U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

39–010 

" ! SENATE 113TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REPORT

2014

113–249 

Calendar No. 549 

GOLD STAR FATHERS ACT OF 2014 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 2323 

TO AMEND CHAPTER 21 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, TO 

PROVIDE THAT FATHERS OF CERTAIN PERMANENTLY DISABLED 

OR DECEASED VETERANS SHALL BE INCLUDED WITH MOTHERS 

OF SUCH VETERANS AS PREFERENCE ELIGIBLES FOR TREATMENT IN THE CIVIL SERVICE 

AUGUST 26, 2014.—Ordered to be printed 

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of August 5 (legislative 

day, August 1), 2014 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

MARK BEGICH, Alaska 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

GABRIELLE A. BATKIN, Staff Director 

JOHN P. KILVINGTON, Deputy Staff Director 

MARY BETH SCHULTZ, Chief Counsel 

KATHERINE C. SYBENGA, Senior Counsel 

KEITH B. ASHDOWN, Minority Staff Director 

CHRISTOPHER J. BARKLEY, Minority Deputy Staff Director 

ANDREW C. DOCKHAM, Minority Chief Counsel 

JENNIFER E. WHITE, Minority Legislative Assistant 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 


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Calendar No. 549 

113TH CONGRESS SENATE REPORT " ! 2d Session 113–249 

GOLD STAR FATHERS ACT OF 2014 

AUGUST 26, 2014.—Ordered to be printed 

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of August 5 (legislative day, August 

1), 2014 

Mr. CARPER, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2323] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 2323) to amend chapter 21 of title 

5, United States Code, to provide that fathers of certain permanently disabled or deceased veterans shall be included with mothers of such veterans as preference eligibles for treatment in the 

civil service, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 

without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 3 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 3 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 3 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Estimate ......................................................... 4 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ........................... 4 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

Under current statute, mothers of certain permanently disabled 

or deceased veterans receive a preference in obtaining appointment 

to the civil service if such mothers are widowed, divorced, or separated, or also if they are married to a husband who is permanently 

disabled. S. 2323 would extend eligibility for the preference to include fathers along with mothers and to include unmarried mothVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:07 Aug 28, 2014 Jkt 039010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR249.XXX SR249

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1See U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM): Veterans Services, VetGuide, http:// 

www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-services/vet-guide/, last visited August 15, 2014. 2See 5 U.S.C. § 2108 and § 3309 regarding veterans’ preference in civil service hiring and 5 

U.S.C. §§ 3501–3502 regarding veterans’ preference in a reduction in force. 3Public Law 80–396 (1948). 

4 Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Report to accompany H.R. 1426, Extending Veterans’ Preference Benefits to Widowed Mothers of Certain Ex-Servicemen, H.R. Rep. No. 697, 

80th Congress, 1st Session (June 25, 1947). 5 Id. 

6Public Law 81–887 (Dec. 27, 1950). The laws making mothers of veterans eligible for hiring 

preference have been codified at 5 U.S.C. § 2108(3)(F)–(G). 7See OPM VetGuide, note 1 above. 

ers or fathers along with those who are widowed, divorced, or separated. 

II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

Veterans of the Armed Forces have been given preference in 

gaining appointment to federal employment since the Civil War 

era, and veterans’ preference in its current form was enacted in the 

Veterans’ Preference Act of 1944.1 Generally, veterans who are disabled or who served on active duty during specified wartimes or 

military campaigns are entitled to have an additional 5 or 10 

points added to their civil service examination score, giving them 

a preference for obtaining appointment to federal jobs in the civil 

service from competitive lists, and also receive a preference in retention in the civil service during a reduction in force.2 The 1944 

Act also provided a preference in obtaining civil service appointment to wives of disabled veterans and to widows of deceased veterans. 

In January 1948, Congress extended the hiring preference to 

widowed, divorced, or legally separated mothers of veterans who 

died in active duty in wartime or who suffer from a service-connected permanent and total disability.3 In reporting the legislation, 

the House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service explained— 

It is the opinion of this committee that the debt of gratitude owed by the United States to the widowed mothers of 

ex-servicemen who lost their lives on active duty, and to 

the widowed mothers of ex-servicemen who are permanently and totally disabled, is immeasurable, but such 

widowed mothers warrant the same consideration now 

given to wives and unmarried widows of certain ex-servicemen.4

The House Post Office and Civil Service Committee further explained that it supported the bill ‘‘[a]fter considering . . . the moral 

obligation this Government has to the widowed mothers of our exservicemen who lost their lives in the service of our country, or who 

were permanently disabled while serving their country.’’ 5 In 1950, 

Congress further extended the hiring preference to cover mothers 

of certain deceased or permanently disabled service member whose 

husbands also are totally and permanently disabled.6 Mothers entitled to the preference who pass a civil service examination gain 10 

additional points added to their score.7

The loss suffered by fathers of disabled or deceased veterans 

warrants no less consideration than does the loss suffered by mothers, and the debt of gratitude owed by the United States to such 

fathers is equally immeasurable. In the approximately six decades 


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8This Committee also considered and favorably reported a very similar bill in the 111th Congress, S. 3650. See S. Rep. 111–374 (Dec. 17, 2010). 

since Congress granted the preference to mothers of certain veterans, our society and economy have undergone profound transformations, and the Nation has become far more aware of the importance of equal opportunity and non-discrimination. In that light, 

no basis remains for a statute that grants preference to mothers of 

veterans but not to fathers of veterans, or that grants preference 

to veterans’ parents who are widowed, divorced, or separated, but 

not to those who are otherwise unmarried. S. 2323 would end these 

inequities by extending eligibility for the preference to include a father as well as a mother and to include an unmarried mother or 

father along with one who is widowed, divorced, or separated.8

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

On May 13, 2014 Senator Brown introduced S. 2323, which was 

referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The bill is cosponsored by Senator Wyden. 

The Committee considered S. 2323 at a business meeting on July 

30, 2014. The legislation was ordered reported favorably to the 

Senate without amendment by a unanimous voice vote. Members 

present for the vote were: Carper, Levin, Pryor, Landrieu, McCaskill, Begich, Baldwin, Coburn, Johnson, and Ayotte. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

This section provides a short title by which the bill may be cited. 

Section 2. Preference eligible treatment for fathers of certain permanently disabled or deceased veterans 

5 U.S.C. § 2108(3)(F) and (G) now establish that the mothers of 

certain deceased and totally disabled veterans may be eligible for 

preference in civil service hiring if certain conditions are met. Section 2 of S. 2323 would amend subparagraphs (F) and (G) so that 

either parent of a veteran can qualify for the preference. 

Also, § 2108(3)(F) and (G) now specify that mothers may be eligible for a preference only if, among other conditions, they are widowed, divorced, or separated. Section 2 of S. 2323 would amend 

subparagraphs (F) and (G) so that a parent who was never married 

may also qualify for a preference. 

Section 3. Effective date 

This section provides that the amendment made by the bill will 

take effect 90 days after the date of enactment. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of 

the Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee has considered the 

regulatory impact of this bill and determined that the bill will have 

no regulatory impact. The Congressional Budget Office states that 

the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not 

affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 


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VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

AUGUST 12, 2014. 

Hon. TOM CARPER, 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2323, the Gold Star Fathers 

Act of 2014. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

S. 2323—Gold Star Fathers Act of 2014 

S. 2323 would expand preferred eligibility for federal jobs to the 

fathers of certain permanently disabled or deceased veterans. CBO 

estimates that implementing the legislation would not have any 

significant effect on the federal budget. Enacting the bill would not 

affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

Under current law, mothers of certain veterans are eligible to 

claim preferences for civil service positions if their children are permanently disabled or deceased. S. 2323 would expand that preference to include such veterans’ fathers. We estimate that the legislation would have no significant budgetary effect because, while 

it would expand the pool of people eligible for federal job preferences, it would not change the total number of federal jobs available or the salaries paid to federal employees. 

S. 2323 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. The 

estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant Director for 

Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING STATUTE MADE BY THE BILL, AS

REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by S. 2323 as 

reported are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing 

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

UNITED STATES CODE 

TITLE 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION 

AND EMPLOYEES 

* * * * * * * 


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PART III—EMPLOYEES 

* * * * * * * 

Subpart A—General Provisions 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 21—DEFINITIONS 

* * * * * * * 

§ 2108—Veteran; disabled veteran; preference eligible 

For the purpose of this title— 

(1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(3) ‘‘preference eligible’’ means, except as provided in paragraph (4) of this section or section 2108a(c)— 

(A) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

ø(F) the mother of an individual who lost his life under 

honorable conditions while serving in the armed forces 

during a period named by paragraph (1)(A) of this section, 

if— 

ø(i) her husband is totally and permanently disabled; 

ø(ii) she is widowed, divorced, or separated from the 

father and has not remarried; or 

ø(iii) she has remarried but is widowed, divorced, or 

legally separated from her husband when preference is 

claimed; 

ø(G) the mother of a service-connected permanently and 

totally disabled veteran, if— 

ø(i) her husband is totally and permanently disabled; 

ø(ii) she is widowed, divorced, or separated from the 

father and has not remarried; or 

ø(iii) she has remarried but is widowed, divorced, or 

legally separated from her husband when preference is 

claimed; and¿ 

(F) the parent of an individual who lost his or her life 

under honorable conditions while serving in the armed 

forces during a period named by paragraph (1)(A) of this 

section, if— 

(i) the spouse of that parent is totally and permanently disabled; or 

(ii) that parent, when preference is claimed, is unmarried or, if married, legally separated from his or 

her spouse; 

(G) the parent of a service-connected permanently and totally disabled veteran, if— 

(i) the spouse of that parent is totally and permanently disabled; or 


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(ii) that parent, when preference is claimed, is unmarried or, if married, legally separated from his or 

her spouse; and 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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