{"format":1,"id":"117-s-189","congress":117,"number":"S. 189","kind":"bill","group":"bills","title":"Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021","title_source":"Short Titles as Enacted","official_title":"A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for annual cost-of-living adjustments to be made automatically by law each year in the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans, and for other purposes.","titles":[{"type":"Official Title as Introduced","title":"A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for annual cost-of-living adjustments to be made automatically by law each year in the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans, and for other purposes."},{"type":"Short Titles from ENR (Enrolled) bill text","title":"Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021"},{"type":"Display Title","title":"Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021"},{"type":"Short Titles as Passed House","title":"Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021"},{"type":"Official Titles as Amended by Senate","title":"A bill to increase, effective as of December 1, 2021, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, and for other purposes."},{"type":"Short Titles as Enacted","title":"Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate","title":"Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Introduced","title":"Veterans' Disability Compensation Automatic COLA Act of 2021"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Passed Senate","title":"Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021"}],"outcome":"became_law","law_number":"Public Law 117-45","introduced":"2021-02-03","chambers":{"house":{"status":"roll_call","date":"2021-09-20","vote":{"id":"117-2021-h262","question":"On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass","title":"Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act","result":"Passed","yea":423,"nay":0,"present":0,"not_voting":8,"source":"https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll262.xml"}},"senate":{"status":"voice","date":"2021-07-21","vote":null,"how":"unanimous_consent","words":"Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment and an amendment to the Title by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S5023; text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S5023)"}},"president":{"status":"signed","date":"2021-10-08"},"vice_president_tie_breaker":null,"latest_action":{"text":"Became Public Law No: 117-45.","date":"2021-10-08"},"nominees":null,"amendments":[],"other_votes":[],"crs_summary":{"date":"2021-10-08","stage":"Public Law","blocks":[{"k":"h","t":"Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021"},{"k":"p","t":"This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase the amounts payable for wartime disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Specifically, the VA must increase the amounts by the same percentage as the cost-of-living increase in benefits for Social Security recipients that is effective on December 1, 2021. The bill requires the VA to publish the amounts payable, as increased, in the Federal Register."},{"k":"p","t":"The VA is authorized to make a similar adjustment to the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who have not received compensation for service-connected disability or death."}],"words":118},"summary":{"main_subject":{"text":"Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, effective December 1, 2021, the dollar rates of veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation by the same percentage as the Social Security benefit increase.","cites":[{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189/text/enr#H7005DEA3DB3548E7AFDD77AE759D1C2D:~:text=2.%20Increase%20in%20rates%20of%20disability%20compensation"},{"label":"Sec. 3","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189/text/enr#H77C598BCEAAC45108F78AA99DA6F6EBC:~:text=3.%20Publication%20of%20adjusted%20rates"}]},"core_areas":["Veterans' service-connected disability compensation rates","Dependency and indemnity compensation rates for survivors","Cost-of-living adjustment tied to Social Security increase"],"what_it_does":[{"text":"Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, effective December 1, 2021, to increase the dollar amounts in effect on November 30, 2021 for disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189/text/enr#H7005DEA3DB3548E7AFDD77AE759D1C2D:~:text=2.%20Increase%20in%20rates%20of%20disability%20compensation"}},{"text":"Lists the amounts to be increased: wartime disability compensation under section 1114 of title 38, additional compensation for dependents under section 1115(1), and the clothing allowance under section 1162.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189/text/enr#H7005DEA3DB3548E7AFDD77AE759D1C2D:~:text=2.%20Increase%20in%20rates%20of%20disability%20compensation"}},{"text":"Lists the dependency and indemnity compensation amounts to be increased: those for surviving spouses under section 1311(a) through (d) of title 38 and those for children under sections 1313(a) and 1314.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189/text/enr#H7005DEA3DB3548E7AFDD77AE759D1C2D:~:text=2.%20Increase%20in%20rates%20of%20disability%20compensation"}},{"text":"Sets each increase at the same percentage as the increase in benefits payable under title II of the Social Security Act effective December 1, 2021, resulting from a determination under section 215(i) of that Act.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189/text/enr#H7005DEA3DB3548E7AFDD77AE759D1C2D:~:text=2.%20Increase%20in%20rates%20of%20disability%20compensation"}},{"text":"Allows the Secretary to adjust administratively, consistent with these increases, the compensation rates payable under section 10 of Public Law 85–857 to persons who have not received compensation under chapter 11 of title 38.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189/text/enr#H7005DEA3DB3548E7AFDD77AE759D1C2D:~:text=2.%20Increase%20in%20rates%20of%20disability%20compensation"}},{"text":"Requires the Secretary to publish the increased amounts in the Federal Register by the date the Social Security Act section 215(i)(2)(D) matters must be published following a fiscal year 2022 determination.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 3","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189/text/enr#H77C598BCEAAC45108F78AA99DA6F6EBC:~:text=3.%20Publication%20of%20adjusted%20rates"}}],"unexpected":[],"version":{"type":"Enrolled Bill","date":null,"rule":"enrolled","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189/text/enr"},"current":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","approved":"2026-10-15","approved_by":"checks"},"sources":{"congress_gov":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189","text":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/189/text"},"card":{"image":"card/item/117-s-189.png","v":"bf2032c6eb07","alt":"Votes on Record. S. 189, 117th Congress: Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2021. House: 423 Yea, 0 Nay. Senate: unanimous consent. Outcome: Became law, 8 Oct 2021."}}