I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 23 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans 

Affairs to establish the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund 

to provide benefits to certain individuals who served in the United States 

merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval 

Transport Service) during World War II. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 5, 2011 

Mr. FILNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Merchant 

Mariner Equity Compensation Fund to provide benefits 

to certain individuals who served in the United States 

merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service 

and the Naval Transport Service) during World War 

II. 

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 ‘‘Belated Thank You 

5 to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PAYMENTS TO INDIVIDUALS WHO SERVED DURING 

2 WORLD WAR II IN THE UNITED STATES MER3 CHANT MARINE. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPENSATION FUND.— 

5 Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 38, United States Code, 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 533. MERCHANT MARINER EQUITY COMPENSATION 

8 FUND. 

9 ‘‘(a) COMPENSATION FUND.—(1) There is in the gen10 eral fund of the Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘Mer11 chant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund’ (in this sec12 tion referred to as the ‘compensation fund’). 

13 ‘‘(2) Subject to the availability of appropriations for 

14 such purpose, amounts in the compensation fund shall be 

15 available to the Secretary without fiscal year limitation to 

16 make payments to eligible individuals in accordance with 

17 this section. 

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—(1) An eligible indi19 vidual is an individual who— 

20 ‘‘(A) during the one-year period beginning on 

21 the date of the enactment of the Belated Thank You 

22 to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 

23 2009, submits to the Secretary an application con24 taining such information and assurances as the Sec25 retary may require; 


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1 ‘‘(B) has not received benefits under the Serv2 icemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (Public Law 

3 78–346); and 

4 ‘‘(C) has engaged in qualified service. 

5 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a person has en6 gaged in qualified service if, between December 7, 1941, 

7 and December 31, 1946, the person— 

8 ‘‘(A) was a member of the United States mer9 chant marine (including the Army Transport Service 

10 and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crew11 member of a vessel that was— 

12 ‘‘(i) operated by the War Shipping Admin13 istration or the Office of Defense Transpor14 tation (or an agent of the Administration or Of15 fice); 

16 ‘‘(ii) operated in waters other than inland 

17 waters, the Great Lakes, and other lakes, bays, 

18 and harbors of the United States; 

19 ‘‘(iii) under contract or charter to, or prop20 erty of, the Government of the United States; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(iv) serving the Armed Forces; and 

23 ‘‘(B) while so serving, was licensed or otherwise 

24 documented for service as a crewmember of such a 

25 vessel by an officer or employee of the United States 


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1 authorized to license or document the person for 

2 such service. 

3 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

4 make a monthly payment out of the compensation fund 

5 in the amount of $1,000 to an eligible individual. The Sec6 retary shall make such payments to eligible individuals in 

7 the order in which the Secretary receives the applications 

8 of the eligible individuals. 

9 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—(1) 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated to the compensa11 tion fund amounts as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) For fiscal year 2010, $120,000,000. 

13 ‘‘(B) For fiscal year 2011, $108,000,000. 

14 ‘‘(C) For fiscal year 2012, $97,000,000. 

15 ‘‘(D) For fiscal year 2013, $85,000,000. 

16 ‘‘(E) For fiscal year 2014, $75,000,000. 

17 ‘‘(2) Funds appropriated to carry out this section 

18 shall remain available until expended. 

19 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall include, in docu20 ments submitted to Congress by the Secretary in support 

21 of the President’s budget for each fiscal year, detailed in22 formation on the operation of the compensation fund, in23 cluding the number of applicants, the number of eligible 

24 individuals receiving benefits, the amounts paid out of the 

25 compensation fund, the administration of the compensaVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:16 Jan 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H23.IH H23

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1 tion fund, and an estimate of the amounts necessary to 

2 fully fund the compensation fund for that fiscal year and 

3 each of the three subsequent fiscal years. 

4 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

5 regulations to carry out this section.’’. 

6 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

8 prescribe the regulations required under section 532(f) of 

9 title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

10 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

11 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

12 after the item related to section 532 the following new 

13 item: 

‘‘533. Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund.’’. 

Æ 


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