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Faster Payments to Veterans' Survivors Act of 2022

Public Law 117-313 · H.R. 8260 · 117th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Joe Biden (D) on Dec 27, 2022 · Armed Forces and National Security

Sponsor: Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH-1)

Cosponsors (43): Rep. Nancy Mace,

Passage votes

  • HouseMethod not stated
  • SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

This act modifies policies and procedures related to the payment of benefits under certain life insurance programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

If a primary beneficiary has not made a claim for payment within one year (currently two years) after the death of the insured under the National Service Life Insurance (NSLI) program or the United States Government Life Insurance (USGLI) program, the VA is authorized to make payment to another designated beneficiary as if the primary beneficiary had predeceased the insured. If no designated beneficiary makes a claim within two years (currently four years) after the death of the insured, the VA is authorized to make a payment to a person the VA deems to be equitably entitled to such benefit.

The act also modifies the beneficiary designation process under NSLI and USGLI. Specifically, if a person does not designate a beneficiary for insurance, or if the designated beneficiary predeceases the insured person, the VA must determine the beneficiary in a specified order of succession.

Additionally, the act requires the VA to improve its processes and procedures with respect to identifying, locating, and paying hard-to-find beneficiaries of life insurance policies, including by improving its website search tools.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Related bills

2 bills the Library of Congress relates to this one.

  • H.Res. 1339Related bill

    Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 302) to impose limits on excepting competitive service positions from the competitive service, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2988) to…

  • S. 4646Related bill

    Faster Payments to Veterans’ Survivors Act of 2022

Data notes

Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 21 actions.

  1. Dec 27, 2022Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 117-313.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Dec 23, 2022FloorFloor · Presented to President.
  4. Dec 20, 2022FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
  5. Dec 19, 2022FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  6. Sep 15, 2022CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate, read twice.
  7. Sep 14, 2022FloorFloor · Pursuant to section 11 of H. Res. 1339, and the motion offered by Mr. Hoyer, the following bills passed under suspension of the rules: H.R. 1468, as amended; H.R. 5865; H.R. 5916, as amended; H.R. 7735, as amended; H.R. 7846; H.R. 7939, as amended; H.R. 8260, as amended; and S. …
  8. FloorFloor · Pursuant to section 11 of H. Res. 1339, and the motion offered by Mr. Hoyer, the following bills passed under suspension of the rules: H.R. 1468, as amended; H.R. 5865; H.R. 5916, as amended; H.R. 7735, as amended; H.R. 7846; H.R. 7939, as amended; H.R…
  9. FloorFloor · Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 1339, proceedings on H.R. 8260 are considered vacated.
  10. Sep 13, 2022FloorFloor · At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  11. FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 8260.
  12. FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
  13. FloorFloor · Mr. Takano moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  14. CalendarCalendar · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 360.
  15. CommitteeCommittee · Reported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 117-463.
  16. Jul 19, 2022CommitteeCommittee · Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
  17. CommitteeCommittee · Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  18. Jul 18, 2022CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Discharged.
  19. Jul 14, 2022CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
  20. Jul 1, 2022CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  21. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes

Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.

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Amendments

No amendments to this bill are on record.

Data notes

Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.

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Official record

The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.