II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 121 

To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve the benefits 

provided for survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24, 2005 

Mr. DEWINE (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. OBAMA, and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve 

the benefits provided for survivors of deceased members 

of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. DEATH GRATUITIES PAYABLE WITH RESPECT 

4 TO DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 

5 FORCES. 

6 (a) INCREASED AMOUNT OF DEATH GRATUITY.— 

7 Section 1478(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amend-
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1 ed by striking ‘‘$12,000’’ in the first sentence and insert2 ing ‘‘$100,000’’. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL DEATH GRATUITY PAYABLE TO

4 CHILD OF DECEASED.— 

5 (1) PAYMENT AT AGE 21.—Section 1477 of 

6 such title is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL DEATH GRATUITY FOR DEPEND9 ENT CHILDREN.—(1) If, in the case of a death for which 

10 a death gratuity is payable under section 1475 or 1476 

11 of this title, the deceased is survived by one or more chil12 dren described in subsection (b) who are under 18 years 

13 of age on the date of the death, the Secretary concerned 

14 shall pay an additional death gratuity to each such child 

15 when that child attains 21 years of age. 

16 ‘‘(2) A death gratuity payable to any person under 

17 this subsection with respect to a death is in addition to 

18 any death gratuity that is payable to that person under 

19 section 1475 or 1476 of this title with respect to such 

20 death pursuant to subsection (a)(2).’’. 

21 (2) AMOUNT.— 

22 (A) Subsection (a) of section 1478 of such 

23 title, as amended by subsection (a) of this sec24 tion, is further amended by inserting after the 

25 first sentence the following new sentence: ‘‘The 
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1 death gratuity payable to a child of a deceased 

2 person under section 1477(e) of this title shall 

3 be $25,000.’’. 

4 (B) Subsection (c) of such section is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘the amount’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘each amount’’. 

7 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section 

8 1477(d) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘he re9 ceives the death gratuity,’’ and inserting ‘‘receiving 

10 payment of a death gratuity under section 1475 or 

11 1476 of this title,’’. 

12 (B) Section 1479 of such title is amended— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘immediate’’; and 

14 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or 1477(e)’’ after 

15 ‘‘section 1475’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), this section and the amendments made by 

19 this section shall take effect as of October 1, 2001, 

20 and shall apply with respect to deaths occurring on 

21 or after such date. 

22 (2) EXCEPTION.—The amendment made by 

23 subsection (b)(2)(B) shall take effect as of October 

24 28, 2004, immediately following the enactment of 

25 Public Law 108–375. 
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1 SEC. 2. INCREASED PERIOD OF CONTINUED TRICARE COV2 ERAGE OF CHILDREN OF MEMBERS OF THE 

3 UNIFORMED SERVICES WHO DIE WHILE 

4 SERVING ON ACTIVE DUTY FOR A PERIOD OF 

5 MORE THAN 30 DAYS. 

6 (a) PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY.—Section 1079(g) of 

7 title 10, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(g)’’; and 

9 (2) by striking the second sentence and insert10 ing the following: 

11 ‘‘(2) In addition to any continuation of eligibility for 

12 benefits under paragraph (1), when a member dies while 

13 on active duty for a period of more than 30 days, the 

14 member’s dependents who are receiving benefits under a 

15 plan covered by subsection (a) shall continue to be eligible 

16 for such benefits during the three-year period beginning 

17 on the date of the member’s death, except that, in the 

18 case of such a dependent who is a child of the deceased, 

19 the period of continued eligibility shall be the longer of 

20 the following periods beginning on such date: 

21 ‘‘(A) Three years. 

22 ‘‘(B) The period ending on the date on which 

23 the child attains 21 years of age. 

24 ‘‘(C) In the case of a child of the deceased who, 

25 at 21 years of age, is enrolled in a full-time course 

26 of study in a secondary school or in a full-time 
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1 course of study in an institution of higher education 

2 approved by the administering Secretary and was, at 

3 the time of the member’s death, in fact dependent 

4 on the member for over one-half of the child’s sup5 port, the period ending on the earlier of the fol6 lowing dates: 

7 ‘‘(i) The date on which the child ceases to 

8 pursue such a course of study, as determined by 

9 the administering Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(ii) The date on which the child attains 

11 23 years of age. 

12 ‘‘(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(C), a child 

13 shall be treated as being enrolled in a full-time course of 

14 study in an institution of higher education during any rea15 sonable period of transition between the child’s completion 

16 of a full-time course of study in a secondary school and 

17 the commencement of an enrollment in a full-time course 

18 of study in an institution of higher education, as deter19 mined by the administering Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(4) No charge may be imposed for any benefits cov21 erage under this chapter that is provided for a child for 

22 a period of continued eligibility under paragraph (2), or 

23 for any benefits provided to such child during such period 

24 under that coverage.’’. 
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend2 ments made by this section shall take effect as of October 

3 1, 2001, and shall apply with respect to deaths occurring 

4 on or after such date. 

5 SEC. 3. INCREASE AND ENHANCEMENT OF DEPENDENCY 

6 AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION FOR SUR7 VIVING SPOUSES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 1311 of 

9 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘$967’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘$1,500’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or (4)’’ 

13 after ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(4) In the case of a surviving spouse who remarries, 

17 dependency and indemnity compensation shall be paid to 

18 the surviving spouse at a monthly rate equal to 50 percent 

19 of the monthly rate otherwise provided under paragraph 

20 (1) for— 

21 ‘‘(A) the first 60 months beginning after the 

22 date of such remarriage; or 

23 ‘‘(B) in the case of a surviving spouse with one 

24 or more children below the age of 18, each month 
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1 until the first month beginning after the date on 

2 which each such child has attained the age of 18.’’. 

3 (b) RATES FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES WITH DEPEND4 ENT CHILDREN.—Such section is further amended— 

5 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

6 following new subsection (b): 

7 ‘‘(b)(1) If there is a surviving spouse with one or 

8 more children below the age of 18, the dependency and 

9 indemnity compensation paid monthly to the surviving 

10 spouse shall be increased by $750 for each such child. 

11 ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the 

12 increase in dependency and indemnity compensation pay13 able to a surviving spouse under paragraph (1) shall cease 

14 beginning with the first month commencing after the 

15 month in which all children of the surviving spouse have 

16 attained the age of 18. 

17 ‘‘(B) The cessation under subparagraph (A) of the 

18 increase in dependency and indemnity compensation pay19 able to a surviving spouse under paragraph (1) shall not 

20 occur with respect to any child of the surviving spouse 

21 who, before attaining the age of 18, becomes permanently 

22 incapable of support.’’; and 

23 (2) by striking subsection (e), as added by sec24 tion 301(a) of the Veterans Benefits Improvements 

25 Act of 2004 (Public Law 104–454). 
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—(1) Except as provided in 

2 paragraph (2), the amendments made by this section shall 

3 take effect on October 1, 2001, and shall apply with re4 spect to months beginning on or after that date. 

5 (2) The amendment made by subsection (b)(2) shall 

6 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 4. EXPANSION AND ENHANCEMENT OF SURVIVORS’ 

8 AND DEPENDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL ASSIST9 ANCE. 

10 (a) TERMINATION OF DURATIONAL LIMITATION ON

11 USE OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.— 

12 (1) TERMINATION OF LIMITATION AND RE13 STATEMENT OF CONTINUING REQUIREMENTS.—Sub14 section (a) of section 3511 of title 38, United States 

15 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

17 chapter or chapter 36 of this title, any payment of edu18 cational assistance described in paragraph (2) shall not 

19 be charged against the entitlement of any individual under 

20 this chapter. 

21 ‘‘(2) The payment of educational assistance referred 

22 to in paragraph (1) is the payment of such assistance to 

23 an individual for pursuit of a course or courses under this 

24 chapter if the Secretary finds that the individual— 
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1 ‘‘(A) had to discontinue such course pursuit as 

2 a result of being ordered to serve on active duty 

3 under section 688, 12301(a), 12301(d), 12301(g), 

4 12302, or 12304 of title 10; and 

5 ‘‘(B) failed to receive credit or training time to6 ward completion of the individual’s approved edu7 cational, professional, or vocational objective as a re8 sult of having to discontinue, as described in sub9 paragraph (A), the course pursuit.’’. 

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) The 

11 heading of section 3511 of such title is amended to 

12 read as follows: 

13 ‘‘§ 3511. Treatment of certain interruptions in pursuit 

14 of programs of education’’. 

15 (B) Section 3532(g) of such title, as amended 

16 by section 106(b)(3) of the Veterans Earn and 

17 Learn Act of 2004 (title I of Public Law 108–454), 

18 is further amended— 

19 (i) by striking paragraph (2); and 

20 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

21 paragraph (2). 

22 (C) Section 3541 of such title is amended to 

23 read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘§ 3541. Special restorative training 

2 ‘‘(a) The Secretary may, at the request of an eligible 

3 person— 

4 ‘‘(1) determine whether such person is in need 

5 of special restorative training; and 

6 ‘‘(2) if such need is found to exist, prescribe a 

7 course which is suitable to accomplish the purposes 

8 of this chapter. 

9 ‘‘(b) A course of special restorative training under 

10 subsection (a) may, at the discretion of the Secretary, con11 tain elements that would contribute toward an ultimate 

12 objective of a program of education.’’. 

13 (D) Section 3695(a)(4) of such title is amended 

14 by striking ‘‘35,’’. 

15 (b) EXTENSION OF DELIMITING AGE OF ELIGIBILITY

16 FOR DEPENDENTS.—Section 3512(a) of title 38, United 

17 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘twenty-sixth birth18 day’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘thirtieth birth19 day’’. 

20 (c) AMOUNT OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3532 of title 38, 

22 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘§ 3532. Amount of educational assistance 

24 ‘‘(a) The aggregate amount of educational assistance 

25 to which an eligible person is entitled under this chapter 
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1 is $80,000, as increased from time to time under section 

2 3564 of this title. 

3 ‘‘(b) Within the aggregate amount provided for in 

4 subsection (a), educational assistance under this chapter 

5 may be paid for any purpose, and in any amount, as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(1) A program of education consisting of insti8 tutional courses. 

9 ‘‘(2) A full-time program of education that con10 sists of institutional courses and alternate phases of 

11 training in a business or industrial establishment 

12 with the training in the business or industrial estab13 lishment being strictly supplemental to the institu14 tional portion. 

15 ‘‘(3) A farm cooperative program consisting of 

16 institutional agricultural courses prescheduled to fall 

17 within forty-four weeks of any period of twelve con18 secutive months that is pursued by an eligible person 

19 who is concurrently engaged in agricultural employ20 ment which is relevant to such institutional agricul21 tural courses as determined under standards pre22 scribed by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(4) A course or courses or other program of 

24 special educational assistance as provided in section 

25 3491(a) of this title. 
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1 ‘‘(5) A program of apprenticeship or other on2 job training pursued in a State as provided in sec3 tion 3687(a) of this title. 

4 ‘‘(6) In the case of an eligible spouse or sur5 viving spouse, a program of education exclusively by 

6 correspondence as provided in section 3686 of this 

7 title. 

8 ‘‘(7) A special training allowance for special re9 storative training as provided in section 3542 of this 

10 title. 

11 ‘‘(c) If a program of education is pursued by an eligi12 ble person at an institution located in the Republic of the 

13 Philippines, any educational assistance for such person 

14 under this chapter shall be paid at the rate of $0.50 for 

15 each dollar. 

16 ‘‘(d)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the amount of edu17 cational assistance payable under this chapter for a licens18 ing or certification test described in section 3501(a)(5) of 

19 this title is the lesser of $2,000 or the fee charged for 

20 the test. 

21 ‘‘(2) In no event shall payment of educational assist22 ance under this subsection for such a test exceed the 

23 amount of the individual’s available entitlement under this 

24 chapter.’’. 
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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section 

2 3533 of such title is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘§ 3533. Tutorial assistance 

4 ‘‘An eligible person shall, without any charge to any 

5 entitlement of such person to educational assistance under 

6 section 3532(a) of this title be entitled to the benefits pro7 vided an eligible veteran under section 3492 of this title.’’. 

8 (B) Section 3534 of such title is repealed. 

9 (C) Section 3542 of such title is amended— 

10 (i) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘com11 puted at the basic rate’’ and all that follows 

12 through the end of the subsection and inserting 

13 a period; and 

14 (ii) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘an edu15 cational assistance allowance’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘educational assistance’’. 

17 (D) Section 3543(c) of such title is amended— 

18 (i) in paragraph (1), by adding ‘‘and’’ at 

19 the end; 

20 (ii) by striking paragraph (2); and 

21 (iii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

22 paragraph (2). 

23 (E) Section 3564 of such title is amended by 

24 striking ‘‘rates payable under sections 3532, 

25 3534(b), and 3542(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘aggregate 
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1 amount of educational assistance payable under sec2 tion 3532’’. 

3 (F) Paragraph (1) of section 3565(b) of such 

4 title is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(1) educational assistance payable under sec6 tion 3532 of this title, including the special training 

7 allowance referred to in subsection (b)(7) of such 

8 section, shall be paid at the rate of $0.50 for each 

9 dollar; and’’. 

10 (G) Section 3687 of such title is amended— 

11 (i) in subsection (a)— 

12 (I) in the matter preceding paragraph 

13 (1), by striking ‘‘or an eligible person (as 

14 defined in section 3501(a) of this title)’’; 

15 and 

16 (II) in the flush matter following 

17 paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘chapters 34 

18 and 35’’ and inserting ‘‘chapter 34’’; 

19 (ii) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘chapters 

20 34 and 35’’ and inserting ‘‘chapter 34’’; and 

21 (iii) in subsection (e), as added by section 

22 102(a) of the Veterans Earn and Learn Act of 

23 2004 (title I of Public Law 108–454), by strik24 ing paragraph (3) and inserting the following 

25 new paragraph (3): 
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1 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘individual’ means 

2 an eligible veteran who is entitled to monthly educational 

3 assistance allowances payable under section 3015(e) of 

4 this title.’’. 

5 (d) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Sec6 tion 3524 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘allowance’’ each place it appears. 

8 (2)(A) Section 3531 of such title is amended— 

9 (i) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘an edu10 cational assistance allowance’’ and inserting ‘‘edu11 cational assistance’’; and 

12 (ii) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘allowance’’. 

13 (B) The heading of such section is amended by strik14 ing ‘‘allowance’’. 

15 (3) Section 3537(a) of such title is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘additional’’. 

17 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections 

18 at the beginning of chapter 35 of title 38, United States 

19 Code, is amended— 

20 (1) by striking the item relating to section 3511 

21 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘3511. Treatment of certain interruptions in pursuit of programs of education.’’; 

22 (2) by striking the items relating to section 

23 3531, 3532, and 3533 and inserting the following 

24 new items: 
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‘‘3531. Educational assistance. 

‘‘3532. Amount of educational assistance. 

‘‘3533. Tutorial assistance.’’; 

1 (3) by striking the item relating to section 

2 3534; and 

3 (4) by striking the item relating to section 3541 

4 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘3541. Special restorative training.’’. 

5 (f) EFFECTIVE DATES.—(1) Except as provided in 

6 paragraph (2), the amendments made by this section shall 

7 take effect on October 1, 2001. 

8 (2) The amendments made by subsections (a)(2)(B) 

9 and (c)(2)(G)(iii) shall take effect on the date of the enact10 ment of this Act. 

11 (3) Notwithstanding the effective date under para12 graph (1) of the amendment to section 3564 of title 38, 

13 United States Code, made by subsection (c)(2)(E), the 

14 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall make the first increase 

15 in the aggregate amount of educational assistance under 

16 section 3532 of such title as required by such section 3564 

17 (as so amended) for fiscal year 2006. 

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