-paid gratuities for line-of-duty deaths abroad and clarified rules on offsets so one federal death payment does not improperly reduce another. The bill would also authorize emergency supplemental appropriations for large incidents and require agencies to notify the Government Accountability Office within 15 business days with yearly GAO reporting and audits.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Sen. Hagerty, Bill [R-TN] (R-TN), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hawley, Josh [R-MO] (R-MO), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Bigger death payments for federal survivors: benefit, high. If enacted, agencies could pay a one-time $100,000 death gratuity to survivors of a federal employee killed on the job. The $100,000 base would increase each March 1 using the PCE price index. Payments would not be made if the death resulted from willful misconduct or the employee's intoxication. A…
- More military death pay for survivors: benefit, medium. If enacted, the military-related death gratuity amount would be adjusted each March 1 by the PCE price change. For deaths on or after enactment, agencies could not reduce that gratuity by other federal death payments for the same death. If the deceased has no eligible survivors and no alternate des…
- Emergency funding for death gratuities: benefit, low. If enacted, agencies could get emergency appropriations when disasters, terrorism, or other incidents stop them from paying death gratuities. The agency head and the OMB Director must agree funding is needed. Any additional payments would only happen if Congress provides money. The bill asks Congre…
- Changes to Foreign Service death pay: mixed, low. If enacted, agencies would pay death gratuities for employees who die while on duty abroad under the chief of mission. The Labor Department must first find the death came from a qualifying injury. For deaths on or after enactment, a Foreign Service payment would be reduced by any payment under the…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-1816: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025
- 119-s-1547: America the Beautiful Act
- 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.

## Sources
- [119-s-2078 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2078)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-1816: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1816)
- [119-s-1547: America the Beautiful Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1547)
- [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)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2078 (as of 2025-12-21).