Our nation’s veterans put everything on the line to protect our freedoms, families, and values as Americans.

That’s why when Dickinson County Veterans Service Officer Denise Formolo reached out to my office in June to share the heartbreaking story of Kingsford veteran Gerald Elliott — who was denied burial benefits by the Veterans Administration because he passed away at home and not at a VA facility — I knew we needed to take action.

Veterans deserve to be treated equally based on their service — not penalized because of the circumstances at their time of passing.

However, under current law, the VA will cover roughly $800 of veterans’ burial and funeral costs if they pass away at the VA — while only covering roughly $300 of the expenses if a veteran passes away in hospice or elsewhere. This is simply unacceptable.

That’s why I recently introduced the Senate companion of bipartisan legislation — the Gerald’s Law Act — with Sen. John Boozman (R-AK) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-IN) to reform the VA’s burial benefit system by ensuring terminally ill veterans who choose to spend their final days at home can receive the same amount of financial assistance that is available to veterans who pass away at a VA hospital or health care facility.

Addressing this gap in the VA’s policy will help ensure ALL veterans and their families can make the best choices for themselves during those difficult times.

I’ll keep fighting to pass this commonsense bill into law to prevent what happened to Gerald and his loved ones from happening to other veterans.