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106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 44
To amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize the payment of special
compensation to certain severely disabled uniformed services retirees.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself and Mr. NORWOOD) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
A BILL
To amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize the
payment of special compensation to certain severely dis-
abled uniformed services retirees.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SPECIAL COMPENSATION FOR SEVERELY DIS-
ABLED UNIFORMED SERVICES RETIREES.
(a) AUTHORITY.—(1) Chapter 71 of title 10, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing new section:
‘‘§ 1413. Special compensation for certain severely
disabled uniformed services retirees
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary concerned shall,
subject to the availability of appropriations for such pur-
pose, pay to each eligible disabled uniformed services re-
tiree a monthly amount determined under subsection (b).
‘‘(b) AMOUNT.—The amount to be paid (subject to
the availability of appropriations) to an eligible disabled
uniformed services retiree in accordance with subsection
(a) is the following:
‘‘(1) For any month for which the retiree has
a qualifying service-connected disability rated as
total, $300.
‘‘(2) For any month for which the retiree has
a qualifying service-connected disability rated as 90
percent, $200.
‘‘(3) For any month for which the retiree has
a qualifying service-connected disability rated as 80
percent or 70 percent, $100.
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE DISABLED UNIFORMED SERVICES
RETIREE DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘eligible
disabled military retiree’’ means a member of the uni-
formed services in a retired status (who is retired under
a provision of law other than chapter 61 of this title)
who—
‘‘(1) completed at least 20 years of service in
the uniformed services that are creditable for pur-
poses of computing the amount of retired pay to
which the member is entitled; and
‘‘(2) has a qualifying service-connected disabil-
ity.
‘‘(d) QUALIFYING SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY
DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘qualifying service-
connected disability’’ means a service-connected disability
that—
‘‘(1) was incurred or aggravated in the per-
formance of duty as a member of a uniformed serv-
ice, as determined by the Secretary concerned; and
‘‘(2) is rated as not less than 70 percent
disabling—
‘‘(A) by the Secretary concerned as of the
date on which the member is retired from the
uniformed services; or
‘‘(B) by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
within four years following the date on which
the member is retired from the uniformed serv-
ices.
‘‘(e) STATUS OF PAYMENTS.—Payments under this
section are not retired pay.
‘‘(f) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—(1) Payments under this
section for any fiscal year shall be paid out of funds appro-
priated for pay and allowances payable by the Secretary
concerned for that fiscal year.
‘‘(2) If the amount of funds available to the Secretary
concerned for any fiscal year for payments under this sec-
tion is less than the amount required to make such pay-
ments to all eligible disabled uniformed services retirees
for that year, the Secretary shall make such payments
first to retirees described in paragraph (1) of subsection
(b), then (to the extent funds are available) to retirees
described in paragraph (2) of that subsection, and then
(to the extent funds are available) to retirees described
in paragraph (3) of that subsection.
‘‘(g) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) The terms ‘compensation’ and ‘service-con-
nected’ have the meanings given those terms in sec-
tion 101 of title 38.
‘‘(2) The term ‘disability rated as total’
means—
‘‘(A) a disability that is rated as total
under the standard schedule of rating disabil-
ities in use by the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs; or
‘‘(B) a disability for which the schedular
rating is less than total but for which a rating
of total is assigned by reason of inability of the
disabled person concerned to secure or follow a
substantially gainful occupation as a result of
service-connected disabilities.
‘‘(3) The term ‘retired pay’ includes retainer
pay, emergency officers’ retirement pay, and naval
pension.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such
chapter is amended by adding at the end the following
new item:
‘‘1413. Special compensation for certain severely disabled uniformed services re-
tirees.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 1413 of title 10,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take
effect on October 1, 1999, and shall apply to months that
begin on or after that date. No benefit may be paid to
any person by reason of that section for any period before
that date.
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