U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

" ! SENATE 

111TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REPORT

2010

111–374 

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 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 3650 

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 

DECEMBER 17, 2010.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware 

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio 

JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

MICHAEL L. ALEXANDER, Staff Director 

KEVIN J. LANDY, Chief Counsel 

LAWRENCE B. NOVEY, Senior Counsel 

BRANDON L. MILHORN, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

AMANDA WOOD, Minority Director for Governmental Affairs 

TRINA DRIESSNACK TYRER, Chief Clerk 

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111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2nd Session 111–374 

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 

DECEMBER 17, 2010.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. LIEBERMAN, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 3650] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 3650) 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 ................................................... 1 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 2 

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

V. Estimated Cost of Legislation ....................................................................... 3 

VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 4 

VII. Changes in Existing Law .............................................................................. 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. 3650 would extend eligibility for the preference to include fathers along with mothers and to include unmarried mothers 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 ever since the Civil 

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1See U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM); Staffing, Recruiting, Examining, and Assessment Policy, VetGuide, http://opm.gov/staffingPortal/Vetguide.asp. 2See id. 

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. 

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 during specified wartimes or military 

campaigns are entitled to a preference in obtaining appointment to 

the civil service from competitive lists and 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 

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. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senator Ron Wyden introduced S. 3650 on July 26, 2010, and the 

bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govmstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with HEARINGS

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ernmental Affairs on the same day. On July 28, 2010, the Committee ordered the bill to be reported favorably to the Senate without amendment by a unanimous voice vote. Members present were 

Senators Lieberman, Levin, Akaka, Carper, Pryor, Landrieu, 

McCaskill, Tester, Kaufman, Collins, and McCain. 

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. 3650 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 specifies that mothers may be eligible for a preference only if, among other conditions, they are widowed, divorced, or separated. Section 2 of S. 3650 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. ESTIMATED COST OF THE LEGISLATION

AUGUST 6, 2010. 

Hon. JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, 

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. 3650, the Jessica Ann Ellis 

Gold Star Fathers Act of 2010. 

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. 3650—Jessica Ann Ellis Gold Star Fathers Act of 2010 

S. 3650 would expand preferred eligibility for federal jobs to the 

fathers of certain permanently disabled or deceased veterans. CBO 

estimates that implementing the legislation would have no significant impact 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. 3650 would expand that preference to include veterans’ fathers. We estimate that the legislation 

would have no significant budgetary effect because, while it would 

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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. 3650 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 Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

VI. 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. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, as 

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

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

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

TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE: GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES 

PART III—EMPLOYEES 

CHAPTER 21—DEFINITIONS 

SEC. 2108. VETERAN; DISABLED VETERAN; PREFERENCE ELIGIBLE. 

For the purpose of this title— 

* * * * * * * 

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

* * * * * * * 

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— 

(i) her husband is totally and permanently disabled; 

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

father and has not remarried; or 

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

legally separated from her husband when preference is 

claimed; and 

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

totally disabled veteran, if— 

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(i) her husband is totally and permanently disabled; 

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

father and has not remarried; or 

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

legally separated from her husband when preference is 

claimed;¿ 

(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 him 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 

(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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