A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide coverage under Traumatic Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance for adverse reactions to vaccinations administered by the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.

Summary: Lance Corporal Josef Lopez Fairness for Servicemembers Harmed by Vaccines Act of 2009 - Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) from excluding from coverage under traumatic injury provisions with respect to the Servicemember's Group life Insurance program a member suffering a qualifying loss resulting from an adverse reaction to a vaccination administered by the Department of Defense (DOD), whether voluntarily or involuntarily, for purposes of military accession, training, or deployment.

Makes such amendment retroactive to the establishment of such coverage under the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lance Corporal Josef Lopez Fairness 
for Servicemembers Harmed by Vaccines Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. TRAUMATIC SERVICEMEMBERS' GROUP LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR 
              ADVERSE REACTIONS TO VACCINATIONS ADMINISTERED BY 
              DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Section 1032 of the Emergency Supplemental 
        Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and 
        Tsunami Relief, 2005 (Public Law 109-13), which was enacted on 
        May 11, 2005, established the Traumatic Servicemember's Group 
        Life Insurance program by adding section 1980A to title 38, 
        United States Code.
            (2) The Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance 
        program was established to provide members of the Armed Forces 
        who suffer a loss as a direct result of traumatic injury with 
        short-term monetary assistance to mitigate the economic burden 
        on such members and their families. The families of such 
        members often incur financial hardships because they relocate 
        to be with such members as they undergo long and difficult 
        treatment and rehabilitation periods.
            (3) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs is the executive 
        agent for the Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance 
        benefit and has established policies and procedures for 
        dispensing the benefit based on the Secretary's interpretation 
        of section 1980A of title 38, United States Code.
            (4) The Department of Veterans Affairs Insurance Center has 
        implemented a policy that does not extend the Traumatic 
        Servicemember's Group Life Insurance benefit to those members 
        of the Armed Forces who sustain a life altering and permanent 
        disability caused by an adverse reaction to a vaccine 
        administered by the Department of Defense as a component of 
        accessions, training, or pre-deployment preparations for duty 
        in a combat or imminent danger zone.
            (5) There are multiple documented cases of members of the 
        Armed Forces suffering severe, adverse reactions to 
        vaccinations administered by the Department of Defense. Such 
        adverse reactions include the traumatic injuries of coma, 
        amputation, paralysis, and loss of the activities of daily 
        living (ADL). All such adverse reactions are covered under 
        existing Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance program 
        guidelines.
            (6) Lance Corporal Josef Lopez is a Marine from 
        Springfield, Missouri, who, in September 2006, was administered 
        a smallpox vaccination by the Department of Defense just prior 
        to a deployment to Iraq. One week after his arrival in Iraq, 
        Lance Corporal Lopez suffered complete paralysis, a coma, and 
        the loss of two activities of daily living, all of which were 
        subsequently diagnosed as resulting from a rare adverse 
        reaction to the smallpox vaccine.
            (7) Lance Corporal Lopez was medically evacuated from Iraq 
        to Landstuhl, Germany, and ultimately to the National Naval 
        Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, where he remained for six 
        weeks. Lance Corporal Lopez later endured multiple 
        hospitalizations and physical therapy treatments in his native 
        Missouri.
            (8) Lance Corporal Lopez was wheelchair-bound for one year 
        and now walks with a permanent limp, is unable to stand for 
        long periods, and must use a urine collection bag because he 
        has no control over his bladder. Daily, Lance Corporal Lopez 
        must take prescription medications to control spasms in his 
        legs and bladder. These injuries and issues are a result of 
        Lance Corporal Lopez's adverse reaction to the smallpox vaccine 
        described in paragraph (6).
            (9) Lance Corporal Lopez was medically retired from the 
        Marine Corps on June 30, 2009.
            (10) During the course of the treatment that Lance Corporal 
        Lopez received for the adverse reaction described in paragraph 
        (6), he and his family endured substantial hardship. His mother 
        spent extensive periods at Lance Corporal Lopez's side during 
        his initial treatment and she had to make expensive 
        modifications to her home to accommodate Lance Corporal Lopez's 
        wheelchair.
            (11) Lance Corporal Lopez's mother represents the very 
        finest attributes of love and loyalty to her heroic son to whom 
        she has provided care and assistance. Such care and assistance 
        is critical for the healing of injured members of the Armed 
        Forces like Lance Corporal Lopez. The provision of such care 
        and assistance by family members is encouraged and recognized 
        by the Armed Forces, by healthcare providers, and by the 
        Congress as highly valuable for the care of injured members of 
        the Armed Forces.
            (12) Lance Corporal Lopez applied for Traumatic 
        Servicemember's Group Life Insurance benefits because his 
        injuries resulted in qualifying losses under the Traumatic 
        Servicemember's Group Life Insurance program, including coma, 
        paralysis, and loss of activities of daily living. Under the 
        Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance program as in 
        effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, 
        Lance Corporal Lopez and his family would have received $75,000 
        in associated benefits if his claim was accepted. However, his 
        claim was denied because the current policy of the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs Insurance Center prohibits extending 
        Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance benefits to 
        those who have adverse reactions to vaccinations administered 
        by the Department of Defense to facilitate military service in 
        combat theaters.
            (13) Lance Corporal Lopez and his family endured undue 
        financial hardship in the time immediately following his 
        traumatic injuries and during his recovery process. They were 
        not able to mitigate the financial challenges they faced with 
        assistance from the Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life 
        Insurance program, which was created to provide assistance to 
        families of members of the Armed Forces when facing the 
        challenges of traumatic events precisely like that experienced 
        by Lance Corporal Lopez.
            (14) The policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
        effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act 
        that denies Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance 
        benefits to members of the Armed Forces who experience 
        traumatic injuries as a result of being administered vaccines 
        consequent to their preparation to serve the United States in 
        combat is inconsistent with the intent of the Traumatic 
        Servicemember's Group Life Insurance program, as enacted by 
        Congress.
    (b) Traumatic Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Coverage.--
Section 1980A(b)(3) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting ``(A) 
        Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Secretary''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(B) The Secretary shall not exclude under subparagraph (A) a 
qualifying loss experienced by a member as a result of an adverse 
reaction to a vaccination administered by the Department of Defense, 
whether voluntarily or involuntarily, for the purposes of military 
accession, training, or deployment.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (b) shall 
take effect as if included in the provisions of and amendments made by 
section 1032 of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for 
Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005 (Public Law 
109-13; 119 Stat. 257).