Original Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2025

This legislation, titled the "Original Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2025," amends title 38, United States Code, to establish the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund . The primary purpose of this fund is to provide financial benefits to eligible individuals who served in the United States merchant marine during World War II. Amounts in this fund will be available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make payments without fiscal year limitation, subject to appropriations. To be considered an eligible individual , a person must submit an application within one year of the Act's enactment, have not received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, and have engaged in qualified service. Qualified service is defined as serving between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, as a crewmember on a U.S. government-contracted or owned vessel operating in non-inland waters, serving the Armed Forces, and being properly licensed or documented. Each eligible individual will receive a one-time payment of $25,000 from the compensation fund, disbursed in the order applications are received. The bill authorizes an appropriation of $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 to fund the compensation fund, with these funds remaining available until expended. The Secretary is also required to provide detailed annual reports to Congress on the fund's operation and estimated funding needs.