Title: Gregg Wenzel Clandestine Heroes Parity Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Gregg Wenzel Clandestine Heroes Parity Act
This bill requires the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to pay death benefits substantially similar to those authorized for members of the Foreign Service. CIA employees and individuals affiliated with the CIA who die during an assignment in a foreign country shall qualify for such benefits.
The CIA shall pay the survivor of such a deceased individual an amount equal to one year's salary for certain senior executive branch officials, such as the Deputy Secretary of State.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3683 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3683

 To amend the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 to provide death 
    benefits to the survivors of certain individuals, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 10, 2019

  Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 to provide death 
    benefits to the survivors of certain individuals, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Gregg Wenzel Clandestine Heroes 
Parity Act''.

SEC. 2. DEATH BENEFITS FOR SURVIVORS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) officers of the Central Intelligence Agency who die 
        during a period of assignment to a duty station in a foreign 
        country should receive death benefits, regardless of whether 
        the officers--
                    (A) were killed in the performance of duty;
                    (B) were killed due to an act of terrorism; or
                    (C) have surviving dependents; and
            (2) section 8 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 
        1949 (50 U.S.C. 3510) has provided the Agency an appropriate 
        authority for compensating officers who die abroad who fall 
        into any gaps in existing death benefit regulations of the 
        Agency, even before the clarifying amendments made by this Act.
    (b) Clarification of Current Authority.--Section 8 of the Central 
Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 3510) is amended by 
inserting before ``rental of'' the following: ``payment of death 
benefits in cases in which the circumstances of the death of an 
employee of the Agency is not covered by section 11, other similar 
provisions of Federal law, or any regulation issued by the Director 
providing death benefits, but that the Director determines such payment 
appropriate;''.
    (c) Improvements to Benefits.--
            (1) Requirements.--Section 11 of such Act (50 U.S.C. 3511) 
        is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) by striking ``may'' and inserting 
                        ``shall''; and
                            (ii) by inserting before the period at the 
                        end the following: ``, except such adjustments 
                        may not limit or reduce the payments required 
                        by this section''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsections:
    ``(c) Payments.--(1) In carrying out subsection (a), the Director 
shall pay to the survivor of a deceased covered individual an amount 
equal to one year's salary at level II of the Executive Schedule under 
section 5313 of title 5, United States Code.
    ``(2) A covered individual may designate one or more persons to 
receive all or a portion of the amount payable to a survivor under 
paragraph (1). The designation of a person to receive a portion of the 
amount shall indicate the percentage of the amount, to be specified 
only in 10 percent increments, that the designated person may receive. 
The balance of the amount, if any, shall be paid in accordance with 
subsection (f)(2)(B).
    ``(d) Exception.--The Director may not make a payment under 
subsection (a) if the Director determines that the death was by reason 
of willful misconduct by the decedent.
    ``(e) Finality.--Any determination made by the Director under this 
section is final and may not be reviewed.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `covered individual' means any of the 
        following individuals who die during a period of assignment to 
        a duty station in a foreign country, regardless of whether the 
        death is the result of injuries sustained while in the 
        performance of duty:
                    ``(A) An employee of the Agency.
                    ``(B) An employee of an element of the Federal 
                Government other than the Agency who is detailed or 
                assigned to the Agency at the time of death.
                    ``(C) An individual affiliated with the Agency, as 
                determined by the Director.
            ``(2) The term `State' means each of the several States, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any territory 
        or possession of the United States.
            ``(3) The term `survivor' means, with respect to the death 
        of a covered individual--
                    ``(A) a person designated by the covered individual 
                under subsection (c)(2); or
                    ``(B) if a covered individual does not make such a 
                designation--
                            ``(i) the surviving spouse of the covered 
                        individual, if any;
                            ``(ii) if there is no surviving spouse, any 
                        surviving children of the covered individual 
                        and the descendants of any deceased children by 
                        representation;
                            ``(iii) if there is none of the above, the 
                        surviving parents of the covered individual or 
                        the survivor of the parents;
                            ``(iv) if there is none of the above, the 
                        duly appointed executor or administrator of the 
                        estate of the covered individual; or
                            ``(v) if there is none of the above, other 
                        next of kin of the covered individual entitled 
                        under the laws of the last State in which the 
                        covered individual was domiciled before the 
                        covered individual's death.''.
            (2) Application.--Section 11 of such Act, as amended by 
        paragraph (1), shall apply with respect to the following:
                    (A) Deaths occurring during the period beginning on 
                September 11, 2001, and ending on the day before the 
                date of the enactment of this Act for which the 
                Director of the Central Intelligence Agency has not 
                paid a death benefit to the survivors of the decedent 
                equal to or greater than the amount specified in 
                subsection (c)(1) of such section 11, except that the 
                total of any such death benefits may not exceed such 
                amount specified in subsection (c)(1) of such section 
                11.
                    (B) Deaths occurring on or after the date of the 
                enactment of this Act.
            (3) Effect of current regulations.--In carrying out section 
        11 of such Act, as amended by paragraph (1), the Director may 
        not modify the regulations issued under such section in a 
        manner that limits or reduces the individuals covered by such 
        regulations as in effect on the day before the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
            (4) Designations.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall--
                    (A) request all covered individuals (as defined in 
                section 11 of such Act, as amended by paragraph (1)) to 
                make a designation under subsection (c)(2) of such 
                section 11; and
                    (B) ensure that any new covered individual may make 
                such a designation at the time at which the individual 
                becomes a covered individual.
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