Houston Daily

Congressman Troy E. Nehls (R-TX-22) announced that his bill, H.R. 695, known as the Medal of Honor Act, has passed the United States Senate by unanimous consent.

“Today, the United States Senate did good by our nation’s highest decorated Veterans by passing my bill, the Medal of Honor Act, by unanimous consent,” said Congressman Nehls. “Medal of Honor recipients don’t ask for recognition or demand special treatment. They are selfless heroes who embody the best of our country. The least Congress can do is ease the financial burdens of these heroes by raising their well-deserved annual pension. Thank you to my Texas Republican colleague, Senator Ted Cruz, for championing this initiative in the Senate. I look forward to seeing this bill signed into law by President Trump.”

The Medal of Honor is recognized as the highest military award in the United States and was first awarded to Army Private Jacob Parrott in 1863. Since then, more than 3,515 individuals have received it, with only 61 currently living.

Congress established a special pension for Medal of Honor recipients in 1916 at $10 per month. This amount increased over time: to $100 per month in 1961 and most recently to $1,000 per month in 2002. Currently, eligible recipients receive an annual pension totaling $16,880.76 ($1,406.73 monthly). This pension does not affect other benefits under U.S. law and is available to any eligible individual who chooses to receive it.

Nehls’s legislation seeks to increase this annual pension nearly fourfold—to approximately $67,500—and notes that this increase is fully offset financially.

Congressman Nehls has introduced versions of this bill during three consecutive Congressional sessions: the 117th, 118th, and 119th Congresses.

Troy Nehls has maintained his seat through several election cycles; he won against Sri Preston Kulkarni in 2020 with about 51.5% of votes cast (https://ballotpedia.org/Troy_Nehls), prevailed over Jamie Jordan in 2022 with a margin exceeding 62% (https://ballotpedia.org/Troy_Nehls), and defeated Marquette Greene-Scott in the most recent general election with a similar majority (https://ballotpedia.org/Troy_Nehls).