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‘Sole survivors’ bill goes to Bush

WASHINGTON — Legislation to ensure veterans benefits to “sole survivors” in military families passed the Senate on Friday. It now goes to President Bush, who is expected to sign it.

The bill is called the “Hubbard Act” after a family from California’s Central Valley that lost two of three sons in the Iraq war.

After the combat deaths of his two brothers, Jason Hubbard left the Army under the military’s “sole survivor” policy, which allows sole surviving siblings to be discharged before their enlistment period is over.

But he soon found that the Army was denying him benefits he would otherwise have been entitled to, including health coverage and access to the GI Bill. He was asked to repay some of his enlistment bonus.

The Hubbard Act would ensure that Hubbard and others in his position are entitled to the same benefits as others who honorably leave the military, including transitional health care, educational support and separation pay that compensates for inability to continue service.

The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and in the House by Rep. Devin Nunes, D-Calif. It passed the Senate on unanimous voice vote and passed the House earlier this week.

The Defense Department has counted at least 50 sole survivors since Sept. 11, 2001, according to Nunes’ office. Most of the act is retroactive to that date.

The sole survival policy was established 65 years ago after the widely publicized deaths of the five Sullivan brothers at sea during the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II.