II 

Calendar No. 429 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3487 

[Report No. 117–123] 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to increase death gratuities and 

funeral allowances for Federal employees, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 12 (legislative day, JANUARY 10), 2022 

Ms. SINEMA (for herself, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. PETERS, Mr. 

HAGERTY, and Mr. HAWLEY) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

JUNE 22, 2022 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to increase death 

gratuities and funeral allowances for Federal employees, 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Honoring Civil Serv3 ants Killed in the Line of Duty Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. INCREASING DEATH GRATUITY FOR FEDERAL EM5 PLOYEES KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY. 

6 (a) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 5, UNITED STATES

7 CODE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VII of chapter 

9 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘§ 5571. Employee death gratuity payments 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

14 5561(2), in this section, the term ‘employee’ means 

15 an individual who has been determined by the Sec16 retary of Labor to be an employee within the mean17 ing of section 8101(1). 

18 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY.—A determination 

19 described in paragraph (1) may be made only by the 

20 Secretary of Labor. 

21 ‘‘(b) GRATUITY.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the death 

23 of an employee occurring on or after the date of en24 actment of this section, notwithstanding section 

25 8116, and in addition to any payment made under 

26 subchapter I of chapter 81, the head of the agency 


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1 employing the employee shall pay from appropria2 tions made available for salaries and expenses of 

3 that agency a death gratuity to the person identified 

4 under subsection (c)(2), if the death of the em5 ployee— 

6 ‘‘(A) results from injury sustained while in 

7 the line of duty of the employee; and 

8 ‘‘(B) is not— 

9 ‘‘(i) caused by willful misconduct of 

10 the employee; 

11 ‘‘(ii) caused by the intention of the 

12 employee to bring about the injury or 

13 death of the employee or another; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) proximately caused by the in15 toxication of the injured employee. 

16 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 subparagraph (B), the amount of a death gra19 tuity paid under paragraph (1) with respect to 

20 an employee shall be $100,000, as adjusted 

21 each March 1 by the amount determined by the 

22 Secretary of Labor to represent the percentage 

23 change in the Consumer Price Index for All 

24 Urban Consumers (all items; United States city 

25 average) published for December of the preVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Jun 23, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3487.RS S3487

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1 ceding year over that Index published for the 

2 December of the year prior to the preceding 

year, adjusted to the nearest 1 3 ⁄10 of 1 percent. 

4 ‘‘(B) LOCAL COMPENSATION PLANS.—For 

5 an employee compensated under a local com6 pensation plan established under section 408 of 

7 the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 

8 3968), the amount of a death gratuity paid 

9 under paragraph (1) with respect to the em10 ployee shall be in an amount determined in 

11 rules issued by the Secretary of State. 

12 ‘‘(c) RECIPIENT OF PAYMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

14 ‘child’— 

15 ‘‘(A) includes— 

16 ‘‘(i) a natural child; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) an adopted child; and 

18 ‘‘(B) does not include a stepchild. 

19 ‘‘(2) ORDER OF PRECEDENCE.—A death gra20 tuity paid under subsection (b) with respect to an 

21 employee shall be paid in the following order of prec22 edence: 

23 ‘‘(A)(i) To the beneficiary designated to re24 ceive the gratuity by the employee in a signed 

25 and witnessed writing that is received by the 


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1 agency employing the employee before the date 

2 of the death of the employee. 

3 ‘‘(ii) A designation, change, or cancellation 

4 of beneficiary in a will, or another document 

5 not described in clause (i), shall have no force 

6 or effect for the purposes of that clause. 

7 ‘‘(B) If there is no beneficiary described in 

8 subparagraph (A), to the surviving spouse of 

9 the employee. 

10 ‘‘(C) If neither subparagraph (A) nor (B) 

11 applies, to the children of the employee (includ12 ing the descendant of any deceased child by 

13 representation) such that each such child re14 ceives an equal amount of the gratuity. 

15 ‘‘(D) If none of subparagraph (A), (B), or 

16 (C) applies, to the surviving parents of the em17 ployee such that each such surviving parent re18 ceives an equal amount of the gratuity. 

19 ‘‘(E) If none of subparagraphs (A) through 

20 (D) applies, to the duly appointed executor or 

21 administrator of the estate of the employee. 

22 ‘‘(F) If none of subparagraphs (A) through 

23 (E) applies, to the person entitled, under the 

24 laws of the State in which the employee is domVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Jun 23, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3487.RS S3487

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1 iciled, as of the date on which the employee 

2 dies, to receive the payment.’’. 

3 (2) REPEAL OF DEATH GRATUITY PAYMENT AU4 THORITY.—Section 651 of the Treasury, Postal 

5 Service, and General Government Appropriations 

6 Act, 1997 (5 U.S.C. 8133 note) is repealed. 

7 (3) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND8 MENTS.— 

9 (A) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—In the table of 

10 subchapters for chapter 55 of title 5, United 

11 States Code, the item relating to subchapter 

12 VII is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VII – PAYMENTS TO MISSING PERSONS AND PAYMENTS FOR

DISABILITY OR DEATH’’. 

13 (B) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of 

14 sections for subchapter VII ofchapter 55 of title 

15 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

16 the end inserting after the item relating to sec17 tion 5570 the following: 

‘‘5571. Employee death gratuity payments.’’. 

18 (3) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND19 MENTS.— 

20 (A) SUBCHAPTER HEADING.—The heading 

21 for subchapter VII of chapter 55 of title 5, 

22 United States Code, is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘EMPLOYEES’’ and inserting ‘‘PERSONS 


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1 AND PAYMENTS FOR DISABILITY OR 

2 DEATH’’. 

3 (B) OTHER CONFORMING CHANGES.—The 

4 table of sections for chapter 55 of title 5, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (i) by striking the item relating to sub7 chapter VII and inserting the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VII—PAYMENTS TO MISSING PERSONS AND PAYMENTS FOR

DISABILITY OR DEATH’’; AND

8 (ii) by inserting after the item relating 

9 to section 5570 the following: 

‘‘5571. Employee death gratuity payments.’’. 

10 (b) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 49.—Section 

11 40122(g)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (I)(iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

13 after the semicolon; 

14 (2) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period 

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

16 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (J), the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(K) section 5571, relating to death gratu19 ities resulting from an injury sustained in the 

20 line of duty.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. FUNERAL EXPENSES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8134(a) of title 5, United 

23 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; 

2 (2) by striking ‘‘$800’’ and inserting ‘‘$8,800’’; 

3 and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) The amount described in paragraph (1) shall be 

6 adjusted on March 1 of each year by the percentage 

7 amount determined by the Secretary of Labor under sec8 tion 8146a for that year.’’. 

9 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub10 section (a)(2) shall apply with respect to any death occur11 ring on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 4. DEATH GRATUITY FOR INJURIES INCURRED IN 

13 CONNECTION WITH EMPLOYEE’S SERVICE 

14 WITH AN ARMED FORCE. 

15 Section 8102a of title 5, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘The United States’’ and 

19 inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by 

22 striking ‘‘up to’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT.—The amount described in 

25 paragraph (1) shall be adjusted each March 1 by the 


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1 amount determined by the Secretary of Labor to 

2 represent the percentage change in the Consumer 

3 Price Index for All Urban Consumers (all items; 

4 United States city average) published for December 

5 of the preceding year over that Index published for 

6 the December of the year prior to the preceding 

year, adjusted to the nearest 1 7 ⁄10 of 1 percent.’’; 

8 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BENEFITS.—With re11 spect to a death occurring on or after the date of enact12 ment of the Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line 

13 of Duty Act, the death gratuity payable under this section 

14 may not be reduced by the amount of any other death 

15 gratuity provided under any other provision of Federal law 

16 based on the same death.’’; and 

17 (3) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(7) If a person covered by this section does 

20 not have any eligible survivors, as described in this 

21 subsection, and that person has not designated an 

22 alternate person to receive a payment under this sec23 tion, the payment shall be paid to the personal rep24 resentative of the person’s estate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. AGENCY GRATUITY FOR DEATHS SUSTAINED IN 

2 THE LINE OF DUTY ABROAD. 

3 Section 413 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 

4 U.S.C. 3973) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘de7 pendents’’ and inserting ‘‘beneficiaries’’; and 

8 (B) in the second sentence, by inserting ‘‘, 

9 except as provided in subsection (e)’’ after 

10 ‘‘payable from any source’’; 

11 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(b) EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.—The head of an execu14 tive agency shall, pursuant to guidance issued under sub15 section (c), make a death gratuity payment authorized by 

16 this section to the surviving beneficiaries of— 

17 ‘‘(1) any employee of that agency who dies as 

18 a result of injuries sustained in the performance of 

19 duty abroad while subject to the authority of the 

20 chief of mission pursuant to section 207; or 

21 ‘‘(2) an individual in a special category serving 

22 in an uncompensated capacity for that agency 

23 abroad in support of a diplomatic mission, as identi24 fied in guidance issued under subsection (c), who 

25 dies as a result of injuries sustained in the perform26 ance of duty abroad.’’; 


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1 (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol2 lows: striking subsection (d); 

3 (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY UNDER CHAPTER 81 OF TITLE 5, 

6 UNITED STATES CODE.—A death gratuity payment shall 

7 be made under this section only if the death is determined 

8 by the Secretary of Labor to have resulted from an injury 

9 (excluding a disease proximately caused by the employ10 ment) sustained in the performance of duty under section 

11 8102 of title 5, United States Code.’’; 

12 (4)(5) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub13 section (f); 

14 (5)(6) by inserting after subsection (d), as 

15 added by paragraph (4), the following: 

16 ‘‘(e) OFFSET.—For deaths occurring on or after the 

17 date of enactment of this subsection the Honoring Civil 

18 Servants Killed in the Line of Duty Act, the death gratuity 

19 payable under this section shall be reduced by the amount 

20 of any death gratuity provided under section 5571 of title 

21 5, United States Code, based on the same death.’’; and 

22 (6)(7) in subsection (f), as so redesignated by 

23 paragraph (4) (5), by amending paragraph (2) to 

24 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘surviving beneficiaries’ means 

2 the person or persons identified pursuant to the 

3 order of precedence established under section 

4 5571(c)(2) of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

5 SEC. 6. EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORIZATION. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

7 (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ means an agency that is 

8 authorized or required to make a payment under a 

9 covered provision; and 

10 (2) the term ‘‘covered provision’’ means— 

11 (A) section 5571 of title 5, United States 

12 Code, as added by section 2 of this Act; 

13 (B) section 8102a of title 5, United States 

14 Code, as amended by section 4 of this Act; or 

15 (C) section 413 of the Foreign Service Act 

16 of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3973), as amended by sec17 tion 5 of this Act. 

18 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—If the head of an agency de19 termines, with the concurrence of the Director of the Of20 fice of Management and Budget, that a natural disaster, 

21 act of terrorism, or other incident results in the inability 

22 of the agency to make additional payments under a cov23 ered provision— 


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1 (1) there are authorized to be appropriated to 

2 the agency such sums as may be necessary to make 

3 those additional payments; and 

4 (2) the head of the agency may make those ad5 ditional payments only to the extent additional 

6 amounts are made available for those purposes. 

7 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that, not later than 30 days after the date on which 

9 the head of an agency submits to Congress a request for 

10 supplemental appropriations for the purposes described in 

11 subsection (b), Congress should take action with respect 

12 to that request. 


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Calendar No. 429 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3487 

[Report No. 117–123] 

A BILL 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to increase 

eral employees, and for other purposes. death gratuities and funeral allowances for FedJUNE 22, 2022 

Reported with amendments 


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