I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4944 

To restore certain non-monetary Federal benefits to remarried surviving 

spouses of members of the Armed Forces who die while serving on 

active duty, to provide student loan deferment for dislocated military 

spouses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 26, 2023 

Ms. STEFANIK (for herself and Mr. NORCROSS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition 

to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs, Oversight and Accountability, 

and Education and the Workforce, 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 restore certain non-monetary Federal benefits to remarried surviving spouses of members of the Armed Forces 

who die while serving on active duty, to provide student 

loan deferment for dislocated military spouses, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Families and 

5 Surviving Spouses Benefits Enhancement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL BENEFITS FOR REMARRIED SURVIVING 

2 SPOUSES OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 

3 FORCES WHO DIE WHILE SERVING ON AC4 TIVE DUTY. 

5 (a) CIVIL SERVICE.— 

6 (1) PREFERENCE ELIGIBLE.—Section 

7 2108(3)(D) of title 5, United States Code, is amend8 ed by striking ‘‘unmarried’’. 

9 (2) NONCOMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT.—Section 

10 3330d(a)(3)(B) of such title is amended to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) who was married to a member of the 

13 Armed Forces on the date on which the mem14 ber dies while on active duty in the Armed 

15 Forces.’’. 

16 (b) DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 

17 (1) SPECIAL MARRIAGE PROVISIONS.—Section 

18 103(d)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amend19 ed by adding at the end the following new subpara20 graph: 

21 ‘‘(C) The remarriage of the surviving spouse of a per22 son who died while serving in the active military, naval, 

23 air, or space service shall not bar the furnishing of non24 monetary benefits to such surviving spouse.’’. 

25 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR HOUSING AND SMALL

26 BUSINESS LOANS.—Section 3701(b)(2) of title 38, 


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1 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘(with2 out regard to whether such surviving spouse remar3 ries)’’ after ‘‘surviving spouse’’. 

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

5 this section shall apply beginning on the first day of the 

6 first month beginning after the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act. 

8 SEC. 3. ACCESS TO COMMISSARY AND EXCHANGE PRIVI9 LEGES FOR REMARRIED SPOUSES. 

10 (a) BENEFITS.—Section 1062 of title 10, United 

11 States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of Defense’’ and 

13 inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(a) CERTAIN UNREMARRIED FORMER SPOUSES.— 

15 The Secretary of Defense’’; 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘commissary and exchange 

17 privileges’’ and inserting ‘‘use commissary stores 

18 and MWR retail facilities’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(b) CERTAIN REMARRIED SURVIVING SPOUSES.— 

21 The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe such regulations 

22 as may be necessary to provide that a surviving spouse 

23 of a deceased member of the armed forces, regardless of 

24 the marital status of the surviving spouse, is entitled to 

25 use commissary stores and MWR retail facilities to the 


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1 same extent and on the same basis as an unremarried sur2 viving spouse of a member of the uniformed services. 

3 ‘‘(c) MWR RETAIL FACILITIES DEFINED.—In this 

4 section, the term ‘MWR retail facilities’ has the meaning 

5 given that term in section 1063(e) of this title.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading of such 

8 section 1062 is amended by inserting ‘‘and sur9 viving spouses’’ after ‘‘Certain former 

10 spouses’’. 

11 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 

12 at the beginning of chapter 54 of title 10, United 

13 States Code, is amended by striking the item relat14 ing to section 1062 and inserting the following: 

‘‘1062. Certain former spouses and surviving spouses.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. STUDENT LOAN DEFERMENT FOR DISLOCATED 

16 MILITARY SPOUSES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(f) of the Higher Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 

20 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 

21 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(4) DEFERMENT FOR DISLOCATED MILITARY

24 SPOUSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) DURATION AND EFFECT ON PRIN2 CIPAL AND INTEREST.—A borrower of a loan 

3 made under this part who meets the require4 ments of subparagraph (B) shall be eligible for 

5 a deferment for an aggregate period of 180 

6 days, during which periodic installments of 

7 principal need not be paid, and interest— 

8 ‘‘(i) shall not accrue, in the case of 

9 a— 

10 ‘‘(I) Federal Direct Stafford 

11 Loan; or 

12 ‘‘(II) a Federal Direct Consolida13 tion Loan that consolidated only Fed14 eral Direct Stafford Loans, or a com15 bination of such loans and Federal 

16 Stafford Loans for which the student 

17 borrower received an interest subsidy 

18 under section 428; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) shall accrue and be capitalized or 

20 paid by the borrower, in the case of a Fed21 eral Direct PLUS Loan, a Federal Direct 

22 Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or a Federal 

23 Direct Consolidation Loan not described in 

24 clause (i)(II). 


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1 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—A borrower of a loan 

2 made under this part shall be eligible for a 

3 deferment under subparagraph (A) if the bor4 rower— 

5 ‘‘(i) is the spouse of a member of the 

6 Armed Forces serving on active duty; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) has experienced a loss of employ8 ment as a result of relocation to accommo9 date a permanent change in duty station of 

10 such member. 

11 ‘‘(C) DOCUMENTATION AND APPROVAL.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A borrower may 

13 establish eligibility for a deferment under 

14 subparagraph (A) by providing to the Sec15 retary— 

16 ‘‘(I) the documentation described 

17 in clause (ii); or 

18 ‘‘(II) such other documentation 

19 as the Secretary determines appro20 priate. 

21 ‘‘(ii) DOCUMENTATION.—The docu22 mentation described in this clause is— 

23 ‘‘(I) evidence that the borrower is 

24 the spouse of a member of the Armed 

25 Forces serving on active duty; 


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1 ‘‘(II) evidence that a military 

2 permanent change of station order 

3 was issued to such member; and 

4 ‘‘(III)(aa) evidence that the bor5 rower is eligible for unemployment 

6 benefits due to a loss of employment 

7 resulting from relocation to accommo8 date such permanent change in duty 

9 station; or 

10 ‘‘(bb) a written certification, or 

11 an equivalent as approved by the Sec12 retary, that the borrower is registered 

13 with a public or private employment 

14 agency due to a loss of employment 

15 resulting from relocation to accommo16 date such permanent change in duty 

17 station.’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 subsection (a) shall take effect 90 days after the date of 

20 the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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