HR 695
· 119th Congress
· Armed Forces and National Security
Medal of Honor Act
Sponsor
Latest action
Became Public Law No: 119-43.
Action timeline
Every recorded action on this bill, newest first. Stage badges color-code the legislative path.
Dec 01, 2025
signed
Signed by President.
Dec 01, 2025
signed
Became Public Law No: 119-43.
Nov 25, 2025
sent
Presented to President.
Nov 07, 2025
committee
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Veterans' Affairs Committee
Nov 07, 2025
passed
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
Nov 07, 2025
passed
Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7976-7977)
Nov 07, 2025
floor
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Feb 27, 2025
introduced
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Veterans' Affairs Committee
Feb 26, 2025
floor
Mr. Bost moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Feb 26, 2025
floor
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H857-859)
Feb 26, 2025
floor
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 695.
Feb 26, 2025
passed
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 424 - 0 (Roll no. 51). (text: CR H857)
Feb 26, 2025
passed
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 424 - 0 (Roll no. 51). (text: CR H857)
Feb 26, 2025
passed
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Jan 23, 2025
introduced
Introduced in House
Jan 23, 2025
introduced
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Veterans' Affairs Committee
Text versions
Each stage of the bill — official text published by GPO. Click any format to read on congress.gov / govinfo.
CRS summaries
Plain-English summaries written by the Congressional Research Service — neutral, nonpartisan staff who summarize bills as they advance through stages. The authoritative description of what each version of the bill does.
00
Introduced in House
Jan 23, 2025
Medal of Honor Act
This bill increases the monthly special pension for living Medal of Honor recipients from $1,406.73 to $8,333.33 and establishes a rate of $1,406.73 for the monthly special pension for surviving spouses of Medal of Honor recipients. Both amounts must be adjusted annually for inflation.
via Congressional Research Service · published through congress.gov
Changelog
ⓘ
How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.
ih / is — Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.rfh / rfs — Referred to a committee for review.rh / rs — Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).pcs / pch — Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.eh / es — Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.rdh / rds — Received by the other chamber.eah / eas — Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.ath / ats — Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.enr — Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.pl — Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.pp — Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.
Most bills die before eh/es. Going from pcs → enr is the full path through both chambers.
ⓘ
How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.
ih/is— Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.rfh/rfs— Referred to a committee for review.rh/rs— Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).pcs/pch— Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.eh/es— Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.rdh/rds— Received by the other chamber.eah/eas— Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.ath/ats— Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.enr— Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.pl— Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.pp— Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.
Most bills die before eh/es. Going from pcs → enr is the full path through both chambers.
Line-level diff between text versions of this bill — what actually changed at each legislative stage.
+38
−61
36 unchanged
Generating AI summary
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Reading both versions of the bill and writing a plain-English summary. Typical bills take 5–15 seconds; large reconciliation bills can take a minute. This summary will be cached after generation.
--- Engrossed (House)
+++ Enrolled
@@ -1,15 +1,20 @@
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
-[H.R. 695 Engrossed in House (EH)]
+[H.R. 695 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
-<DOC>
+H.R.695
-119th CONGRESS
-1st Session
-H. R. 695
+One Hundred Nineteenth Congress
-_______________________________________________________________________
+of the
-AN ACT
+United States of America
+
+AT THE FIRST SESSION
+
+Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
+the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-five
+
+An Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the rate of the
special pension payable to Medal of Honor recipients, and for other
@@ -17,82 +22,54 @@
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
-
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
-
This Act may be cited as the ``Medal of Honor Act''.
-
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
-
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Medal of Honor is the highest and most prestigious
military decoration of the United States.
-(2) To earn the Medal of Honor ``the deed of the person . .
-. must be so outstanding that it clearly distinguishes his
-gallantry beyond the call of duty from lesser forms of
-bravery''.
-(3) The actions of Medal of Honor recipients inspire
-bravery, and the willingness to give all, in those who serve in
-the Armed Forces and those who will serve in the future.
-(4) Those listed on the Medal of Honor Roll exemplify the
-best traits of members of the Armed Forces, a long and proud
-lineage of those who went beyond the call of duty.
-(5) Pursuant to section 1562 of title 38, United States
-Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall pay monthly to
-each living person whose name has been entered on the Army,
-Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard Medal of Honor Roll a special
-pension.
-(6) Recipients of the Medal of Honor have earned a
-substantial and historic increase to such special pension in
-recognition of their conspicuous gallantry, unwavering
-commitment, and heroic actions above and beyond the call of
-duty.
-
+(2) To earn the Medal of Honor ``the deed of the person . . .
+must be so outstanding that it clearly distinguishes his gallantry
+beyond the call of duty from lesser forms of bravery''.
+(3) The actions of Medal of Honor recipients inspire bravery,
+and the willingness to give all, in those who serve in the Armed
+Forces and those who will serve in the future.
+(4) Those listed on the Medal of Honor Roll exemplify the best
+traits of members of the Armed Forces, a long and proud lineage of
+those who went beyond the call of duty.
+(5) Pursuant to section 1562 of title 38, United States Code,
+the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall pay monthly to each living
+person whose name has been entered on the Army, Navy, Air Force,
+and Coast Guard Medal of Honor Roll a special pension.
+(6) Recipients of the Medal of Honor have earned a substantial
+and historic increase to such special pension in recognition of
+their conspicuous gallantry, unwavering commitment, and heroic
+actions above and beyond the call of duty.
SEC. 3. INCREASE IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SPECIAL PENSION
PAYABLE TO MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS.
-
Section 1562 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)--
(A) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``The Secretary'';
-(B) by striking ``the rate of $1,406.73'' and
-inserting ``the rate described in subparagraph (B)'';
-and
-(C) by adding at the end the following new
-subparagraph:
+(B) by striking ``the rate of $1,406.73'' and inserting
+``the rate described in subparagraph (B)''; and
+(C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(B) The rate described in this subparagraph is equal to the
amount of monthly compensation paid to a veteran without dependents
under subsection (m) of section 1114 of this title, increased to the
next intermediate rate under subsection (p) of such section.''; and
(2) in subsection (e)--
(A) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``Effective'';
-(B) by inserting ``, subject to paragraph (2),''
-before ``shall''; and
-(C) by adding at the end the following new
-paragraph (2):
+(B) by inserting ``, subject to paragraph (2),'' before
+``shall''; and
+(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph (2):
``(2) The Secretary shall not, under paragraph (1), increase the
amount of monthly special pension payable under subsection (a) in a
year if such amount was otherwise increased during such year.''.
-
SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN LIMITS ON PAYMENTS OF PENSION.
-
Section 5503(d)(7) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by
striking ``November 30, 2031'' and inserting ``January 31, 2033''.
-Passed the House of Representatives February 26, 2025.
+Speaker of the House of Representatives.
-Attest:
-
-Clerk.
-119th CONGRESS
-
-1st Session
-
-H. R. 695
-
-_______________________________________________________________________
-
-AN ACT
-
-To amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the rate of the
-special pension payable to Medal of Honor recipients, and for other
-purposes.
+Vice President of the United States and
+President of the Senate.
Lobbying activity
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1
filings · 2026 Q1
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Cosponsors (4)
Members who signed on to support this bill.