The U.S. Senate has approved the Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act, a bill designed to expand job counseling services for spouses of Armed Forces members who died while on active duty. The legislation, supported by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), aims to provide these surviving spouses with access to career counseling through the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program, which operates under the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service at the Department of Labor.
This program enables each state to receive funding to hire workforce specialists who offer individualized career counseling and support tailored to local needs for eligible surviving spouses.
Senator Cassidy commented on the bill’s significance: “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.”
Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined Cassidy in advancing this legislation as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. The measure now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.
