Tuberville-sponsored bill goes into effect, increasing military life insurance coverage

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTVY) - A bill primarily sponsored by U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama went into legal effect on Wednesday.

The Supporting Families of the Fallen Act was presented by Tuberville as early as September 2021, according to congressional records. After being passed through the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on March 1, 2022, the bill was presented to the Senate floor and passed by verbal vote on March 23.

That bill then reached the House, where it passed with unanimous support on September 29, and was signed into law by President Joe Biden on October 17.

Starting March 1, the new law will go towards providing increased life insurance coverage for service members, with the Supporting Families of the Fallen Act providing an increase of $100,000 to the maximum amount of a policy under the Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) and Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI). This increase is a first since 2005, according to Senator Tuberville’s office.

“The families of America’s heroes deserve our unwavering support and appreciation,” said Tuberville. “Increasing the life insurance benefit provided to families of those who pay the ultimate sacrifice was long overdue, and I am proud to see this important legislation signed into law.

“We can never fully repay our service members and military families for their sacrifice, but I am committed to finding ways to show our appreciation by doing everything I can to support our troops and their loved ones.”

Original co-sponsors of the bill include Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Rick Scott (R-FL), Mike Braun (R-IN), John Barrasso (R-WY), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), with Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) later joining in support of the legislation.

Subscribe to our News 4 newsletter and receive the latest local news and weather straight to your email every morning. Get instant notifications on top stories from News 4 by downloading our mobile apps.

Copyright 2023 WTVY. All rights reserved.