II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1272 

To amend title 46, United States Code, and title II of the Social Security 

Act 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 20, 2005 

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL

To amend title 46, United States Code, and title II of 

the Social Security Act 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 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. MONTHLY BENEFIT FOR WORLD WAR II MERCHANT 

2 MARINERS AND SURVIVORS UNDER TITLE 46, 

3 UNITED STATES CODE. 

4 (a) MONTHLY BENEFIT.—Chapter 112 of title 46, 

5 United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting after the table of sections the 

7 following new subchapter heading: 

8 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—VETERANS’ BURIAL AND 

9 CEMETERY BENEFITS’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 chapter: 

13 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—MONTHLY BENEFIT 

14 ‘‘§ 11205. Monthly benefit 

15 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

16 shall pay to each person issued a certificate of honorable 

17 service pursuant to section 11207(b) of this title a month18 ly benefit of $1,000. 

19 ‘‘(b) SURVIVING SPOUSES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PAYMENT TO SURVIVING SPOUSES.—The 

21 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall pay to the sur22 viving spouse of each person issued a certificate of 

23 honorable service pursuant to section 11207(b) of 

24 this title a monthly benefit of $1,000. 

25 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION.—No benefit shall be paid 

26 under paragraph (1) to a surviving spouse of a per-
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1 son issued a certificate of honorable service pursuant 

2 to section 11207(b) unless the surviving spouse was 

3 married to such person for no less than 1 year. 

4 ‘‘(c) EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION.—Payments of 

5 benefits under this section are exempt from taxation as 

6 provided in section 5301(a) of title 38. 

7 ‘‘§ 11206. Qualified service 

8 ‘‘For purposes of this subchapter, a person shall be 

9 considered to have engaged in qualified service if, between 

10 December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, the person— 

11 ‘‘(1) was a member of the United States mer12 chant marine (including the Army Transport Service 

13 and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crew14 member of a vessel that was— 

15 ‘‘(A) operated by the War Shipping Ad16 ministration or the Office of Defense Transpor17 tation (or an agent of such Administration or 

18 Office); 

19 ‘‘(B) operated in waters other than— 

20 ‘‘(i) inland waters; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the Great Lakes; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) other lakes, bays, and harbors of 

23 the United States; 
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1 ‘‘(C) under contract or charter to, or prop2 erty of, the Government of the United States; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(D) serving the Armed Forces; and 

5 ‘‘(2) while serving as described in paragraph 

6 (1), was licensed or otherwise documented for serv7 ice as a crewmember of such a vessel by an officer 

8 or employee of the United States authorized to li9 cense or document the person for such service. 

10 ‘‘§ 11207. Documentation of qualified service 

11 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION FOR SERVICE CERTIFICATE.—A 

12 person seeking benefits under section 11205 of this title 

13 shall submit an application for a service certificate to the 

14 Secretary of Transportation, or in the case of personnel 

15 of the Army Transport Service or the Naval Transport 

16 Service, the Secretary of Defense. 

17 ‘‘(b) ISSUANCE OF SERVICE CERTIFICATE.—The 

18 Secretary who receives an application under subsection (a) 

19 shall issue a certificate of honorable service to the appli20 cant if, as determined by that Secretary, the person en21 gaged in qualified service under section 11206 of this title 

22 and meets the standards referred to in subsection (d) of 

23 this section. 

24 ‘‘(c) TIMING OF DOCUMENTATION.—A Secretary re25 ceiving an application under subsection (a) shall act on 
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1 the application not later than 1 year after the date of that 

2 receipt. 

3 ‘‘(d) STANDARDS RELATING TO SERVICE.—In mak4 ing a determination under subsection (b), the Secretary 

5 acting on the application shall apply the same standards 

6 relating to the nature and duration of service that apply 

7 to the issuance of honorable discharges under section 

8 401(a)(1)(B) of the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977 (38 

9 U.S.C. 106 note). 

10 ‘‘§ 11208. Definitions 

11 ‘‘In this subchapter, the term ‘surviving spouse’ has 

12 the meaning given such term in section 101 of title 38, 

13 except that in applying the meaning in this subchapter, 

14 the term ‘veteran’ shall include a person who performed 

15 qualified service as specified in section 11206 of this title. 

16 ‘‘§ 11209. Authorization of appropriations 

17 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec18 retary of Veterans Affairs such sums as may be necessary 

19 for the purpose of carrying out this subchapter.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subsection (c) of 

21 section 11201 of title 46, United States Code, is amend22 ed— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘chapter’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘subchapter’’; and 
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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘chapter’’ the 

2 second place it appears and inserting ‘‘subchapter’’. 

3 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections 

4 at the beginning of chapter 112 of title 46, United States 

5 Code, is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting at the beginning the following 

7 new item:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—VETERANS’ BURIAL AND CEMETERY BENEFITS’’;

8 and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

10 items:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—MONTHLY BENEFIT

‘‘11205. Monthly benefit. 

‘‘11206. Qualified service. 

‘‘11207. Documentation of qualified service. 

‘‘11208. Definitions. 

‘‘11209. Authorization of appropriations.’’.

11 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subchapter II of chapter 

12 112 of title 46, United States Code, as added by sub13 section (a) of this section, shall take effect with respect 

14 to payments for periods beginning on or after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act, regardless of the date of ap16 plication for benefits. 
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1 SEC. 3. BENEFITS FOR WORLD WAR II MERCHANT MARI2 NERS UNDER TITLE II OF THE SOCIAL SECU3 RITY ACT. 

4 (a) BENEFITS.—Section 217(d) of the Social Secu5 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 417(d)) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(3) The term ‘active military or naval service’ 

8 includes the service, or any period of forcible deten9 tion or internment by an enemy government or hos10 tile force as a result of action against a vessel de11 scribed in subparagraph (A), of a person who— 

12 ‘‘(A) was a member of the United States 

13 merchant marine (including the Army Trans14 port Service and the Naval Transport Service) 

15 serving as a crewmember of a vessel that was— 

16 ‘‘(i) operated by the War Shipping 

17 Administration or the Office of Defense 

18 Transportation (or an agent of such Ad19 ministration or Office); 

20 ‘‘(ii) operated in waters other than— 

21 ‘‘(I) inland waters; 

22 ‘‘(II) the Great Lakes; and 

23 ‘‘(III) other lakes, bays, and har24 bors of the United States; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) under contract or charter to, or 

2 property of, the Government of the United 

3 States; and 

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

5 ‘‘(B) while serving as described in subpara6 graph (A), was licensed or otherwise docu7 mented for service as a crewmember of such a 

8 vessel by an officer or employee of the United 

9 States authorized to license or document the 

10 person for such service.’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

12 subsection (a) shall apply only with respect to benefits for 

13 months beginning on or after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act.

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