I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 23 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mr. FILNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

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. 

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 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PAYMENTS TO INDIVIDUALS WHO SERVED DURING 

2 WORLD WAR II IN THE UNITED STATES MER3 CHANT MARINE. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPENSATION FUND.— 

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

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

7 ‘‘§ 532. Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund 

8 ‘‘(a) COMPENSATION FUND.—(1) There is in the gen9 eral fund of the Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘Mer10 chant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund’ (in this sec11 tion referred to as the ‘compensation fund’). 

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

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

14 the Secretary without fiscal year limitation to make pay15 ments to eligible individuals in accordance with this sec16 tion. 

17 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—(1) An eligible indi18 vidual is an individual who— 

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

20 Secretary an application containing such information 

21 and assurances as the Secretary may require; 

22 ‘‘(B) has not received benefits under the Serv23 icemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (Public Law 

24 78–346); and 

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


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1 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a person has en2 gaged in qualified service if, between December 7, 1941, 

3 and December 31, 1946, the person— 

4 ‘‘(A) was a member of the United States mer5 chant marine (including the Army Transport Service 

6 and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crew7 member of a vessel that was— 

8 ‘‘(i) operated by the War Shipping Admin9 istration or the Office of Defense Transpor10 tation (or an agent of the Administration or Of11 fice); 

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

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

14 and harbors of the United States; 

15 ‘‘(iii) under contract or charter to, or prop16 erty of, the Government of the United States; 

17 and 

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

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

20 documented for service as a crewmember of such a 

21 vessel by an officer or employee of the United States 

22 authorized to license or document the person for 

23 such service. 

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

25 make a monthly payment out of the compensation fund 


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1 in the amount of $1,000 to an eligible individual. The Sec2 retary shall make such payments to eligible individuals in 

3 the order in which the Secretary receives the applications 

4 of the eligible individuals. 

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

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to the compensa7 tion fund amounts as follows: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

14 shall remain available until expended. 

15 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall include, in docu16 ments submitted to Congress by the Secretary in support 

17 of the President’s budget for each fiscal year, detailed in18 formation on the operation of the compensation fund, in19 cluding the number of applicants, the number of eligible 

20 individuals receiving benefits, the amounts paid out of the 

21 compensation fund, the administration of the compensa22 tion fund, and an estimate of the amounts necessary to 

23 fully fund the compensation fund for that fiscal year and 

24 each of the three subsequent fiscal years. 


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

2 regulations to carry out this section.’’. 

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

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

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

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

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

8 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

9 after the item related to section 531 the following new 

10 item: 

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

Æ 


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