I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1982

To amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to increase benefits for 

members of the Armed Forces who, after September 11, 2001, serve 

on active duty outside the United States or its territories or possessions 

as part of a contingency operation (including a humanitarian operation, 

peacekeeping operation, or similar operation) or a combat operation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2005

Mr. EMANUEL (for himself, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Ms. DELAURO, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. OWENS, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. 

PALLONE, Mrs. MCCARTHY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. BROWN of 

Ohio, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. CARSON, Ms. HOOLEY, and Mr. 

HONDA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

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

benefits for members of the Armed Forces who, after 

September 11, 2001, serve on active duty outside the 

United States or its territories or possessions as part 

of a contingency operation (including a humanitarian 

operation, peacekeeping operation, or similar operation) 

or a combat operation.
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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Welcome Home G.I. Bill Act of 2005’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS IN EDUCATION AND HOUSING 

BENEFITS 

Sec. 101. Montgomery G.I. Bill improvements. 

Sec. 102. Improved education benefits for reserve component members supporting contingency operations and certain other operations. 

Sec. 103. Increase in Home Purchase Benefits. 

TITLE II—IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH BENEFITS 

Sec. 201. Extension of transitional health care for certain uninsured veterans. 

Sec. 202. Clarification of predeployment and postdeployment medical exams.

8 TITLE I—IMPROVEMENTS IN 

9 EDUCATION AND HOUSING 

10 BENEFITS 

11 SEC. 101. MONTGOMERY G.I. BILL IMPROVEMENTS. 

12 (a) INCREASE IN BENEFITS AND EXTENSION OF DU13 RATION OF EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 3015 of 

14 title 38, United States Code, is amended—

15 (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub16 section (i); 

17 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol18 lowing new subsection (h): 
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1 ‘‘(h)(1) The amount of basic educational allowance 

2 payable under this chapter to an individual referred to in 

3 paragraph (2) of this subsection is equal to 150 percent 

4 of the amount determined under subsection (a) or (b), as 

5 the case may be. 

6 ‘‘(2)(A) Paragraph (1) of this subsection applies to 

7 an individual entitled to an educational assistance allow8 ance under section 3011 or 3012 of this title who, during 

9 the period described in paragraph (5), serves on active 

10 duty outside the United States or its territories or posses11 sions as part of a contingency operation (including a hu12 manitarian operation, peacekeeping operation, or similar 

13 operation) or combat operation for a period of at least 6 

14 consecutive months is entitled to increased basic edu15 cational assistance under this section. 

16 ‘‘(B) The requirement of 6 consecutive months of 

17 service under paragraph (1) is not applicable to an indi18 vidual who is discharged or released, during such 6 

19 months, from active duty in the Armed Forces—

20 ‘‘(i) for a service-connected disability, 

21 ‘‘(ii) for a medical condition which preexisted 

22 such service on active duty and which the Secretary 

23 determines is not service connected, 

24 ‘‘(iii) for hardship, 
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1 ‘‘(iv) in the case of an individual discharged or 

2 released after 5 months of such service, for the con3 venience of the Government, 

4 ‘‘(v) involuntarily for the convenience of the 

5 Government as a result of a reduction in force, as 

6 determined by the Secretary of the military depart7 ment concerned in accordance with regulations pre8 scribed by the Secretary of Defense or by the Sec9 retary of Homeland Security with respect to the 

10 Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service 

11 in the Navy, or 

12 ‘‘(vi) for a physical or mental condition that 

13 was not characterized as a disability, as described in 

14 section 3011(a)(1)(A)(ii)(I) of this title. 

15 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Defense shall refund to each 

16 individual referred to in paragraph (2) all amounts re17 duced from the basic pay of, or collected by the Secretary 

18 from, the individual under section 3011(b) or 3012(c) of 

19 this title, as the case may be. 

20 ‘‘(4)(A) Upon completion of an approved course of 

21 education, an individual referred to paragraph (2) may 

22 apply amounts of increased basic educational assistance 

23 otherwise available to the individual under this section to 

24 repay some or all of any Federal student loan balance 

25 owed by the individual. 
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1 ‘‘(B) In no event shall payment of basic educational 

2 assistance under this paragraph exceed the amount of the 

3 individual’s available entitlement under this chapter. 

4 ‘‘(5) The period referred to in paragraph (2)(A) is 

5 the period which begins on September 11, 2001, and ends 

6 on the date that is five years after the date of the enact7 ment of the Welcome Home G.I. Bill Act of 2005.’’; and 

8 (3) in subsections (a)(1)(D) and (b)(1)(D), by strik9 ing ‘‘under subsection (h)’’ and and inserting ‘‘under sub10 section (i)’’. 

11 (b) DURATION OF PAYMENTS.—Section 3013 of such 

12 title is amended by adding at the end the following new 

13 subsection: 

14 ‘‘(g) In the case of an individual referred to in section 

15 3015(h)(2) of this title, the preceding provisions of this 

16 section shall be applied by substituting ‘48’ for ‘36’ each 

17 place it appears.’’. 

18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Subsection 

19 (b)(2)(B) of section 3014 of such title is amended by in20 serting ‘‘(or 48 in the case of an individual referred to 

21 in section 3015(h)(2) of this title)’’ after ‘‘36’’. 

22 (2) Subsection (b)(2) of section 3017 of such title is 

23 amended—

24 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

25 the end; 
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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

2 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following new sub4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(C) the amount of any refund under section 

6 3015(h)(3) of this title.’’. 

7 (3) Subsection (a) of section 3695 of such title is 

8 amended by inserting ‘‘(or 60 months in the case of an 

9 individual referred to in section 3015(g)(2) of this title).’’. 

10 SEC. 102. IMPROVED EDUCATION BENEFITS FOR RESERVE 

11 COMPONENT MEMBERS SUPPORTING CON12 TINGENCY OPERATIONS AND CERTAIN 

13 OTHER OPERATIONS. 

14 (a) INCREASE IN RATE OF EDUCATIONAL ASSIST15 ANCE.—Subsection (c) of section 16162 of title 10, United 

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (2), (3), and 

19 (4), the educational assistance allowance provided 

20 under this chapter for a member of the reserve com21 ponent called or ordered to active service in response 

22 to a war or national emergency declared by the 

23 President or the Congress who performed active 

24 duty service for 180 consecutive days before the date 

25 which is the last day of the five-year period that be-
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1 gins on the date of the enactment of the Welcome 

2 Home G.I. Bill Act of 2005 is the greater of (A) the 

3 monthly rate of $1562.50 or (B) the monthly rate 

4 otherwise applicable under this chapter.’’. 

5 (b) EXTENSION OF DURATION OF EDUCATIONAL AS6 SISTANCE.—Paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of such sec7 tion is amended by inserting ‘‘, or 48 in the case of edu8 cational assistance allowance paid under subsection 

9 (c)(5),’’ after ‘‘under this chapter is 36’’. 

10 (c) USE OF ENTITLEMENT FOR PAYMENT OF FED11 ERAL STUDENT LOANS.—Such section is amended by 

12 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(e) USE OF ENTITLEMENT FOR PAYMENT OF FED14 ERAL STUDENT LOANS.—(1) Upon completion of a pro15 gram of education authorized under subsection (b), a 

16 member of the reserve components entitled to educational 

17 assistance under this chapter may apply amounts of edu18 cational assistance otherwise available to the member 

19 under this chapter to repay some or all of any Federal 

20 student loan balance owed by the member. 

21 ‘‘(2) In no event shall payment of educational assist22 ance under this subsection exceed the amount of the mem23 ber’s available entitlement under this chapter. 
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1 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘Federal student 

2 loan’ means any loan made under title IV of the Higher 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).’’. 

4 SEC. 103. INCREASE IN HOME PURCHASE BENEFITS. 

5 (a) PAYMENT TO CERTAIN VETERANS FOR DOWN6 PAYMENT TOWARD HOME PURCHASE.—(1) Title 38, 

7 United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 

8 3708 the following new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 3709. Provision of downpayment toward home pur10 chase for veterans performing eligible 

11 service 

12 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT FOR DOWNPAYMENT ON HOME PUR13 CHASE.—Subject to subsections (b) and (c), in the case 

14 of a veteran who performs eligible service, the Secretary 

15 of Defense shall provide for a payment of $5,000 on behalf 

16 of the veteran to be used as a downpayment toward the 

17 purchase or construction of a residential dwelling to be 

18 owned and occupied by the veteran. 

19 ‘‘(b) TIME LIMITATION FOR USE.—The period dur20 ing which the Secretary of Defense may provide for a pay21 ment under subsection (a) to a veteran who performs eligi22 ble service expires on the date that is five years after the 

23 date on which such eligible service is completed. 

24 ‘‘(c) USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH FIRST-TIME HOME

25 PURCHASE UNDER THIS CHAPTER.—The Secretary of 
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1 Defense shall only provide payment under subsection (a) 

2 if the veteran demonstrates to the Secretary of Veterans 

3 Affairs that the veteran has not previously obtained a loan 

4 guaranteed, insured, or made under this chapter, as the 

5 case may be. 

6 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE SERVICE.—In this subsection, the 

7 term ‘eligible service’ means active duty service performed 

8 after September 11, 2001, outside the United States or 

9 its territories or possessions as part of a contingency oper10 ation (including a humanitarian operation, peacekeeping 

11 operation, or similar operation) or combat operation for 

12 a period of at least 6 consecutive months (or for a lesser 

13 period of time in the case of such an individual who is 

14 discharged or released from active duty for a service-con15 nected disability).’’. 

16 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 

17 37 of such title is amended by inserting after the item 

18 relating to section 3708 the following new item:

‘‘3709. Provision of downpayment toward home purchase for veterans performing eligible service.’’.

19 (b) BENEFIT EXCLUDED FROM GROSS INCOME.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 

21 134 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating 

22 to qualified military benefit) is amended by adding 

23 at the end the following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(6) VETERANS HOUSING BENEFITS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

2 military benefit’ includes payments made under 

3 section 3709 of title 38, United States Code 

4 (relating to provision of downpayment toward 

5 home purchase for veterans performing eligible 

6 service), as in effect on the date of the enact7 ment of this paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(B) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Not9 withstanding any other provision of this sub10 title, no increase in the basis or adjusted basis 

11 of any property shall result from any amount 

12 excluded under this section by reason of sub13 paragraph (A).’’. 

14 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

15 by this subsection shall apply to payments made 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, in tax17 able years ending after such date. 

18 TITLE II—IMPROVEMENT IN 

19 HEALTH BENEFITS 

20 SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF TRANSITIONAL HEALTH CARE 

21 FOR CERTAIN UNINSURED VETERANS. 

22 Section 1145 of title 10, United States Code, is 

23 amended—

24 (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and 

25 (e) as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and 
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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol2 lowing new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN UNINSURED VET4 ERANS.—(1) Transitional health care shall be available 

5 under subsection (a) for any period during the five-year 

6 period beginning on the date on which the veteran is sepa7 rated from active duty during which the veteran dem8 onstrates to the Secretary of Defense that the veteran is 

9 not covered under any group health plan provided by an 

10 employer or spouse’s employer. 

11 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘eligible veteran’ 

12 means a person—

13 ‘‘(A) who served in the active military, naval, or 

14 air service (as defined in section 101 of title 38); 

15 ‘‘(B) who, after September 11, 2001, is de16 ployed outside the United States or its territories or 

17 possessions as part of a contingency operation (in18 cluding a humanitarian operation, peacekeeping op19 eration, or similar operation) or combat operation 

20 for a period of at least 6 consecutive months (or for 

21 a lesser period of time in the case of such an indi22 vidual who is discharged or released from active 

23 duty for a service-connected disability); and 

24 ‘‘(C) who was discharged or released from such 

25 service under conditions other than dishonorable.’’. 
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1 SEC. 202. CLARIFICATION OF PREDEPLOYMENT AND 

2 POSTDEPLOYMENT MEDICAL EXAMS. 

3 Subsection (b) of section 1074f of title 10, United 

4 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF SYSTEM.—(1) The system de6 scribed in subsection (a) shall include the use of 

7 predeployment medical examinations and postdeployment 

8 medical examinations, in accordance with this subsection, 

9 to accurately record the medical condition of members be10 fore their deployment and any changes in their medical 

11 condition during the course of their deployment. 

12 ‘‘(2) PREDEPLOYMENT MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS.—

13 A predeployment medical examination shall consist of a 

14 self-administered survey followed by a clinical examination 

15 conducted by medical personnel of the Department of De16 fense. The survey and clinical examination shall include—

17 ‘‘(A) the collection of clinical data (such as vital 

18 signs and the drawing of blood samples); 

19 ‘‘(B) the collection of information (including in20 formation on immunizations) on current and past 

21 physical or mental health conditions that might af22 fect the ability of the member to perform duties; 

23 ‘‘(C) an assessment of mental health; 

24 ‘‘(D) screening for diseases that are prevalent 

25 in members of the armed forces; and 
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1 ‘‘(E) referral to appropriate medical care for 

2 any conditions needing further treatment. 

3 ‘‘(3) POSTDEPLOYMENT MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS.—

4 A postdeployment medical examination shall consist of a 

5 self-administered survey followed by a clinical examination 

6 conducted by medical personnel of the Department of De7 fense. The survey and clinical examination—

8 ‘‘(A) shall include self-reported information 

9 about any relevant exposures during the period of 

10 deployment, including witnessing or participating in 

11 combat and screening for post-traumatic stress dis12 order; and 

13 ‘‘(B) shall be conducted when the member is re14 deployed or otherwise leaves an area in which the 

15 system is in operation (or as soon as possible there16 after).’’.

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