I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5883 

To provide and expand gratuities for employees killed in the line of duty, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 3, 2023 

Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following 

bill 

OCTOBER 25, 2023 

Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition 

to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Veterans’ Affairs, 

Transportation and Infrastructure, Homeland Security, 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 provide and expand gratuities for employees killed in 

the line of duty, 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 ‘‘Honoring Civil Serv5 ants Killed in the Line of Duty Act’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 5883 IH

1 SEC. 2. INCREASING DEATH GRATUITY FOR FEDERAL EM2 PLOYEES KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY. 

3 (a) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 5, UNITED STATES

4 CODE.— 

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

6 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 5571. Employee death gratuity payments 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.— 

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

11 5561(2), in this section, the term ‘employee’ means 

12 an individual who has been determined by the Sec13 retary of Labor to be an employee within the mean14 ing of section 8101(1), but not including any indi15 vidual described under subparagraph (D) of such 

16 section. 

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

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

19 Secretary of Labor. 

20 ‘‘(b) GRATUITY.— 

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

22 of an employee, the head of the agency at which the 

23 employee was employed shall pay from appropria24 tions made available for salaries and expenses of 

25 that agency a death gratuity to the person identified 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 5883 IH

1 under subsection (c)(2), if the death of the em2 ployee— 

3 ‘‘(A) results from injuries incurred— 

4 ‘‘(i) in connection with such employ5 ee’s employment with the Federal Govern6 ment; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) as a result of a criminal act, an 

8 act of terrorism, a natural disaster, or any 

9 other circumstance as determined by the 

10 agency head; and 

11 ‘‘(B) is not— 

12 ‘‘(i) caused by willful misconduct of 

13 the employee, as determined by a review 

14 conducted by the applicable office of In15 spector General; 

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

17 employee to bring about the injury or 

18 death of the employee or another; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) proximately caused by the in20 toxication or self-impairment of the em21 ployee. 

22 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.— 

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

24 subparagraph (B), the amount of a death gra25 tuity paid under paragraph (1) with respect to 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 5883 IH

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

2 each March 1 by the amount determined by the 

3 Secretary of Labor to represent the percentage 

4 change in the Consumer Price Index for All 

5 Urban Consumers (all items; United States city 

6 average) published for December of the pre7 ceding year over that Index published for the 

8 December of the year prior to the preceding 

year, adjusted to the nearest 1 9 ⁄10 of 1 percent. 

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

11 an employee compensated under a local com12 pensation plan established under section 408 of 

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

14 3968), the amount of a death gratuity paid 

15 under paragraph (1) with respect to the em16 ployee shall be in an amount determined in 

17 rules issued by the Secretary of State. 

18 ‘‘(c) RECIPIENT OF PAYMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) CHILD DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 

20 term ‘child’ means a child of an employee of any 

21 age, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) an adopted child or a stepchild; and 

23 ‘‘(B) a foster child but only if the child 

24 lives with the employee in a regular parent-child 

25 relationship. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 5883 IH

1 ‘‘(2) ORDER OF PRECEDENCE.—A death gra2 tuity paid under subsection (b) with respect to an 

3 employee shall be paid in the following order of prec4 edence: 

5 ‘‘(A)(i) To the beneficiary designated to re6 ceive the gratuity by the employee in a signed 

7 and witnessed official Federal Government form 

8 that is received by the agency employing the 

9 employee before the date of the death of the 

10 employee. 

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

12 of beneficiary in a will, or another document 

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

14 or effect for the purposes of that clause. 

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

16 subparagraph (A), to the surviving spouse of 

17 the employee. 

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

19 applies, to any child (or grandchild if the child 

20 who is the parent of such grandchild is de21 ceased) such that each such child or grandchild 

22 (as the case may be) receives an equal amount 

23 of the gratuity. 

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

25 (C) applies, to the surviving parents of the emVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:36 Nov 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5883.IH H5883

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 5883 IH

1 ployee such that each such surviving parent re2 ceives an equal amount of the gratuity. 

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

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

5 administrator of the estate of the employee. 

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

7 (E) applies, to the person designated according 

8 to the laws of the State in which the insured in9 dividual legally resided. 

10 ‘‘(d) TAX TREATMENT.—A payment under this sec11 tion shall not be includible in the gross income of the re12 cipient for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 

13 1986.’’. 

14 (2) REPEAL OF DEATH GRATUITY PAYMENT AU15 THORITY.—Section 651 of the Treasury, Postal 

16 Service, and General Government Appropriations 

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

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 

24 AND PAYMENTS FOR DISABILITY OR 

25 DEATH’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 5883 IH

1 (B) OTHER CONFORMING CHANGES.—The 

2 table of sections for chapter 55 of title 5, 

3 United States Code, is amended— 

4 (i) by striking the item relating to 

5 subchapter VII and inserting the following: 

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

DISABILITY OR DEATH’’; 

6 and 

7 (ii) by inserting after the item relating 

8 to section 5570 the following: 

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

9 (b) OTHER EMPLOYEES.— 

10 (1) FAA.—Section 40122(g)(2) of title 49, 

11 United States Code, is amended— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (I)(iii), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (J), by striking the 

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

16 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (J), 

17 the following: 

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

20 line of duty.’’. 

21 (2) CERTAIN TSA EMPLOYEES.—Section 

22 111(d)(2) of the Aviation and Transportation SecuVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:36 Nov 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5883.IH H5883

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 5883 IH

1 rity Act (49 U.S.C. 44935 note) is amended by add2 ing at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(C) DEATH GRATUITY.—Section 5571 of 

4 title 5, United States Code, shall apply to any 

5 individual appointed under paragraph (1).’’. 

6 (3) VHA EMPLOYEES.—Section 7425 of title 

7 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

8 the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sub10 chapter, the Administration shall provide, with respect to 

11 individuals appointed to any position described in section 

12 7421(b) who are employed for compensation by the Ad13 ministration, the death gratuity under section 5571 of title 

14 5.’’. 

15 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub16 section (a) and (b) shall apply with respect to any death 

17 occurring on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 3. FUNERAL EXPENSES. 

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

20 States Code, is amended— 

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

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

23 and 

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


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 5883 IH

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

2 adjusted on March 1 of each year by the percentage 

3 amount determined by the Secretary of Labor under sec4 tion 8146a for that year. 

5 ‘‘(3) A payment under this subsection shall not be 

6 includible in the gross income of the recipient for purposes 

7 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 

8 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub9 section (a) shall apply with respect to any death occurring 

10 on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 4. DEATH GRATUITY FOR INJURIES INCURRED IN 

12 CONNECTION WITH EMPLOYEE’S SERVICE 

13 WITH AN ARMED FORCE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8102a of title 5, United 

15 States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

18 inserting the following: 

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

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

21 striking ‘‘up to’’; and 

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

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

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

25 amount determined by the Secretary of Labor to 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 5883 IH

1 represent the percentage change in the Consumer 

2 Price Index for All Urban Consumers (all items; 

3 United States city average) published for December 

4 of the preceding year over that Index published for 

5 the December of the year prior to the preceding 

year, adjusted to the nearest 1 6 ⁄10 of 1 percent.’’; 

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

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BENEFITS.—With re10 spect to a death occurring on or after the date of enact11 ment of the Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line 

12 of Duty Act, any compensation otherwise payable to an 

13 individual under this section in connection with any death 

14 shall be reduced by any amounts payable to such indi15 vidual under any other program funded in whole or in part 

16 by the United States (excluding any amount payable 

17 under section 5569(d)) in connection with such death.’’; 

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

19 following: 

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

21 not have any eligible survivors, as described in this 

22 subsection, and that person has not designated an 

23 alternate person to receive a payment under this sec24 tion, the payment shall be paid to the personal rep25 resentative of the person’s estate.’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•HR 5883 IH

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

2 ‘‘(f) TAX TREATMENT.—A payment under this sec3 tion shall not be includible in the gross income of the re4 cipient for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986.’’. 

6 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub7 section (a) shall apply with respect to any death occurring 

8 on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 5. AGENCY GRATUITY FOR DEATHS SUSTAINED IN 

10 THE LINE OF DUTY ABROAD. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 413 of the Foreign Serv12 ice Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3973) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘de15 pendents’’ and inserting ‘‘beneficiaries’’; and 

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

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

18 ‘‘payable from any source’’; 

19 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(b) EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.—The head of an execu22 tive agency shall, pursuant to guidance issued under sub23 section (c), make a death gratuity payment authorized by 

24 this section to the surviving beneficiaries of— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•HR 5883 IH

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

2 a result of injuries sustained in the performance of 

3 duty abroad while subject to the authority of the 

4 chief of mission pursuant to section 207; or 

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

6 in an uncompensated capacity for that agency 

7 abroad in support of a diplomatic mission, as identi8 fied in guidance issued under subsection (c), who 

9 dies as a result of injuries sustained in the perform10 ance of duty abroad.’’; 

11 (3) by striking ‘‘GUIDANCE.—’’ and all that fol12 lows through ‘‘pursuant to section 207.’’ and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 60 days after the 

15 date of the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations 

16 Act, 2014, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the 

17 heads of other relevant executive agencies, issue guidance 

18 with criteria for determining eligibility for, and order of 

19 payments to, survivors and beneficiaries of any employee 

20 or of an individual in a special category serving in an un21 compensated capacity for that agency who dies as a result 

22 of injuries sustained in the performance of duty while sub23 ject to the authority of the chief of mission pursuant to 

24 section 207.’’; 

25 (4) by striking subsection (d); 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•HR 5883 IH

1 (5) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub2 section (f); 

3 (6) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing new subsections: 

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 ‘‘(e) OFFSET.—Any compensation otherwise payable 

13 to an individual under this section in connection with any 

14 death shall be reduced by any amounts payable to such 

15 individual under any other program funded in whole or 

16 in part by the United States (excluding any amount pay17 able under section 5569(d)) in connection with such 

18 death.’’; 

19 (7) in subsection (f), as so redesignated by 

20 paragraph (5), by amending paragraph (2) to read 

21 as follows: 

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

23 the person or persons identified pursuant to the 

24 order of precedence established under section 

25 5571(c)(2) of title 5, United States Code.’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•HR 5883 IH

1 (8) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(g) TAX TREATMENT.—A payment under this sec3 tion shall not be includible in the gross income of the re4 cipient for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986.’’. 

6 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub7 section (a) shall apply with respect to any death occurring 

8 on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 6. ADJUSTMENT OF CERTAIN DEATH GRATUITIES 

10 UNDER TITLE 10 OF THE UNITED STATES 

11 CODE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1478 of title 10, United 

13 States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after 

15 ‘‘$100,000’’ the following: ‘‘, as adjusted each 

16 March 1 by the amount determined by the Secretary 

17 of Labor to represent the percentage change in the 

18 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (all 

19 items; United States city average) published for De20 cember of the preceding year over that Index pub21 lished for the December of the year prior to the preceding year, adjusted to the nearest 1 22 ⁄10 of 1 per23 cent’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•HR 5883 IH

1 ‘‘(e) TAX TREATMENT.—A payment under this sec2 tion shall not be includible in the gross income of the re3 cipient for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 

4 1986.’’. 

5 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub6 section (a) shall apply with respect to any death occurring 

7 on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 7. EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORIZATION OF 

9 APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

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

12 authorized or required to make a payment under a 

13 covered provision; and 

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

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

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

17 (B) section 8102a of such title, as amend18 ed by section 4 of this Act; or 

19 (C) section 413 of the Foreign Service Act 

20 of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3973), as amended by sec21 tion 5 of this Act. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—If the head of an agency de23 termines, with the concurrence of the Director of the Of24 fice of Management and Budget, that a natural disaster, 

25 act of terrorism, or other incident would result in costs 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•HR 5883 IH

1 that would exceed the amounts available to the agency to 

2 make additional payments under a covered provision— 

3 (1) there are authorized to be appropriated to 

4 the agency such additional sums as may be nec5 essary to make those additional payments; and 

6 (2) the head of the agency may make such ad7 ditional payments to the extent additional such addi8 tional sums are made available for those purposes. 

9 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that, not later than 30 days after the date on which 

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

12 supplemental appropriations for the purposes described in 

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

14 to that request. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB