I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1790 
To amend title 38, United States Code, and the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 to establish, in the event of any war, a war tax to be collected 
and deposited in a trust fund for the payment of benefits and compensa-
tion to veterans of that war. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 29, 2017 
Mr. O’ROURKE (for himself, Mr. JONES, Mr. MOULTON, and Mr. YOUNG of 
Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Vet-
erans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, and the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 to establish, in the event of any 
war, a war tax to be collected and deposited in a trust 
fund for the payment of benefits and compensation to 
veterans of that war. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Health Care 
Trust Fund Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) war is inherently unpredictable, and the 
true cost of health care related to conflicts is often 
not fully understood until several decades later; 
(2) an independent estimate from Harvard Uni-
versity found that over the next 40–50 years, the 
costs related to health care and disability compensa-
tion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will exceed 
$970 billion; 
(3) this is evidenced by the growing treatment 
costs for conditions related to Agent Orange expo-
sure in Vietnam Veterans, Gulf War Syndrome in 
Gulf War Veterans, and conditions related to burn 
pit exposure in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans; and 
(4) taking steps to address these costs now en-
sures that Congress fully accounts for these costs 
when considering the use of military force and that 
our Nation is better postured to address the long- 
term and unforeseen health care needs of its vet-
erans. 
SEC. 3. WAR TRUST FUNDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
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‘‘§ 119. War trust funds 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Upon the commencement of 
any war, the Secretary shall establish in the General Fund 
of the Treasury a trust fund to be named for that war. 
Amounts collected pursuant to section 59A of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 by reason of the occurrence of that 
war shall be deposited into the fund. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts available in a trust 
fund established under subsection (a) for a war may be 
used by the Secretary to provide for the following for vet-
erans who serve on active duty in the Armed Forces dur-
ing that war: 
‘‘(1) Hospital care and medical services. 
‘‘(2) Payments of disability compensation under 
the laws administered by the Secretary. 
‘‘(3) Other programs and benefits under the 
laws administered by the Secretary that the Sec-
retary determines are directly related to the health 
care of such veterans. 
‘‘(c) CONCURRENT WARS.—If more than one war oc-
curs concurrently, the Secretary shall establish a separate 
trust fund under subsection (a) for each such war. 
‘‘(d) REPORTS.—(1) Not later than 30 days after the 
Secretary first makes a withdrawal from a trust fund es-
tablished under this section, and every 30 days thereafter 
until the Secretary makes the final withdrawal from the 
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fund, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 
Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representa-
tives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep-
resentatives a report describing the intended use of the 
amounts withdrawn from the fund during the period cov-
ered by the report. 
‘‘(2) For any fiscal year during which the Secretary 
makes a withdrawal from a fund established under this 
section, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct an audit of the consolidated financial statements 
relating to the fund, as prepared by the Department of 
the Treasury. Not later than 30 days after the last day 
of such a fiscal year, the Comptroller General shall submit 
to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Finance of 
the Senate, and the Committee on Ways and Means of 
the House of Representatives a report containing the re-
sults of the audit. 
‘‘(e) WAR DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘war’ 
means any use of the Armed Forces pursuant to any of 
the following: 
‘‘(1) A war conducted pursuant to a declaration 
of war by Congress. 
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‘‘(2) The War Powers Resolution (Public Law 
93–148; 50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.). 
‘‘(3) The Authorization for Use of Military 
Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note). 
‘‘(4) Any other authorization for use of military 
force enacted on or after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 
at the end the following new item: 
‘‘119. War trust funds.’’. 
SEC. 4. WAR TAX. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 1 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting 
after part VI the following new part: 
‘‘PART VII—WAR TAX 
‘‘Sec. 59A. War tax. 
‘‘SEC. 59A. WAR TAX. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a covered indi-
vidual, there is hereby imposed (in addition to any other 
tax imposed by this subtitle) with respect to each war oc-
curring at any time during the taxable year a tax deter-
mined under the following table: 
‘‘If adjusted gross income of the 
taxpayer is: 
The tax is: 
Less than $30,000 .............................................................................
$25
At least $30,000 but less than $40,000 ............................................
$57
At least $40,000 but less than $50,000 ............................................
$98
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‘‘If adjusted gross income of the 
taxpayer is: 
The tax is: 
At least $50,000 but less than $75,000 ............................................
$164
At least $75,000 but less than $100,000 ..........................................
$270
At least $100,000 but less than $200,000 ........................................
$485
At least $200,000 .............................................................................. $1,000. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur-
poses of this section— 
‘‘(1) WAR.—The term ‘war’ means any use of 
the Armed Forces pursuant to any of the following: 
‘‘(A) A war conducted pursuant to a dec-
laration of war by Congress. 
‘‘(B) The War Powers Resolution (Public 
Law 93–148; 50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.). 
‘‘(C) The Authorization for Use of Military 
Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 
note). 
‘‘(D) Any other authorization for use of 
military force enacted on or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
‘‘(2) COVERED
INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘cov-
ered individual’ means any individual who has not 
served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the 
United States. 
‘‘(3) ENUMERATION OF WARS.—The Secretary 
shall in forms and guidance enumerate each war 
with respect to which a tax is imposed by subsection 
(a) for any taxable year. 
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‘‘(c) NOT TREATED AS TAX IMPOSED BY THIS CHAP-
TER FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—The tax imposed under 
this section shall not be treated as tax imposed by this 
chapter for purposes of determining the amount of any 
credit under this chapter or for purposes of section 55.’’. 
(b) SECTION 15 NOT TO APPLY.—The amendment 
made by subsection (a) shall not be treated as a change 
in a rate of tax for purposes of section 15 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of parts for 
subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to part VI the following 
new item: 
‘‘PART VII—WAR TAX’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2016. 
Æ 
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