The "Protecting Gold Star Spouses Act of 2025" ensures continued funding for Coast Guard survivor benefits by appropriating necessary funds from the Treasury for fiscal years following 2024, following the guidelines of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.
Mark Green
Representative
TN-7
The "Protecting Gold Star Spouses Act of 2025" ensures continued funding for the Coast Guard Retired Serviceman’s Family Protection and Survivor Benefits Plans. It allocates necessary funds from the Treasury each fiscal year after 2024 to maintain benefits for Gold Star spouses and families. These funds will be used following the terms and conditions of the most recent law providing full-year appropriations for these plans, ensuring consistent support.
The "Protecting Gold Star Spouses Act of 2025" sets up a safety net to make sure funding keeps flowing for the Coast Guard Retired Serviceman’s Family Protection and Survivor Benefits Plans. Starting after fiscal year 2024, this bill authorizes pulling necessary funds directly from the U.S. Treasury to cover these plan payments. Its main job is to prevent any interruption in benefits for Coast Guard families if the regular budget process hits a snag.
Think of this bill as an automatic backup generator for Coast Guard survivor benefits. Section 2 lays out how it works: if the usual annual funding bill for these plans hasn't been passed, this Act steps in, providing the cash needed directly from the Treasury. It ensures the money is there based on the rules from the last approved funding law. However, it's designed to be temporary – as soon as a new, full-year appropriations bill for these plans (or the Coast Guard in general) becomes law, this backup funding automatically shuts off, and any money spent under this Act gets accounted for under the new budget.
For the families, particularly the surviving spouses often referred to as Gold Star Spouses, who rely on payments from the Coast Guard's Survivor Benefit Plan or Retired Serviceman’s Family Protection Plan, this bill offers crucial stability. It aims to eliminate the uncertainty that can come with delays in government funding approvals. Essentially, it means that even if budget negotiations drag on, the system is designed so that benefit payments shouldn't stop, providing financial security and peace of mind for those who depend on them.