I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5057

To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Defense 

to carry out a program to provide a support system for members of 

the Armed Forces who incur severe disabilities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2004

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER (for himself, Mr. HOYER, and Mr. JONES of North 

Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL

To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out a program to provide 

a support system for members of the Armed Forces 

who incur severe disabilities.

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 ‘‘Disabled Veterans 

5 Transition Assistance Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are—
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1 (1) to honor the members of the Armed Forces 

2 by ensuring that those members who are severely 

3 disabled on or after September 11, 2001, while in 

4 the military service and their family members receive 

5 the assistance they need in undergoing the transition 

6 from military to civilian life and from care provided 

7 by the Department of Defense to care provided by 

8 the Department of Veterans Affairs; and 

9 (2) in order to carry out the purpose stated in 

10 paragraph (1), to expand the scope of the the pro11 gram of the Army known as the Disabled Soldiers’ 

12 Support System to provide transition assistance as 

13 described in paragraph (1) for all eligible severely 

14 disabled members of the Army and to extend that 

15 program to all branches of the Armed Forces. 

16 SEC. 3. ENHANCED TRANSITION ASSISTANCE FOR SE17 VERELY WOUNDED SERVICEMEMBERS. 

18 (a) DISABLED SERVICEMEMBER SUPPORT SYS19 TEM.—(1) Chapter 58 of title 10, United States Code, is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

21 ‘‘§ 1154. Support and transition assistance for mem22 bers with severe disabilities 

23 ‘‘(a) DISABLED SERVICEMEMBER SUPPORT SYS24 TEM.—The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a pro25 gram to provide a support system for members of the 
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1 armed forces who incur severe disabilities on or after Sep2 tember 11, 2001. The program shall include a system of 

3 advocacy and follow-up with personal support to assist 

4 those members as they transition from military service to 

5 the civilian community. 

6 ‘‘(b) EXECUTIVE AGENT.—The Secretary of Defense 

7 shall designate an executive agent within the Department 

8 of Defense to have the authority and responsibility to 

9 carry out the program under this section throughout the 

10 Department of Defense and, in cooperation with the Sec11 retary of Homeland Security, for members of the Coast 

12 Guard with severe disabilities. 

13 ‘‘(c) STAFFING.—As part of the program under sub14 section (a), the Secretary shall ensure that there are suffi15 cient personnel assigned to the program so that the the 

16 ratio of severely disabled members or former members eli17 gible for the program at any time to the number of per18 sonnel assigned to the program with specific responsibility 

19 for advocacy and follow-up for assigned members and 

20 former members is not greater than 30:1. 

21 ‘‘(d) SEVERE DISABILITIES.—The Secretary of De22 fense shall specify the degree and nature of disabilities 

23 that are to be considered to be severe disabilities for the 

24 purposes of this section.’’. 
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1 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 

2 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following 

3 new item:

‘‘1154. Support and transition assistance for members with severe disabilities.’’.

4 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Defense 

5 shall prescribe regulations for the purposes of section 

6 1154 of title 10, United States Code, as added by sub7 section (a), not later than 180 days after the date of the 

8 enactment of this Act. The Secretary shall designate the 

9 executive agent required by subsection (b) of that section 

10 not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act. Until such designation is made by the Sec12 retary, the executive agent shall be the Secretary of the 

13 Army. 

14 (c) INITIAL FUNDING.—For fiscal year 2005, the 

15 Secretary of Defense shall transfer such funds as nec16 essary to provide funds for the implementation during that 

17 fiscal year of the program required by that section.

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