The U.S. Senate has passed the Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act, a measure sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), to extend job counseling services to spouses of service members who died while on active duty.
The bill amends Title 38 of the U.S. Code to make surviving spouses eligible for assistance under the Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program, which is managed by the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service. The program provides funding for states to hire workforce specialists who offer individualized career counseling and job placement support.
“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,’” Cassidy said in a statement. “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.”
Cassidy introduced the measure with Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.). The legislation was included in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act and now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.
Under the bill, an “eligible person” is defined as any spouse described in section 4101(5) of Title 38 or the spouse of any person who died while serving in the Armed Forces.
