Cassidy Bill to Support Gold Star Spouses Passes Senate

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) applauded the U.S. Senate's passage of the Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act. The legislation increases access to job counseling services for spouses of members of the Armed Forces who died while on active duty - "surviving spouses" - through the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program, a program housed within the Veterans' Employment and Training Service at the U.S. Department of Labor. The program provides every state with funding to hire dedicated workforce specialists to provide individualized career counseling support with localized knowledge to eligible surviving spouses.

"During the Civil War, President Lincoln said that we the living have the obligation 'to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.' The Gold Star Spouse bill fulfills this command in the modern world-that the surviving wife or husband would have access to career services to care for themselves and their family," said Dr. Cassidy.

Cassidy was joined by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) in securing the legislation in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill now awaits input from the U.S. House of Representatives.

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