[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 81 (Monday, May 15, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E442-E443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    REINTRODUCTION OF THE RESPECT FOR GRIEVING MILITARY FAMILIES ACT

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                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 15, 2023

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, today I reintroduce the ``Respect for 
Grieving Military

[[Page E443]]

Families Act,'' with U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). I thank U.S. 
Representatives Mike Turner (R-OH), Mark Amodei (R-NV), Marilyn 
Strickland (D-WA), and Don Bacon (R-NE) and U.S. Senator Elizabeth 
Warren (D-MA) for their support as the original cosponsors in the House 
and Senate.
  My friend, the late Congressman Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-NC), 
sponsored this legislation by another title, the ``Military Retiree 
Survivor Comfort Act,'' every Congress since 2002 until his death in 
February 2019. I am honored to reintroduce this bicameral, bipartisan 
legislation to protect military families from completely avoidable bank 
overdrafts following a veteran's death.
  The ``Respect for Grieving Military Families Act'' would allow the 
spouse or other designated beneficiary to retain the full retirement 
benefit paid out in the final month coinciding with the veteran's 
death. Under current Department of Defense policy, that final month's 
retirement benefit may be clawed back on a prorated basis if the family 
fails to immediately notify the Defense Finance and Accounting Services 
(DFAS) of their veteran's death.
  Military families with joint bank accounts, into which retirement 
payments are deposited electronically, are often unaware that DFAS can 
withdraw payments without the accountholder's consent. This results in 
joint bank accounts being drained of funds, often subjecting veterans' 
families to overdraft fees and avoidable financial hardship during an 
already emotionally challenging time following a veteran's death.
  The ``Respect for Grieving Military Families Act'' would finally end 
this needless and callous DFAS practice for any retirement benefit 
received in the month a veteran was alive for at least 24 hours. 
Military families grieving the loss of their loved one should not be 
penalized for an accounting oversight by the Department of Defense.
  As Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on 
Readiness, I continue to make the ``Respect for Grieving Military 
Families Act'' a priority for the National Defense Authorization Act 
(NDAA). I look forward to working with Senator Cornyn, who assumed 
sponsorship of the bill this Congress from former U.S. Senator Rob 
Portman (R-OH).
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members of the House to join Representatives 
Mike Turner (R-OH), Mark Amodei (R-NV), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Don 
Bacon (R-NE) and me in cosponsoring this commonsense bill to provide 
military families the respect and dignity they deserve while following 
the loss of a loved one. Our Nation owes them that.

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