S. 622: Military Widow’s Tax Elimination Act of 2019

116th Congress · introduced 2019-02-28 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-02-28 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Jones, Doug [D-AL] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Military Widow’s Tax Elimination Act of 2019

Plain summary

Military Widow's Tax Elimination Act of 2019 This bill modifies the Department of Defense's Survivor Benefit Plan and how it operates in relation to other benefits. The plan currently provides a monthly annuity (based on a percentage of a service member's retirement pay) to an eligible beneficiary upon the death of the service member. Currently, if a surviving spouse is also entitled to dependency and indemnity compensation, the annuity paid under the plan will be reduced. The bill repeals certain provisions that require the offset of the plan annuity from amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation. Under current law, upon the request of the surviving spouse, the military branch concerned is authorized to pay an annuity to the service member's dependent children instead of to the surviving spouse. The bill restores the annuity to an eligible spouse who previously elected to transfer payment to a dependent child.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Military Widow’s Tax Elimination Act of 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Jones, Doug [D-AL] · 77 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), John Hoeven (R-ND), Patty Murray (D-WA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), John Boozman (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), James E. Risch (R-ID), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Rand Paul (R-KY), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Rick Scott (R-FL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and 17 more.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s622.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>

Record fed-us-cong116-s622 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116