WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today applauded Senate passage of the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2018, bipartisan legislation to increase veterans’ disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

“Our men and women in uniform have sacrificed greatly, and it is our duty to make sure our disabled veterans and their families are provided the benefits they have earned,” said Isakson. “I am pleased the Senate has passed this important measure, and I look forward to the president signing it into law.”

“Veterans’ benefits must reflect today’s economic realities and this bipartisan legislation will allow families to keep up with the rising costs of housing, utilities and food,” said Tester. “Moving this bipartisan bill towards the finish line is an important step in the right direction to live up to the promises we made to our men and women in uniform.”

The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2018, introduced in the Senate by Isakson and Tester earlier this year, would increase the rates of VA disability compensation, dependency compensation for surviving children and spouses, as well as the clothing allowance for veterans based on rising costs of living.

This cost-of-living adjustment, which would be equal to the amount of the adjustment given to Social Security recipients, is determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index on a yearly basis.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2018 on May 21. Following today’s Senate passage, the measure heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law. Once signed, the cost-of-living adjustment for veterans goes into effect on Dec. 1, 2018.

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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 115th Congress. Isakson is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate VA Committee since he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of the armed services as well as more than 750,000 veterans.