I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4088 
To ensure that the members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees 
of the Department of Defense who were killed or wounded in the shoot-
ings at Fort Hood are treated in the same manner as members who 
are killed or wounded in combat zones or civilian employees who are 
killed or wounded in a terrorist attack or while serving with the Armed 
Forces in a contingency operation. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2009 
Mr. CARTER (for himself, Mr. PETRI, Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia, Mr. 
RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 
Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, Mr. COLE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. KIND, Mr. 
DOYLE, Mrs. BIGGERT, Ms. FALLIN, Mr. DONNELLY of Indiana, Mr. 
HOLDEN, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. CONAWAY, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. OLSON, 
Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Ms. CHU, Mr. ED-
WARDS of Texas, Mr. MCCAUL, Ms. NORTON, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. 
THORNBERRY, Mrs. MCMORRIS
RODGERS, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. 
FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. 
DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. 
WAMP, Mr. BROUN of Georgia, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. CANTOR, 
Mr. PRICE of Georgia, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. GOHMERT, 
Mr. KING of Iowa, and Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in ad-
dition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Oversight and Government 
Reform, and Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To ensure that the members of the Armed Forces and civil-
ian employees of the Department of Defense who were 
killed or wounded in the shootings at Fort Hood are 
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treated in the same manner as members who are killed 
or wounded in combat zones or civilian employees who 
are killed or wounded in a terrorist attack or while 
serving with the Armed Forces in a contingency oper-
ation. 
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 ‘‘Fort Hood Families 
Benefits Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 
AND CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPART-
MENT OF DEFENSE WHO WERE KILLED OR 
WOUNDED IN THE SHOOTINGS AT FORT 
HOOD. 
(a) TREATMENT.—For purposes of the laws specified 
in subsection (b), a member of the Armed Forces or civil-
ian employee of the Department of Defense who was killed 
or wounded by gunfire in the shootings that occurred at 
Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009, shall be 
deemed— 
(1) in the case of a member, to have been killed 
or wounded in a combat zone as the result of an act 
of an enemy of the United States; and 
(2) in the case of a civilian employee of the De-
partment of Defense, to have been killed or wounded 
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while serving with the Armed Forces in a contin-
gency operation or to have been killed or wounded 
in a terrorist attack. 
(b) COVERED LAWS.—Subsection (a) shall apply with 
respect to the following laws (and related regulations and 
policies): 
(1) Executive Order 11016 (relating to the 
award of the Purple Heart to members of the Armed 
Forces). 
(2) The Secretary of Defense Medal for the De-
fense of Freedom (for civilian employees of the De-
partment of Defense who are killed or wounded in 
the line of duty). 
(3) Section 8102a of title 5, United States 
Code (relating to a death gratuity for deaths in-
curred in connection with an employee’s service with 
the Armed Forces in a contingency operation). 
(4) Section 1413a of title 10, United States 
Code (relating to combat-related special compensa-
tion for retired members). 
(5) Section 1482a of title 10, United States 
Code (relating to payment of expenses incident to 
the death of a civilian employee while serving with 
the Armed Forces in a contingency operation). 
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(6) Sections 303a(e) and 373(b)(2) of title 37, 
United States Code (relating to repayment of un-
earned portion of bonuses and other benefits when 
a uniformed services dies or is retired or separated 
with a combat-related disability). 
(7) Section 310 of title 37, United States Code 
(relating to special pay for members for duty subject 
to hostile fire or imminent danger). 
(8) Section 328 of title 37, United States Code 
(relating to combat-related injury rehabilitation pay 
for members). 
(9) Section 372 of title 37, United States Code 
(relating to continuation of special pays and allow-
ances for members during hospitalization and reha-
bilitation resulting from wounds incurred while on 
duty in a combat zone). 
(10) Section 402(h) of title 37, United States 
Code (relating to no payment for meals received at 
military treatment facilities by members recovering 
from an injury incurred in a combat zone). 
(11) Section 411h of title 37, United States 
Code (relating to transportation of family members 
incident to illness or injury of members). 
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(12) Section 1007(c)(4) of title 37, United 
States Code (relating to deductions from pay of 
members). 
(13) Section 112 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 (relating to tax treatment of combat zone 
compensation of members). 
(14) Section 134(b)(6) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 (relating to tax treatment of certain 
State payments received by members in a combat 
zone). 
(15) Section 692 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 (relating to income taxes of members who 
die in a combat zone or from injuries sustained 
therein and victims of terrorist attacks). 
(16) Section 2201 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 (relating to selection of rate schedule to es-
tate of members who die in a combat zone or from 
injuries sustained therein and victims of terrorist at-
tacks). 
(17) Section 7508 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 (relating to postponement of time for per-
forming certain actions under internal revenue laws 
for members serving in a combat zone or recovering 
from injuries sustained therein). 
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(18) Any other provision of law that treats the 
death or injury of a member of the Armed Forces 
in a combat zone as the result of an act of an enemy 
of the United States or the death or injury of a civil-
ian employee in a terrorist attack or while serving 
with the Armed Forces in a contingency operation 
differently from the death or injury of members and 
civilian employees under other circumstances. 
(c) MAXIMUM COVERAGE UNDER SERVICEMEMBERS’ 
GROUP LIFE INSURANCE.—If a member of the Armed 
Forces who was killed in the shootings that occurred at 
Fort Hood or dies of wounds sustained in the shootings 
was insured under subchapter III of chapter 19 of title 
38, United States Code, but elected to be insured in an 
amount less than the amount provided for under section 
1967(a)(3)(A)(i) of such title, the amount for which the 
person is deemed to be insured under such subchapter 
shall be $400,000 notwithstanding such election. 
(d) EXCEPTION.—Subsections (a) and (c) shall not 
apply to a member of the Armed Forces whose wounds 
or death is the result of the willful misconduct of the mem-
ber. 
Æ 
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