This act ensures continuous interim funding for Coast Guard retiree and survivor benefits until a full-year appropriation is enacted.
Mark Green
Representative
TN-7
The Protecting Gold Star Spouses Act of 2025 ensures the continuous payment of Coast Guard retiree and survivor benefits by authorizing interim appropriations based on the most recent full-year funding levels. This provision guarantees that benefits remain funded starting after fiscal year 2024 until a new, full-year budget is enacted. Any funds spent under this interim measure will be covered by the subsequent official appropriation.
Coast Guard Survivor Benefits Guaranteed: Interim Funding Ensures Payments Won't Stop After 2024
The “Protecting Gold Star Spouses Act of 2025” might sound like it’s all about military families, and it is—specifically, it’s about making sure the money keeps flowing to Coast Guard retirees and their survivors without fail. This section is a piece of legislative plumbing designed to prevent a potential financial crisis for families if Congress can’t get its budget act together on time.
The Uninterrupted Paycheck Guarantee
What this bill does is create an automatic safety net for the Coast Guard Retired Servicemans Family Protection and Survivor Benefits Plans starting after fiscal year 2024 (Section 2). Think of it this way: if the new fiscal year starts and Congress hasn't passed the full funding bill yet—a situation that happens more often than anyone likes—the Treasury is authorized to immediately pull the necessary cash to cover these benefits. The payments will continue at the rates and rules established by the last time Congress passed a full-year budget for them. This means that if you’re a surviving spouse receiving a monthly benefit, you don't have to worry about your check being delayed or interrupted just because the appropriations process is stuck in gridlock.
How the Budget Clean-Up Works
This isn't permanent funding; it’s a procedural stopgap. The bill ensures that once Congress does pass the final, full-year budget for the Coast Guard, that new budget automatically takes over the costs already covered by this interim funding mechanism. Any money that was set aside for the temporary payments is then canceled out. It's like using a credit card to cover the rent on the first of the month, knowing your paycheck will arrive a week later to pay off that credit card charge immediately. This keeps the benefits flowing while ensuring the final, official budget covers the expenses. For the families relying on these funds, this provision removes the anxiety of potential payment lapses, offering crucial stability built right into the law.