duty in determining the individual’s eligibility for veterans
benefits under all laws administered by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs.
(b) QUALIFYING SERVICE.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, qualifying service is any of 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 if such
service is rendered to the Armed Forces in a capac-
ity considered civilian employment or contractual
service at the time the service is performed.
(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 service referred
to in paragraph (1) on that 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 six 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—
(1) entries in a continuous discharge book;
(2) a certificate of discharge to merchant sea-
men;
(3) a certificate of substantially continuous
service; or
(4) any 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 ‘‘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.
(2) The terms ‘‘period of war’’ and ‘‘Armed
Forces’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec-
tion 101 of title 38, United States Code.
(3) The term ‘‘combat zone’’ means an area in
which the Armed Forces are engaged in combat, as
determined by the Secretary of Defense.
(4) The term ‘‘vessel of the United States’’ has
the meaning given that term in section 2101(46) of
title 46, United States Code.
SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY AND PROHIBITION OF RETRO-
ACTIVE BENEFITS.
Service referred to in section 2(a) that was performed
before the date of the enactment of this Act shall be count-
ed for purposes 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 before
the date of the enactment of this Act.
Æ