I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 850

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide special compensation 

for former prisoners of war, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2003

Mr. SIMPSON (for himself, Mr. COX, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. DREIER, Mr. HYDE, 

Mr. KOLBE, Mr. LEACH, Mr. OTTER, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, and Mr. 

WILSON of South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide special 

compensation for former prisoners of war, 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 ‘‘Former Prisoners of 

5 War Special Compensation Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL COMPENSATION FOR FORMER PRISONERS 

2 OF WAR. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 38, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new subchapter: 

6 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER VII—FORMER PRISONERS OF 

7 WAR 

8 ‘‘§ 1181. Special compensation: former prisoners of 

9 war 

10 ‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary shall pay monthly to each vet11 eran who is a former prisoner of war and who while a 

12 prisoner of war was detained or interned for not less than 

13 30 days special compensation at the rate specified in sub14 section (b). 

15 ‘‘(2) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘vet16 eran’ includes an individual serving on active duty. 

17 ‘‘(b) The rate of special compensation for purposes 

18 of this section shall be as follows: 

19 ‘‘(1) If the former prisoner of war was detained 

20 or interned for a period of not more than 120 days, 

21 the monthly amount of special compensation payable 

22 shall be $150. 

23 ‘‘(2) If the former prisoner of war was detained 

24 or interned for a period of more than 120 days and 

25 not more than 540 days, the monthly amount of spe26 cial compensation payable shall be $300. 
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1 ‘‘(3) If the former prisoner of war was detained 

2 or interned for a period of more than 540 days, the 

3 monthly amount of special compensation payable 

4 shall be $450. 

5 ‘‘(c) If a former prisoner of war was detained or in6 terned on two or more separate occasions, the cumulative 

7 length of all occasions of confinement or internment as 

8 a prisoner of war shall determine the monthly compensa9 tion rate payable under subsection (b). 

10 ‘‘§ 1182. Provisions relating to special compensation 

11 for former prisoners of war 

12 ‘‘(a) Special compensation payable under this sub13 chapter shall be paid in addition to any other payment 

14 under the laws of the United States. Amounts paid to an 

15 individual under this subchapter shall not be considered 

16 to be income or resources for purposes of determining eli17 gibility to receive benefits under any Federal or federally 

18 assisted program. 

19 ‘‘(b) Special compensation payable under this sub20 chapter shall not be considered to be compensation within 

21 the meaning of that term in section 101(13) of this title. 

22 ‘‘(c) The provisions of subsection (c) of section 1562 

23 of this title shall apply to special compensation under this 

24 subchapter in the same manner as to special pension 

25 under that section.’’. 
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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following new items:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER VII—FORMER PRISONERS OF WAR

‘‘1181. Special compensation: former prisoners of war. 

‘‘1182. Provisions relating to special compensation for former prisoners of 

war.’’.

4 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITION ON PAYMENT

5 OF COMPENSATION FOR ALCOHOL OR DRUG6 RELATED DISABILITY. 

7 (a) CLARIFICATION.—Sections 1110 and 1131 of title 

8 38, United States Code, are each amended by inserting 

9 ‘‘, even if the abuse is secondary to a service-connected 

10 disability’’ before the period at the end. 

11 (a) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub12 section (a) apply to any claim—

13 (1) filed on or after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act; or 

15 (2) filed before the date of the enactment of 

16 this Act and not finally decided as of that date. 

17 SEC. 4. OUTPATIENT DENTAL CARE FOR ALL FORMER 

18 PRISONERS OF WAR. 

19 Section 1712(a)(1)(F) of title 38, United States 

20 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and who was detained or 

21 interned for a period of not less than 90 days’’.

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