Increase in and cost-of-living adjustment of death gratuity

(a) Increase in death gratuity (1) Increase Section 1478(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking $100,000 and inserting $200,000. (2) Retroactive applicability The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2026. (b) Cost-of-Living adjustment of death gratuity Section 1478 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection: (c) Annual adjustment to death gratuity (1) On January 1, 2027, and January 1 of each year thereafter, the amount of the death gratuity payable under subsection (a) shall be increased by the percentage (if any) by which the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, during the preceding calendar year exceeds such Consumer Price Index for the calendar year before such preceding calendar year, rounded to the nearest $100. (2) The Secretary of Defense shall annually publish the amount of the death gratuity payable under subsection (a), as adjusted by paragraph (1), in the Federal Register..