"I personally know and have spoken with Gold Star families who, in addition to the emotional pain, are now having to deal with the damaging financial impact of this heartless piece of legislation," Conole, D-Syracuse, said.

He continued, "And even worse — nearly two years after passage of that bill, Washington has still been unable to come together to fix this problem and provide relief for the countless working families affected. It doesn't get any more broken than that."

Conole also accused Katko of "not standing up for our Gold Star families," but Katko's campaign noted that the congressman supported a proposed fix earlier this year.

The House voted on a bill in May that contained a provision to address the tax increases on Gold Star families. The vote was 417-3. The roll call tally shows Katko voted for the legislation.

A fix has faced legislative hurdles because of disagreements between the House and Senate. The Senate passed its own bill that the House hasn't considered. The House opted to include the provision in a larger retirement savings bill. But that measure hasn't been voted on by the Senate.