Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced legislation to allow spouses of fallen servicemembers to retain certain survivor benefits if they remarry. Under current law, most benefits from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are terminated for surviving spouses who remarry before age 55. The Love Lives On Act of 2025 would allow surviving spouses to retain these benefits upon remarriage regardless of age.

“The men and women in our military serve our country courageously—and their spouses serve our country, too. If one of our heroes loses their life in the line of duty, we should honor our servicemember’s sacrifice by ensuring their spouse can retain survivor benefits if they choose to remarry,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “As long as I have the honor to represent Georgia military families in the Senate, I will fight for them as hard as they have fought for our freedoms. I’m proud to continue leading this bipartisan effort to fulfill our promise to these patriots.”

“No survivor should have to choose between getting married again or keeping the benefits they need to support their family following the loss of their servicemember or veteran spouse,” said Senator Moran. “Military service is family service and, by making certain that surviving spouses can heal from their loss without fear of losing their benefits, the Love Lives On Act helps recognize the great debt our nation owes to Gold Star families.”

The Love Lives On Act is cosponsored by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Fetterman (D-PA.), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

The full text of the legislation can be found here. A letter of support for the bill can be found here. 

“TAPS is grateful to Senators Moran, Warnock and our 22 Senate original cosponsors as well as Representatives Hudson, Morrison, Van Orden, Neguse and Khanna for their leadership in reintroducing comprehensive remarriage legislation, the Love Lives On Act of 2025,” said Bonnie Carroll, President and Founder, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). “Their leadership in the last Congress led to the passage of many of the provisions of the Love Lives on Act of 2023 and we look forward to passing the remaining provisions of this important legislation to ensure surviving military spouses retain their benefits upon remarriage at any age. Surviving spouses should not have to choose between finding love again and financial security.”

Since April 2023, Senator Warnock has been working to pass his bipartisan Love Lives On Act, comprehensive legislation that would allow spouses of deceased servicemembers to retain survivor benefits upon remarriage. In December 2024, Senator Warnock secured a provision that will allow surviving spouses to maintain eligibility for education benefits upon remarriage. Additionally, the Senator successfully included another provision in the legislation that remove the “holds oneself out” provision that penalized former spouses who did not remarry but appeared to be dating someone else, as well as a provision changing the definition of surviving spouse to include same sex couples. Other provisions from his legislation were previously passed in the defense authorization bill that handles policies and funding levels for our Armed Forces. The provision secured in 2023 restores surviving spouse access to military bases, their commissaries, and their morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) retail stores for those who lost access due to remarriage, ensuring they can maintain their connection to the communities they have sacrificed so much to be a part of.

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