House OKs Benefits for 'Sole Survivors'

Week of August 04, 2008

The House moved Tuesday to restore those benefits to Hubbard, a "sole survivor" from Iraq, and others in his position. Lawmakers passed the "Hubbard Act," which ensures that sole survivors 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 the inability to continue service. Rep. Devin Nunes, D-Calif., who is Hubbard's congressman, noted that the sole survival policy was established some 65 years ago after the widely publicized death of the five Sullivan brothers at sea during the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II.

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