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‘‘(2) The term ‘Governor’ means, with respect
to the District of Columbia, the commanding general
of the District of Columbia National Guard.
‘‘(3) The term ‘State’ includes the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
Guam, and the Virgin Islands.’’.
SEC. 366. AMENDMENTS TO THE ARMED FORCES RETIRE-
MENT HOME ACT OF 1991.
(a) RELATIONSHIP
TO
DEPARTMENT
OF
DE-
FENSE.—Section 1511 of the Armed Forces Retirement
Home Act of 1991 (title XV of Public Law 101–510; 104
Stat. 1723) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (f); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the follow-
ing new subsection (e):
‘‘(e) DEPARTMENT
OF DEFENSE SUPPORT.—The
Secretary of Defense may make available to the Retire-
ment Home, on a nonreimbursable basis, administrative
support and office services, legal and policy planning as-
sistance, access to investigative facilities of the Inspector
General of the Department of Defense and of the military
departments, and any other support necessary to enable
the Retirement Home to carry out its functions under this
Act.’’.
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(b) AUTHORITY
OF RETIREMENT HOME CHAIR-
MAN.—Subsection (d)(1) of section 1515 of such Act (104
Stat. 1727) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(d) CHAIRMEN.—(1)(A) The Secretary of Defense
shall select one of the members of the Retirement Home
Board to serve as chairman. The term of office of the
chairman shall be five years with eligibility for selection
to serve a second five-year term at the discretion of the
Secretary. The chairman shall act as the chief executive
officer of the Retirement Home, and shall not be respon-
sible to the Secretary of Defense or to the Secretaries of
the military departments for overall direction and manage-
ment of the Retirement Home and each facility main-
tained as a separate facility of the Retirement Home.
‘‘(B) The chairman may appoint, in addition to such
ad hoc committees as the chairman determines to be ap-
propriate, a standing executive committee to act for, and
in the name of, the Retirement Home Board at such times
and on such matters as the chairman considers necessary
to expedite the efficient and timely management of each
facility maintained as a separate facility of the Retirement
Home.
‘‘(C) The chairman may appoint an administrative
staff to assist the chairman in the performance of such
individual’s duties as the chairman of the Retirement
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Board and chief executive officer of the Retirement Home.
The chairman shall determine the rate of pay for such
staff, except that a staff member who is a member of the
Armed Forces on active duty or who is a full-time officer
or employee of the United States shall receive no addi-
tional pay by reason of service on the administrative
staff.’’.
(c) HOSPITAL CARE FOR HOME RESIDENTS.—The
second sentence of section 1513(b) of such Act (104 Stat.
1725) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘Secondary and ter-
tiary hospital care for residents that is not available at
a facility maintained as a separate establishment of the
Retirement Home shall, to the extent available, be ob-
tained by agreement with the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs or the Secretary of Defense in a facility administered
by such Secretary. The Retirement Home shall not be re-
sponsible for the costs incurred for such care by a resident
of the Retirement Home who uses a private medical facil-
ity for such care.’’.
(d) DISPOSITION OF ESTATES OF DECEASED RESI-
DENTS.—Section 1520(a) of such Act (104 Stat. 1731)
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) EFFECTS OF DECEASED PERSONS.—The Direc-
tor of a facility maintained as a separate establishment
of the Retirement Home shall safeguard and dispose of
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the estate and personal effects of deceased residents, in-
cluding effects delivered to the Retirement Home under
subsections 4712(f) and 9712(f) of title 10, United States
Code, and shall ensure the following:
‘‘(1) A will or other instrument of a testa-
mentary nature involving property rights executed
by a resident shall be promptly delivered, upon the
death of the resident, to the proper court of record.
All property left by the deceased resident shall be
held for disposition as directed by the court.
‘‘(2) In the event a resident dies intestate and
the heirs or legal representative of the deceased can-
not be immediately ascertained, the Director shall
retain all property left by the decedent for a three-
year period beginning on the date of the death. If
entitlement to such property is established to the
satisfaction of the Director at any time during the
three-year period, the Director shall distribute the
decedent’s property, in equal pro-rata shares when
multiple beneficiaries have been identified, to the
highest following categories of identified survivors
(listed in the order of precedence indicated):
‘‘(A) The surviving spouse or legal rep-
resentative.
‘‘(B) The children of the deceased.
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‘‘(C) The parents of the deceased.
‘‘(D) The siblings of the deceased.
‘‘(E) The next-of-kin of the deceased.’’.
(e) SALE OF EFFECTS.—Subsection (b) of such sec-
tion is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) SALE OF EFFECTS.—(1) In the event the dis-
position of the estate of a resident of the Retirement
Home cannot be accomplished under subsection (a)(2), the
entirety of the deceased resident’s domiciliary estate and
the entirety of any ancillary estate that are unclaimed at
the end of the three-year period beginning on the date of
the death of the resident shall escheat to the Retirement
Home. Upon the sale of any such unclaimed estate prop-
erty, the proceeds of the sale shall be deposited in the Re-
tirement Home Trust Fund. In the event a personal rep-
resentative or other fiduciary is appointed to administer
a deceased resident’s unclaimed estate before the end of
such three-year period, the balance of the entire net pro-
ceeds of the estate, less estate expenses, shall be directly
deposited to any local court fund, subject to a claim by
the Comptroller General of the United States. This para-
graph shall apply to the estate of a resident of the Sol-
diers’ and Airmen’s Home or of the Naval Home who dies
after November 29, 1989.
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‘‘(2) The Director of a facility maintained as a sepa-
rate establishment of the Retirement Home may designate
an attorney to serve as attorney-general for the facility
in any probate proceeding in which the Retirement Home
may have a legal interest as nominated fiduciary, testa-
mentary legatee, escheat legatee, or in any other capacity.
The attorney-general may, in the domiciliary jurisdiction
of the deceased resident and in any ancillary jurisdictions,
petition for appointment as fiduciary under any resulting
court appointment. In a probate proceeding in which the
heirs of an intestate deceased resident cannot be located,
the attorney-agent shall be appointed as the fiduciary of
the estate of the decedent.
‘‘(3) The designation of a facility of the Retirement
Home as personal representative of the estate of a resident
of the Retirement Home or as a legatee under the will
or codicil of the resident shall not disqualify an employee
or staff member of that facility from serving as an eligible
witness to a will or codicil of the resident.
‘‘(4) After the expiration of the three-year period be-
ginning on the date of the death of a resident of the facil-
ity, the Director of the facility shall dispose of all property
of the deceased resident that is not otherwise disposed of
as provided for in this subsection, including personal ef-
fects such as decorations, medals, and citations to which
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a right has not been established under subsection (a). Dis-
posal may be made within the discretion of the Director
by—
‘‘(A) retaining such property or effects for the
facility;
‘‘(B) offering such items to the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, a State, another military home, a
museum, or any other institution having an interest;
or
‘‘(C) destroying any items the Director con-
cerned considers to be valueless.’’.
SEC. 367. REQUIRED PAYMENT DATE UNDER PROMPT PAY-
MENT ACT FOR PROCUREMENT OF BAKED
GOODS.
In the case of the acquisition of baked goods by the
Department of Defense, the required payment date for
purposes of section 3902 of title 31, United States Code
(relating to interest penalties for failure to pay contractors
by the required payment date), shall be the same as ap-
plies under the regulations prescribed under section
3903(a)(4) of such title in the case of the acquisition of
edible oils or fats by the Department of Defense.