IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 23 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 5, 2007 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Merchant 

Mariner Equity Compensation Fund to provide benefits 

to certain individuals who served in the United States 

merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service 

and the Naval Transport Service) during World War 

II. 


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HR 23 RFS

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Belated Thank You 

5 to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PAYMENTS TO INDIVIDUALS WHO SERVED DURING 

7 WORLD WAR II IN THE UNITED STATES MER8 CHANT MARINE. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPENSATION FUND.— 

10 Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 38, United States Code, 

11 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

12 ‘‘§ 532. Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund 

13 ‘‘(a) COMPENSATION FUND.—(1) There is in the gen14 eral fund of the Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘Mer15 chant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund’ (in this sec16 tion referred to as the ‘compensation fund’). 

17 ‘‘(2) Subject to the availability of appropriations for 

18 such purpose, amounts in the fund shall be available to 

19 the Secretary without fiscal year limitation to make pay20 ments to eligible individuals in accordance with this sec21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—(1) An eligible indi23 vidual is an individual who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) before October 1, 2009, submits to the 

2 Secretary an application containing such information 

3 and assurances as the Secretary may require; 

4 ‘‘(B) has not received benefits under the Serv5 icemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (Public Law 

6 78–346); and 

7 ‘‘(C) has engaged in qualified service. 

8 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a person has en9 gaged in qualified service if, between December 7, 1941, 

10 and December 31, 1946, the person— 

11 ‘‘(A) was a member of the United States mer12 chant marine (including the Army Transport Service 

13 and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crew14 member of a vessel that was— 

15 ‘‘(i) operated by the War Shipping Admin16 istration or the Office of Defense Transpor17 tation (or an agent of the Administration or Of18 fice); 

19 ‘‘(ii) operated in waters other than inland 

20 waters, the Great Lakes, and other lakes, bays, 

21 and harbors of the United States; 

22 ‘‘(iii) under contract or charter to, or prop23 erty of, the Government of the United States; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(iv) serving the Armed Forces; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) while so serving, was licensed or otherwise 

2 documented for service as a crewmember of such a 

3 vessel by an officer or employee of the United States 

4 authorized to license or document the person for 

5 such service. 

6 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

7 make a monthly payment out of the compensation fund 

8 in the amount of $1,000 to an eligible individual. The Sec9 retary shall make such payments to eligible individuals in 

10 the order in which the Secretary receives the applications 

11 of the eligible individuals. 

12 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—(1) 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the compensa14 tion fund amounts as follows: 

15 ‘‘(A) For fiscal year 2008, $120,000,000. 

16 ‘‘(B) For fiscal year 2009, $108,000,000. 

17 ‘‘(C) For fiscal year 2010, $97,000,000. 

18 ‘‘(D) For fiscal year 2011, $85,000,000. 

19 ‘‘(E) For fiscal year 2012, $75,000,000. 

20 ‘‘(2) Funds appropriated to carry out this section 

21 shall remain available until expended. 

22 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall include, in docu23 ments submitted to Congress by the Secretary in support 

24 of the President’s budget for each fiscal year, detailed in25 formation on the operation of the compensation fund, inVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:05 Sep 06, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H23.RFS H23

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1 cluding the number of applicants, the number of eligible 

2 individuals receiving benefits, the amounts paid out of the 

3 compensation fund, the administration of the compensa4 tion fund, and an estimate of the amounts necessary to 

5 fully fund the compensation fund for that fiscal year and 

6 each of the three subsequent fiscal years. 

7 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

8 regulations to carry out this section.’’. 

9 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

11 prescribe the regulations required under section 532(f) of 

12 title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

13 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

14 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

15 after the item related to section 531 the following new 

16 item: 

‘‘532. Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 30, 2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 

By JORGE E. SORENSEN, 

Deputy Clerk. 


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