I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2946
To provide veterans benefits to individuals who serve in the United States
merchant marine during a period of war.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 8, 1997
Mr. FORBES (for himself, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. TOWNS, Mr.
CLAY, Mr. DELAHUNT, and Mr. LAZIO of New York) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To provide veterans benefits to individuals who serve in the
United States merchant marine during a period of 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 ‘‘Combat Merchant
Mariners Veterans Benefits Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY FOR VETERANS BENEFITS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the
service of an individual in the United States merchant ma-
rine during a period of war for a total period equal to
at least 12 months shall be considered to be active duty
in determining the individual’s eligibility for veterans ben-
efits under all laws administered by the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs.
(b) QUALIFIED SERVICE.—The service referred to in
subsection (a) shall be limited to the following:
(1) OCEAN, COASTAL, OR INTERCOASTAL VOY-
AGES.—Service on a vessel of the United States on
ocean, coastwise, or intercoastal voyages, during a
period of war in a combat zone of such war. The
service shall be rendered to the Armed Forces in a
capacity considered civilian employment or contrac-
tual service at the time the service was rendered.
(2) FORCIBLE DETENTION OR INTERNMENT.—
Any period of forcible detention or internment by an
enemy government or hostile force as a result of hos-
tile action against a vessel of the United States
while the individual was performing the service re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) on the vessel.
(3) OTHER SERVICE.—Any period of service in
the War Shipping Administration, the United States
Maritime Service, or a maritime training program
conducted or recognized by the Armed Forces, ex-
cept that not more than 6 months of such service
may be included in calculating the period of service
referred to in subsection (a).
(c) APPLICABILITY
OF
MINIMUM
ACTIVE-DUTY
SERVICE
REQUIREMENTS.—The minimum active-duty
service requirement of any law administered by the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs shall apply in determining an
individual’s eligibility for veterans benefits under this Act.
SEC. 3. WAIVER OF PERIOD OF SERVICE.
The requirement of section 2(a) that the period of
service referred to in that section be equal to at least 12
months shall not apply to an individual who is perma-
nently disabled in the performance of the service referred
to in such section while the vessel of the United States
on which the individual is performing the service is sub-
jected to hostile action.
SEC. 4. VERIFICATION OF SERVICE.
The service referred to in section 2(a) may be verified
by entries in a continuous discharge book, a certificate of
discharge to merchant seamen, a certificate of substan-
tially continuous service, or other documentation available
from the Secretary of Transportation or the head of any
other Federal agency.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Armed Forces’’ has the meaning
given such term in section 101(10) of title 38,
United States Code.
(2) The term ‘‘combat zone’’ means an area in
which the Armed Forces are engaged in combat, as
determined by the Secretary of Defense.
(3) The term ‘‘individual in the United States
merchant marine’’ means any citizen or resident
alien of the United States serving as a civilian or
civil service member of the United States merchant
marine.
(4) The term ‘‘period of war’’ has the meaning
given such term in section 101(11) of title 38, Unit-
ed States Code.
(5) The term ‘‘vessel of the United States’’ has
the meaning given such term in section 2101(46) of
title 46, United States Code.
SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY AND PROHIBITION OF RETRO-
ACTIVE BENEFITS.
The service referred to in section 2(a) may be ren-
dered before the date of the enactment of this Act. An
individual who performs such service before the date of
the enactment of this Act may not be provided veterans
benefits that accrue as a result of the enactment of this
Act for any period of accrual before the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
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