On February 3, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a hearing entitled, “Benefits for Survivors: Is America fulfilling Lincoln’s charge to care for the families of those killed in the line of duty?”
Referring to the title of the hearing, Chair Larry Craig (R-ID) quoted former President Abraham Lincoln who said that it is the federal government’s responsibility “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.” He explained that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) coordinate 13 survivor benefits, noting that understanding all of the benefits can be “overwhelming” for the families of deceased servicemembers.
In a press release submitted by his office, Ranking Member Daniel Akaka (D-HI) stated, “We need to ensure that these surviving families are given the proper information after dealing with the initial shock of the death of their husband, wife, son, or daughter. It is imperative that both information and assistance continue for several months and that DoD and VA officials follow up [to] ensure that these families are cared for appropriately.”
VA Under Secretary for Benefits Daniel Cooper summarized the “wide range of benefits” provided to surviving spouses, dependent children, and dependent parents of deceased servicemembers. These benefits include Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, a death pension, dependents’ education assistance, guaranteed housing loans, life insurance, and health insurance under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs. In an effort to reach out to families, Mr. Cooper explained that the VA and the DoD have developed the joint Casualty Assistance Program, which has streamlined the process by which claims are processed for survivors of active servicemembers killed on active duty. He also said that casualty assistance officers “work closely with military [families.] At a time appropriate for the family, they visit survivors to provide information about VA benefits, such as education benefits, vocational counseling services, financial counseling services, loan guaranty, etc., and the availability of bereavement counseling provided by the Veterans Health Administration.” Mr. Cooper provided additional details on the financial counseling provided to military families, noting that it is “one-on-one, free objective financial counseling for [Servicemembers Group Life Insurance] SGLI beneficiaries of deceased servicemembers. Services include estate settlement and planning, investment planning, budgeting, and income tax planning.”
The committee heard testimony from Mrs. Jennifer McCollum, whose husband was killed in a plane crash in Pakistan in 2002. She expressed her frustration with the coordination of survivor benefits, arguing that transitional assistance is “consistently unreliable” and casualty assistance is “failing miserably.” Mrs. McCollum said that her casualty assistance officer was very helpful in coordinating arrangements immediately following her husband’s death, but he “dropped off the radar screen after the funeral.”
Testifying on behalf of the Gold Star Wives of America, Inc., Edith Smith criticized the success of casualty assistance officers (CAOs), explaining that “for most survivors, the death of a spouse is the most catastrophic event of their lives. Many are literally in shock for many months and are unable to cope with the financial decisions and bureaucratic tangles that a survivor encounters. The CAOs are unfortunately not now adequately trained, nor are any assigned to such duty full time. Yet, they must try to help survivors go through the maze of the VA and DoD benefits. CAOs cannot provide the kind of counseling, both grief counseling and financial counseling necessary to meet the needs of a military survivor. There currently is…little guidance for the CAOs. Without training or some DoD/VA/SSA integrated brochures, survivors are without proper counseling and guidance at a critical time in their lives.” Ms. Smith also noted that there is no central office within the VA or the DoD where families can go with questions or concerns about their benefits. She suggested that a Survivor’s Office be created within one of the two agencies for that purpose.
Kathleen Moakler, deputy director for government relations at the National Military Families Association (NMFA), argued that the military should better educate servicemembers and their spouses about the survivor benefit package before he or she is called up for active duty. “If the families have an overview of what benefits are available in case of the death of the servicemember, this knowledge can help relieve the stress when they go over the ‘what if’ scenarios during a deployment.” Citing the importance of financial literacy, Ms. Moakler explained that the family receives a $250,000 life insurance payment and $12,420 death gratuity when a servicemember dies. She stated, “The management of that large sum of money is a huge responsibility, especially if young children are involved. The surviving spouse also needs to make decisions that impact the family for many years. The bereaved spouse may be especially vulnerable to unscrupulous or uninformed advisors, friends or family members who may try to take advantage and ‘help’ the surviving spouse spend or invest the inheritance. The need for unbiased and fair financial counseling has never been greater.” Ms. Moakler noted that the VA provides free financial counseling for one year through the “Financial Point” program, but added, “The access to a long-term service to counsel the family members about what their options are without a financial stake in the outcome could help the surviving families establish an investment plan and make sound decisions about what they should do that is best for their family.” Finally, Ms. Moakler said that the surviving spouse “needs information unique to her family, not a cookie cutter, one size fits all answer.”
