Why It Matters
The Love Lives On Act of 2025 cleared the House Veterans' Affairs disability-assistance subcommittee on March 26, and its Senate companion, S. 410, was ordered reported favorably by the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee on March 18. The bill would bar remarriage from ending dependency and indemnity compensation, special pension benefits, or Survivor Benefit Plan annuities for surviving spouses of deceased service members or veterans, and would expand TRICARE eligibility to certain remarried widows and widowers. The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) lobbied H.R. 1004 in its third-quarter 2026 report, and the House bill is in committee.
By the Numbers
MOAA's third-quarter 2026 report discloses $1,070,863 in lobbying spending, up $216,476 from the second quarter of 2026. Spending is up $647,884 from $422,979 in the third quarter of 2025. MOAA lobbies entirely in-house. The filing names 10 lobbyists: Brenden McMahon, René Campos, Jen Goodale, Karen Ruedisueli, Terry Waters, Brian Kelly, April Vogel, Stephanie Rose, Susie Dunham, and Jim O'Brien III.
Broader Context
H.R. 1004 was introduced Feb. 5, 2025, by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-9); S. 410 was introduced by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS). The House bill had 139 cosponsors as of the filing date. The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) reported that more than 50 veteran and military organizations support the bill; TAPS president Bonnie Carroll said surviving spouses should not have to choose between finding love again and financial security, citing Department of Veterans Affairs data showing roughly 506,000 dependency and indemnity compensation recipients. At a Feb. 24 bipartisan Veterans Service Organization hearing, House Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano cited the Love Lives On Act as one of his legislative priorities.
The Veterans' Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers (ACCESS) Act, H.R. 740, was introduced Jan. 28, 2025, by Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL-12). It would codify access standards for the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP), require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to notify veterans of care eligibility within two business days, and create an online self-service appointment module. House Veterans' Affairs Committee Democrats argued the bill would widen private-provider access without equivalent oversight and could allow veterans to bypass available VA appointments.
The Military Spouse Hiring Act, H.R. 2033, was introduced March 11, 2025, by Rep. Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA-8) and referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. It would extend the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to employers who hire certified spouses of active-duty service members. More than two dozen organizations, including the Wounded Warrior Project and The American Legion, backed the Military Spouse Hiring Act in March 2025.
Competitive Landscape
Disabled American Veterans is among the organizations associated with the Love Lives On Act. Nine organizations are tied to the Veterans' ACCESS Act, including Document Storage Systems Inc., Disabled American Veterans, Wounded Warrior Project Inc., Mission Roll Call, and Zeel Networks Inc.
The Bottom Line
The Love Lives On Act was forwarded from the House Veterans' Affairs disability-assistance subcommittee to the full committee on March 26, 2026, and its Senate companion, S. 410, was ordered reported favorably by the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee on March 18, 2026. The House bill, H.R. 740, is listed as in committee, and the record does not show later committee or floor action on it or on its Senate companion, S. 275. H.R. 2033 has the status "Introduced," and its latest recorded action is referral to the House Committee on Ways and Means. Across complete quarters in the evidence, MOAA's in-house team shrank by one lobbyist from the prior quarter as spending reached its highest recorded level.
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