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HR3123FEDERALSession 119Federal Billpassed chamber

Passed

Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act (H.R. 3123)

Original title: Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act

Last action · February 3, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.Sponsors: Elise Stefanik and 2 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Would Do

This bill establishes a legal process for the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay out pension benefits that were awarded to a veteran before their death but not yet paid. It creates a specific order of priority for who receives these funds, starting with the spouse and ending with the veteran's estate.

Why it matters

This bill ensures that unpaid pension benefits awarded to a veteran before their death are distributed to their survivors or estate rather than remaining with the government, provided an application is filed within one year.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Veterans' spouses, children, and dependent parents

These individuals are prioritized as recipients of unpaid pension benefits awarded to a veteran prior to their death.

Directly affected

Department of Veterans Affairs

The agency is required to follow a new statutory order of priority when distributing unpaid pension benefits after a veteran's death.

Key Facts

The bill creates a new section (5121B) in title 38 of the U.S. Code regarding pension payments after a veteran's death.
If a veteran is awarded a pension before death but the payment is issued after death, the funds must be paid to survivors in this order: spouse, children (equal shares), dependent parents (equal shares), or the veteran's estate.
If no application for these benefits is filed within one year of the veteran's death, the funds are paid to the veteran's estate.
The bill excludes payments to an estate if the estate would 'escheat' (revert to the state due to lack of heirs).

Show all 5 facts

The bill includes technical amendments to existing sections 5121, 3329, and 3330 of title 38 to incorporate the new payment rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who gets the pension money if a veteran dies before receiving a payment they were already awarded?

The money goes to the spouse first, then children, then dependent parents, and finally the veteran's estate.

Is there a deadline to claim these unpaid pension benefits?

Yes, an application must be filed within one year of the veteran's death.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.

Procedural history

18 actions

Feb 3, 2026SenateCommittee
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Feb 2, 2026House
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Feb 2, 2026HouseFloor
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 405 - 1 (Roll no. 50). (text: CR H1930-1931)
Feb 2, 2026HouseFloor
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 405 - 1 (Roll no. 50). (text: CR H1930-1931)
Feb 2, 2026House
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H1937-1938)
Feb 2, 2026House
At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

Show 12 earlier actions

Feb 2, 2026House
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3123.
Feb 2, 2026House
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H1930-1932)
Feb 2, 2026House
Mr. Bost moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Oct 8, 2025House
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 291.
Oct 8, 2025House
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 119-339.
Jul 23, 2025HouseCommittee
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Jul 23, 2025House
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Jul 23, 2025House
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Discharged
Jun 24, 2025House
Subcommittee Hearings Held
May 15, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Apr 30, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Apr 30, 2025HouseIntroduced
Introduced in House

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

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Voting Record

Motion succeededHouse2/3/2026U.S. CongressOfficial roll call ↗

On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended

Total

432

Yes: 405
No: 1
Present: 0
Not voting: 26
Abstain: 0

How they voted (1)

Raúl GrijalvaDabsent

Show 1 earlier roll call

Outcome not reportedHouse2/2/2026Voteview

Total

403

Yes: 402
No: 1
Present: 0
Not voting: 0
Abstain: 0

How they voted (403)

379 more members

Guy ReschenthalerRyes

Emilia SykesDyes

Derrick Van OrdenRyes

Andy BarrRyes

Sharice DavidsDyes

Brian BabinRyes

Kristen McDonald RivetDyes

Michael CloudRyes

Bradley SchneiderDyes

Diana HarshbargerRyes

Charles FleischmannRyes

Teresa Leger FernandezDyes

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormickDyes

Jefferson Van DrewRyes

Mario Diaz-BalartRyes

Christopher DeluzioDyes

Melanie StansburyDyes

Luz RivasDyes

Ben ClineRyes

Michael TurnerRyes

Nicole MalliotakisRyes

Brian FitzpatrickRyes

Jennifer McClellanDyes

Marilyn StricklandDyes

Janice SchakowskyDyes

Richard McCormickRyes

Raja KrishnamoorthiDyes

Mariannette Miller-MeeksRyes

Alexandria Ocasio-CortezDyes

Yvette ClarkeDyes

Brittany PettersenDyes

Suhas SubramanyamDyes

Anna Paulina LunaRyes

Sydney Kamlager-DoveDyes

April McClain DelaneyDyes

Jared MoskowitzDyes

Randy WeberRyes

Maggie GoodlanderDyes

Monica De La CruzRyes

Michael BaumgartnerRyes

Debbie Wasserman SchultzDyes

Christopher SmithRyes

Bonnie Watson ColemanDyes

Michelle FischbachRyes

Full roll-call analysis →

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Standardization of Post-Death Pension Payments

The bill codifies a specific hierarchy for pension distribution, closing a potential gap in existing law regarding benefits awarded but not yet paid at the time of death.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Connected Entities

Ro Khanna, Stefanik, Elise, Department of Veterans Affairs

PersonRo Khanna“Member of the House of Representatives”Map →

PersonStefanik, Elise“Member of the House of Representatives”Map →

OrganizationDepartment of Veterans Affairs“The agency responsible for administering veteran pensions”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.congress.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance40
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy5
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz10
Current news / social attention level

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