Service-Connected Suicide Compensation Act

This bill, the Service-Connected Suicide Compensation Act, would amend title 38 of the U.S. Code to requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to automatically pay dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) to certain survivors of a veteran who had a service-connected mental disorder and dies by suicide. Specifically, it adds a new provision to 38 U.S.C. § 1310(a) that, once the Secretary determines that the veteran had a service-connected mental disorder and that the death was by suicide, the surviving spouse, children, and parents are entitled to DIC without the standard application process. The act focuses on ensuring automatic financial support for families of veterans who die by suicide under service-connected mental health conditions. The bill is limited in scope and detail. It establishes the automatic payment concept but does not specify the payment rate, the precise implementation process, funding, timing, or any transitional rules. It would apply only after the VA makes the required determinations about service-connected mental disorder and suicide.