America’s bravest heroes finally get a bigger paycheck after 20 years

A long-overdue pay raise for heroes

President Trump signed the Medal of Honor Act into law on Dec. 1, 2025, and it delivers the biggest pension boost for living recipients in more than two decades.

The monthly payment jumps from a base of about $1,407 to roughly $5,625, bringing the annual total to about $67,500.

The law also creates a brand-new monthly pension for surviving spouses, a benefit that never existed before.

Both parties backed the bill

Rep. Troy Nehls, a Republican from Texas, sponsored the bill and had pushed for it since the 117th Congress.

Rep. Chris Pappas, a Democrat from New Hampshire, co-introduced it, making the effort bipartisan from the start. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas led the charge in the Senate with a companion bill.

Cosponsors included Reps. Lauren Boebert, Monica De La Cruz, and Jeff Van Drew, along with Sen. Tom Cotton, on the Senate side.

Not a single vote against it

The House passed the bill 424-0 on Feb. 26, 2025. The Senate followed with a unanimous consent vote in November 2025.

When the president signed it, it became Public Law 119-43.

It is rare for any bill in today’s Congress to pass both chambers without a single opposing vote, but this one did.

Only 61 people stand to benefit

As of the signing, only 61 living Medal of Honor recipients were in the United States. Of those, 45 served in Vietnam and 16 fought in the Global War on Terror.

The medal has been awarded to 3,528 service members since 1863, when it was first given during the Civil War. It remains the highest military decoration in the country.

Recipients travel the country on their own dime

Many Medal of Honor recipients are not retired from the military and receive no pay for public appearances. They travel at their own expense to speak at schools, military events, and civic gatherings across the country.

Supporters of the bill said those appearances support military recruiting and inspire future generations. Rep. Nehls and others argued the old pension simply did not match the level of sacrifice these men made.

Congress had not raised the base since 2002

Congress created the Medal of Honor pension in 1916 at $10 a month. It rose to $100 a month in 1961.

The last time Congress raised the base rate was in 2002, setting it at $1,000 a month.

Cost-of-living adjustments pushed the actual payment slightly above $1,407 over the years, but Congress had not taken direct action to raise the base in more than 20 years.

The new amount rises automatically

Earlier versions of this bill proposed a flat rate, but the enacted law ties the pension to a VA disability compensation formula instead. That formula currently works out to about $5,625 a month.

Because the amount connects to the VA rate, it will adjust automatically as compensation rates change, so Congress will not need to act again to keep pace.

The law also prevents the VA from raising the pension more than once in a single year.

Spouses get something too

The law creates a new monthly pension of about $1,407 for surviving spouses of Medal of Honor recipients. That amount will also adjust annually with cost-of-living changes.

The provision recognizes the sacrifices made by families, not just the recipients themselves. Before this law, surviving spouses had no equivalent benefit in this form.

The raise does not add new spending

The pension increase is fully offset, meaning it does not add new money to the federal budget. Congress funded it through VA disability compensation funding.

To cover the cost, the law extends certain limits on VA pension payments for veterans without spouses or dependents, pushing that deadline from Nov. 30, 2031 to Jan. 31, 2033.

The original bill proposed even more

The version Rep. Nehls first introduced proposed a flat rate of $8,333 a month, or $100,000 a year. Sen. Cruz’s Senate companion bill matched that figure.

Lawmakers amended the bill before the House vote to use the VA compensation formula instead, which brought the amount down to about $67,500 a year.

The formula-based approach was seen as more sustainable because it adjusts over time without requiring further acts of Congress.

What the medal actually means

The Medal of Honor goes to service members whose acts of valor go above and beyond the call of duty in a way that clearly stands apart from other forms of bravery.

Recipients often serve as goodwill ambassadors for veterans and their families long after their service ends.

Since 1863, only 3,528 people have ever received it, which gives some sense of how rare and demanding the standard is.

Recipients see changes starting now

The pension increase took effect the day Trump signed the bill on Dec. 1, 2025.

Both the recipient pension and the surviving spouse pension will adjust each year with cost-of-living changes.

For the roughly 61 living recipients and their families, the law provides greater financial stability as many of them age. The next adjustment will follow the standard VA compensation calendar.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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