H.R. 1004 — Love Lives On Act of 2025

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Love Lives On Act of 2025.”

This section modifies the rules governing entitlement to veterans dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses who remarry under 38 U.S.C. § 103(d). It adds a new clause providing that remarriage does not bar benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1311 or 38 U.S.C. § 1562 to the surviving spouse of a veteran, and it deletes one subparagraph in paragraph (5) while renumbering the remaining subparagraphs accordingly.

This section revises the Survivor Benefit Plan under 10 U.S.C. § 1450(b)(2) to prohibit the Secretary of Defense from terminating annuity payments to a surviving spouse described in 10 U.S.C. § 1448(d)(1)(A) or (B) solely because the spouse remarries. It also requires the Secretary to resume annuity payments to a surviving spouse who remarried before age 55 and before enactment of the Love Lives On Act of 2025, either beginning 1 year after enactment or, for a spouse who previously transferred the annuity to a surviving child or children under former 10 U.S.C. § 1448(d)(2)(B), on the first day of the first month after enactment. (Thus, certain remarried surviving spouses would regain continued Survivor Benefit Plan payments.)

This section expands the definition of “dependent” under the TRICARE program to include a remarried widow or widower whose subsequent marriage has ended due to death, divorce, or annulment. (Thus, certain surviving spouses who remarry and later lose or dissolve the later marriage may again qualify as TRICARE dependents under 10 U.S.C. § 1072(2).)