I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6580 
To ensure the fair treatment of a member of the Armed Forces who is 
discharged from the Armed Forces, at the request of the member, pursu-
ant to the Department of Defense policy permitting the early discharge 
of a member who is the only surviving child in a family in which 
the father or mother, or one or more siblings, served in the Armed 
Forces and, because of hazards incident to such service, was killed, 
died as a result of wounds, accident, or disease, is in a captured or 
missing in action status, or is permanently disabled, to amend the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the dollar limitation on contributions 
to funeral trusts, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 23, 2008 
Mr. KIND (for himself, Mr. NUNES, Mr. COSTA, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. RADAN-
OVICH, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. MCCARTHY of California, and Mr. WILSON of 
Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-
fairs, Ways and Means, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To ensure the fair treatment of a member of the Armed 
Forces who is discharged from the Armed Forces, at 
the request of the member, pursuant to the Department 
of Defense policy permitting the early discharge of a 
member who is the only surviving child in a family in 
which the father or mother, or one or more siblings, 
served in the Armed Forces and, because of hazards 
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incident to such service, was killed, died as a result 
of wounds, accident, or disease, is in a captured or 
missing in action status, or is permanently disabled, to 
amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal 
the dollar limitation on contributions to funeral trusts, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Hubbard Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Continued payment of bonuses and similar benefits for members of the 
Armed Forces who receive sole survivorship discharge. 
Sec. 3. Availability of separation pay for members of the Armed Forces with 
less than six years of active service who receive sole survivor-
ship discharge. 
Sec. 4. Transitional health care for members of the Armed Forces who receive 
sole survivorship discharge. 
Sec. 5. Transitional commissary and exchange benefits for members of the 
Armed Forces who receive sole survivorship discharge. 
Sec. 6. Veterans benefits for members of the Armed Forces who receive sole 
survivorship discharge. 
Sec. 7. Unemployment compensation for members of the Armed Forces who re-
ceive sole survivorship discharge. 
Sec. 8. Preference-eligible status for members of the Armed Forces who receive 
sole survivorship discharge. 
Sec. 9. Repeal of dollar limitation on contributions to funeral trusts. 
Sec. 10. Effective dates. 
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SEC. 2. CONTINUED PAYMENT OF BONUSES AND SIMILAR 
BENEFITS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
FORCES WHO RECEIVE SOLE SURVIVORSHIP 
DISCHARGE. 
(a) EFFECT OF SOLE SURVIVORSHIP DISCHARGE.— 
Section 303a(e) of title 37, United States Code, is amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘A member’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(A) Except as provided in paragraph 
(2), a member’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as subpara-
graph (B) of paragraph (1); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1), as so 
amended, the following new paragraph (2): 
‘‘(2)(A) If a member of the uniformed services re-
ceives a sole survivorship discharge, the Secretary con-
cerned— 
‘‘(i) shall not require repayment by the member 
of the unearned portion of any bonus, incentive pay, 
or similar benefit previously paid to the member; 
and 
‘‘(ii) may grant an exception to the requirement 
to terminate the payment of any unpaid amounts of 
a bonus, incentive pay, or similar benefit if the Sec-
retary concerned determines that termination of the 
payment of the unpaid amounts would be contrary 
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to a personnel policy or management objective, 
would be against equity and good conscience, or 
would be contrary to the best interests of the United 
States. 
‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘sole survivorship 
discharge’ means the separation of a member from the 
Armed Forces, at the request of the member, pursuant 
to the Department of Defense policy permitting the early 
separation of a member who is the only surviving child 
in a family in which— 
‘‘(i) the father or mother or one or more sib-
lings— 
‘‘(I) served in the Armed Forces; and 
‘‘(II) was killed, died as a result of 
wounds, accident, or disease, is in a captured or 
missing in action status, or is permanently 100 
percent disabled or hospitalized on a continuing 
basis (and is not employed gainfully because of 
the disability or hospitalization); and 
‘‘(ii) the death, status, or disability did not re-
sult from the intentional misconduct or willful ne-
glect of the parent or sibling and was not incurred 
during a period of unauthorized absence.’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—In light of the extraor-
dinary discretion granted to the Secretary of a military 
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department by statute and policy to continue to pay the 
unpaid amounts of a bonus, incentive pay, or similar ben-
efit otherwise due to a member of the Armed Forces under 
the jurisdiction of the Secretary who receives a sole survi-
vorship discharge, it is the sense of Congress that the Sec-
retaries of the military departments should aggressively 
use such discretion to the benefit of members receiving 
a sole survivorship discharge. 
SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF SEPARATION PAY FOR MEMBERS 
OF THE ARMED FORCES WITH LESS THAN SIX 
YEARS OF ACTIVE SERVICE WHO RECEIVE 
SOLE SURVIVORSHIP DISCHARGE. 
Section 1174 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 
(j); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(i) SPECIAL RULE FOR MEMBERS RECEIVING SOLE 
SURVIVORSHIP DISCHARGE.—(1) A member of the Armed 
Forces who receives a sole survivorship discharge shall be 
entitled to separation pay under this section even though 
the member has completed less than six years of active 
service immediately before that discharge. Subsection (e) 
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shall not apply to a member who receives a sole survivor-
ship discharge. 
‘‘(2) The amount of the separation pay to be paid 
to a member pursuant to this subsection shall be based 
on the years of active service actually completed by the 
member before the member’s sole survivorship discharge. 
‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘sole survivorship 
discharge’ means the separation of a member from the 
Armed Forces, at the request of the member, pursuant 
to the Department of Defense policy permitting the early 
separation of a member who is the only surviving child 
in a family in which— 
‘‘(A) the father or mother or one or more sib-
lings— 
‘‘(i) served in the Armed Forces; and 
‘‘(ii) was killed, died as a result of wounds, 
accident, or disease, is in a captured or missing 
in action status, or is permanently 100 percent 
disabled or hospitalized on a continuing basis 
(and is not employed gainfully because of the 
disability or hospitalization); and 
‘‘(B) the death, status, or disability did not re-
sult from the intentional misconduct or willful ne-
glect of the parent or sibling and was not incurred 
during a period of unauthorized absence.’’. 
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SEC. 4. TRANSITIONAL HEALTH CARE FOR MEMBERS OF 
THE ARMED FORCES WHO RECEIVE SOLE 
SURVIVORSHIP DISCHARGE. 
Section 1145(a)(2) of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(E) A member who receives a sole survivorship 
discharge (as defined in section 1174(i) of this 
title).’’. 
SEC. 5. TRANSITIONAL COMMISSARY AND EXCHANGE BEN-
EFITS 
FOR 
MEMBERS 
OF 
THE 
ARMED 
FORCES WHO RECEIVE SOLE SURVIVORSHIP 
DISCHARGE. 
Section 1146 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of Defense’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(a) BENEFITS FOR MEMBERS INVOLUNTARILY SEP-
ARATED.—The Secretary of Defense’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b) BENEFITS
FOR MEMBERS RECEIVING SOLE 
SURVIVORSHIP DISCHARGE.—A member of the Armed 
Forces who receives a sole survivorship discharge (as de-
fined in section 1174(i) of this title) is entitled to continue 
to use commissary and exchange stores and morale, wel-
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fare, and recreational facilities in the same manner as a 
member on active duty during the two-year period begin-
ning on the later of the following dates: 
‘‘(1) The date of the separation of the member. 
‘‘(2) The date on which the member is first no-
tified of the members entitlement to benefits under 
this section.’’. 
SEC. 6. VETERANS BENEFITS FOR MEMBERS OF THE 
ARMED FORCES WHO RECEIVE SOLE SURVI-
VORSHIP DISCHARGE. 
(a) HOUSING LOAN BENEFITS.—Section 3702(a)(2) 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(F) Each veteran who was discharged or re-
leased from a period of active duty of 90 days or 
more by reason of a sole survivorship discharge (as 
that term is defined in section 1174(i) of title 10).’’. 
(b) EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING.—Section 4211(4) 
of such title is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
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‘‘(D) was discharged or released from ac-
tive duty by reason of a sole survivorship dis-
charge (as that term is defined in section 
1174(i) of title 10).’’. 
(c) EXISTING BASIC EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) 
SERVICE
ON
ACTIVE
DUTY.—Section 
3011(a)(1) of such title is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by inserting 
after ‘‘service-connected disability,’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘by reason of a sole survivorship dis-
charge (as that term is defined in section 
1174(i) of title 10),’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by inserting 
after ‘‘service-connected disability,’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘by reason of a sole survivorship dis-
charge (as that term is defined in section 
1174(i) of title 10),’’; and 
(C) in subparagraph (C)(iii)(II), by insert-
ing after ‘‘service-connected disability,’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘by reason of a sole survivorship dis-
charge (as that term is defined in section 
1174(i) of title 10),’’. 
(2) SERVICE
IN
THE
SELECTED
RESERVE.— 
Section 3012(b)(1) of such title is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)— 
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(i) by striking ‘‘, or (vi)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘, (vi)’’; and 
(ii) by inserting before the period at 
the end the following: ‘‘, or (vii) by reason 
of a sole survivorship discharge (as that 
term is defined in section 1174(i) of title 
10)’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (B)— 
(i) in clause (i), by inserting after 
‘‘service-connected 
disability,’’ 
the 
fol-
lowing: ‘‘by reason of a sole survivorship 
discharge (as that term is defined in sec-
tion 1174(i) of title 10),’’; and 
(ii) in clause (ii)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘, or (VI)’’ and 
inserting ‘‘, (VI)’’; and 
(II) by inserting before the pe-
riod at the end the following: ‘‘, or 
(VII) by reason of a sole survivorship 
discharge (as that term is defined in 
section 1174(i) of title 10)’’. 
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