Veteran Benefits Enhancement Act
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMs. Stansbury introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Veteran Benefits Enhancement Act fixes an unfair gap in railroad unemployment benefits for workers who are also military retirees. Currently, when railroad workers file for unemployment benefits, those benefits are reduced by any "social insurance payments" they receive - which has been interpreted to include military retirement pensions. This bill clarifies that military retirement pay should NOT count as a social insurance payment, so veterans won't have their railroad unemployment benefits cut because of their military service.
Who Benefits and How
Military veterans who work in the railroad industry benefit directly from this bill. When they become unemployed, they will now receive their full railroad unemployment benefits without having them reduced dollar-for-dollar by their military pension. This could mean hundreds or thousands of dollars more per month in unemployment assistance. The bill recognizes that military retirement pay was earned through military service, not railroad work, and shouldn't be treated the same as Social Security or other workplace benefits.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Railroad Retirement Board, which administers the unemployment insurance program for railroad workers, will pay out higher benefits because they can no longer subtract military pensions from the amounts owed. This means the railroad unemployment insurance fund will experience increased costs, though the impact is likely limited since the overlap between railroad workers and military retirees is relatively small. There are no new taxes or appropriations in this bill to cover these costs.
Key Provisions
- Amends Section 4(a-1)(ii) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 354) to add an explicit exemption for "qualified military benefits"
- Defines qualified military benefit by reference to existing tax code (26 U.S.C. 134(b)), which covers military retirement pay
- Creates parity between how military retirement pay is treated in railroad unemployment insurance versus other federal benefit programs
- Affects only the offset calculation - does not change eligibility requirements or base benefit amounts
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Amends Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to exclude military retirement pay from social insurance payment calculations that reduce unemployment benefits
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Clarify existing law to ensure military retirees working in railroad industry receive full unemployment benefits without military pension offset"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Railroad workers who receive military retirement pay
- Veterans employed in railroad industry
Likely Burden Bearers
- Railroad Retirement Board (administrative complexity)
- Potentially increased unemployment insurance fund payouts
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
As defined in section 134(b) of title 26, United States Code - refers to military retirement pay
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology