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US Congress · S. 1204 · Passed the Senate

Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act

Introduced
Moved
Reached a final decision
Introduced 2025-03-31
Derived from the official record below.

Officially: “Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act Read the full text

Armed Forces and National Security

What it does

Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act This bill expands eligibility for the Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program to the spouses of certain veterans and members of the Armed Forces. Such program is administered by the Department of Labor and generally provides career and employment services to disabled veterans. The bill expands eligibility for the program to spouses of persons who died while members of the Armed Forces; persons who died of a service-connected disability; members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who, for more than 90 days, are listed as missing in action,
Summary by the Congressional Research Service, from the official record. Plain-language version below. Not legal advice.

Read it in plain language

AI plain language2 sections
Written by AI from the complete official bill text and independently fact-checked against it. Not legal advice.
1Short title

This section would let the Act be referred to as the Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act.

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Official text, verbatim from the record

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act .

2Eligibility of spouses for services under the disabled veterans' outreach program

This section would amend section 4103A of title 38, United States Code, the law that governs the disabled veterans' outreach program, to add a newly defined group called eligible persons alongside eligible veterans in several places in that section. In subsection (a), paragraph (1): in the text of the paragraph that comes before subparagraph (A), the phrase and eligible persons would be inserted after eligible veterans at that point in the text; and in subparagraph (C), the category currently labeled Other eligible veterans would also cover eligible persons. In paragraph (2), and eligible persons would be added alongside veterans everywhere veterans is used in that paragraph. In paragraph (3), or eligible person would be added everywhere veteran is used in that paragraph, and separately, the phrase or eligible person's would be inserted after veteran's at that point in the paragraph. In subsection (d)(1), and eligible persons would be added alongside eligible veterans everywhere eligible veterans is used in that provision, and the word non-veteran-related would be struck from that subsection; the bill text does not show what phrase non-veteran-related modified, so this rendering cannot state the further practical effect of removing it beyond the word itself being deleted. Finally, this section would add a new subsection (e) to section 4103A defining eligible person to mean: (1) any spouse described in section 4101(5) of title 38, United States Code; or (2) the spouse of any person who died while a member of the Armed Forces.

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Official text, verbatim from the record

2. Eligibility of spouses for services under the disabled veterans’ outreach program Section 4103A of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting and eligible persons after eligible veterans ; and (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting , and eligible persons, after Other eligible veterans ; (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting and eligible persons after veterans each place it appears; and (C) in paragraph (3)— (i) by inserting or eligible person after veteran each place it appears; and (ii) by inserting or eligible person’s after veteran’s ; (2) in subsection (d)(1)— (A) by inserting and eligible persons after eligible veterans each place it appears; and (B) by striking non-veteran-related ; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection: (e) Eligible person defined In this section, the term eligible person means— (1) any spouse described in section 4101(5) of this title; or (2) the spouse of any person who died while a member of the Armed Forces. .

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Where it is

Introduced · 2025-03-31

In the Senate.

Passed the Senate · 2025-12-18
House floor vote · next · the next step

Official documents

The on-site text is shown verbatim from the GovInfo publication, captured 2026-07-23. The same version at GovInfo.

The numbers

29%
of bills that passed one chamber became law in the 118th Congress, 2023 to 2024 (n=939)
9
sponsors, out of 51 needed to pass

Who is lobbying on this

DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANSvia DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS
5 filings
From 5 filings in federal lobbying disclosures (LDA), via lda.gov, naming this bill (2025 to 2026). Filings are self-reported by lobbying firms and show who is paid to influence this bill. They do not say which side, or whether it worked.
Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record. Last action: Held at the desk. (2025-12-19).