IB 

Union Calendar No. 171 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 23 

[Report No. 110–269, Part I] 

To amend title 46, United States Code, 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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2007 

Mr. FILNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

JULY 27, 2007 

Additional sponsors: Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. 

MOORE of Kansas, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. WAMP, Mrs. DAVIS of California, 

Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. SHIMKUS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

ALTMIRE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. PAUL, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. 

ROSKAM, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. HARE, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. LINCOLN

DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. MITCHELL, Mr. ARCURI, 

Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. BONNER, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. TERRY, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

BOUSTANY, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. HONDA, Ms. 

BERKLEY, Mr. PORTER, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. KANJORSKI, Ms. CORRINE

BROWN of Florida, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. REYES, Ms. SHEAPORTER, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. CARDOZA, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, 

Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. WELLER of Illinois, Mr. SHULER, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 

Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. SPACE, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. PASCRELL, 

Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota, Mr. 

OLVER, Mr. STARK, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. DAVID DAVIS of TenVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:27 Jul 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H23.RH H23

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nessee, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Ms. LEE, Mr. MICA, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. BOREN, 

Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. BOYD of Florida, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. 

WATSON, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Ms. 

MATSUI, Mr. NADLER, Mr. KLEIN of Florida, Ms. CARSON, Mr. 

LOBIONDO, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. 

WAXMAN, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. MCCOTTER, 

Ms. SUTTON, Mr. MARCHANT, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. 

NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. RANGEL, Mrs. MALONEY of 

New York, Mr. WOLF, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. 

HODES, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. DENT, Ms. HOOLEY, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. 

PICKERING, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. WILSON

of Ohio, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. WU, Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico, Mr. 

PAYNE, Mr. CARNEY, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. POE, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. 

WELCH of Vermont, Mr. PETRI, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. 

FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. ALLEN, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. 

MARKEY, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. COOPER, Mr. BARROW, Mrs. BOYDA of 

Kansas, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. HAYES, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. 

RAHALL, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. HOLT, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. HALL of New York, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. RAMSTAD, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. CAMP of Michigan, Mr. 

PLATTS, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 

LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. 

JONES of North Carolina, Mr. COSTA, Mr. BACA, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. 

PASTOR, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. FORTUN ̃O, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. CONYERS, 

Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. FARR, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. FOSSELLA, 

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. ISSA, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, 

Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. WALSH of New York, Mr. 

CARNAHAN, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. THOMPSON of 

Mississippi, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Mrs. BONO, Mr. LEWIS of 

Georgia, Mr. BAKER, Mr. FORBES, Mr. ROSS, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. WATT, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. KIND, 

Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. LOEBSACK, 

Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. TIBERI, 

Mr. MILLER of North Carolina, Mr. TANCREDO, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MCHUGH, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. LUCAS, 

Mr. LEVIN, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. STUPAK, Mrs. 

NAPOLITANO, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. 

KINGSTON, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Mr. RUSH, 

Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. ALEXANDER, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. 

UPTON, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. 

MELANCON, and Mrs. LOWEY

JULY 27, 2007 

Reported from the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with amendments 


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[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

JULY 27, 2007 

Committee on Ways and Means discharged; committed to the Committee of 

the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 4, 2007] 

A BILL 

To amend title 46, United States Code, 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. 

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 to 

5 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.—Sub10 chapter II of chapter 5 of title 38, United States Code, is 

11 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 ‘MerVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:27 Jul 30, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H23.RH H23

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1 chant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund’ (in this section 

2 referred to as the ‘compensation fund’). 

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

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

5 Secretary without fiscal year limitation to make payments 

6 to eligible individuals in accordance with this section. 

7 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—(1) An eligible indi8 vidual is an individual who— 

9 ‘‘(A) before October 1, 2009, submits to the Sec10 retary an application containing such information 

11 and assurances as the Secretary may require; 

12 ‘‘(B) has not received benefits under the Service13 men’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (Public Law 78– 

14 346); and 

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

16 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a person has en17 gaged in qualified service if, between December 7, 1941, and 

18 December 31, 1946, the person— 

19 ‘‘(A) was a member of the United States mer20 chant marine (including the Army Transport Service 

21 and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crew22 member of a vessel that was— 

23 ‘‘(i) operated by the War Shipping Admin24 istration or the Office of Defense Transportation 

25 (or an agent of the Administration or Office); 


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

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

3 and harbors of the United States; 

4 ‘‘(iii) under contract or charter to, or prop5 erty of, the Government of the United States; 

6 and 

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

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

9 documented for service as a crewmember of such a 

10 vessel by an officer or employee of the United States 

11 authorized to license or document the person for such 

12 service. 

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

14 make a monthly payment out of the compensation fund in 

15 the amount of $1,000 to an eligible individual. The Sec16 retary shall make such payments to eligible individuals in 

17 the order in which the Secretary receives the applications 

18 of the eligible individuals. 

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

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the compensa21 tion fund amounts as follows: 

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

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

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

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


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

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

3 remain available until expended. 

4 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall include, in docu5 ments submitted to Congress by the Secretary in support 

6 of the President’s budget for each fiscal year, detailed infor7 mation on the operation of the compensation fund, includ8 ing the number of applicants, the number of eligible indi9 viduals receiving benefits, the amounts paid out of the com10 pensation fund, the administration of the compensation 

11 fund, and an estimate of the amounts necessary to fully 

12 fund the compensation fund for that fiscal year and each 

13 of the three subsequent fiscal years. 

14 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe reg15 ulations to carry out this section.’’. 

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

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pre18 scribe the regulations required under section 532(f) of title 

19 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

20 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

21 the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after 

22 the item related to section 531 the following new item: 

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

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend title 

38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Merchant Mariner Equity 


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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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Union Calendar No. 171 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 23 

[Report No. 110

–269, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend title 46, United States Code, to provide 

port Service) during World War II. Army Transport Service and the Naval TransUnited States merchant marine (including the benefits to certain individuals who served in the 

JULY 27, 2007 

Reported from the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with 

amendments 

JULY 27, 2007 

Committee on Ways and Means discharged; committed to 

Union and ordered to be printed the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 


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