The pension for Medal of Honor recipients will grow from nearly $18,000 a year to around $67,500. (Elizabeth Fraser/Arlington National Cemetery)
WASHINGTON — Recipients of the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration bestowed in the United States, will see their pensions increase nearly fourfold under legislation signed by President Donald Trump this week.
The bill, which passed the House in February and was unanimously approved in the Senate last month, increases the base rate for the pension from $1,489.73 to $5,625 per month. Pensions for surviving spouses will see the same increase.
Annually, the pension for Medal of Honor recipients will grow from nearly $18,000 to $67,500 — a sum that legislators said better compensates recipients who are often not retired from the U.S. military and spend much of their time traveling the country and sharing their stories.
“We cannot truly ever repay them,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in a floor speech last month. “There is no sum, there is no medal, there are no words that can measure up to their sacrifice, but there are ways that we can continue to honor them by ensuring that they are cared for, respected and supported.”
Cruz introduced the legislation in the Senate, and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, introduced it in the House.
Nehls said he spent five years fighting for the bill to become law.
“When I hear stories about how a Medal of Honor recipient’s family requested to set up a GoFundMe to pay for surgery and extensive care, or how Medal of Honor recipients are not being reimbursed for travel expenses to speak at several military recruiting events, I knew something had to be done,” Nehls said in a floor speech in February.
Congress entitled Medal of Honor recipients to special pensions in 1916, at first granting them $10 per month for life. The monthly pension was raised to $100 in 1961 and $1,000 per month in 2002, the last time lawmakers acted to increase the payment. The pension is paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the amount is adjusted to keep up with inflation.
The Medal of Honor has been awarded more than 3,500 times since it was established by Congress during the Civil War to recognize service members who distinguish themselves through “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.”
Today, there are 61 living Medal of Honor recipients.
“The least we can do is lift the financial burden off of these selfless warriors who continue to serve our great nation,” Nehls said in a statement.