Title: National Guard COVID–19 Earned Benefits Guarantee Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
National Guard COVID-19 Earned Benefits Guarantee Act
This bill requires the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to treat full-time National Guard duty performed in response to the national emergency with respect to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) as a period of not shorter than 90 days (i.e., the threshold usually required for eligibility for certain retirement and education benefits).
Members of Congress are excluded and must deploy for not fewer than 90 days to receive similar benefits eligibility.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6957 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6957

 To direct the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to treat a 
 period of full-time National Guard duty, performed in response to the 
 national emergency declared on March 13, 2020, by the President with 
           respect to COVID-19, as not shorter than 90 days.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2020

   Mr. Panetta (for himself, Ms. Sherrill, Mr. King of New York, Mr. 
 Connolly, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Lamb, Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Titus, Ms. 
Norton, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Cox of California, Mr. Foster, Mr. McGovern, Mr. 
 Nadler, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Costa, Mr. Pappas, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mrs. 
  Watson Coleman, Mr. Correa, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Thompson of 
California, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. Gottheimer, 
 Mr. Peters, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Crow, Ms. Eshoo, 
  Mr. Kilmer, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Serrano, Mr. 
Cisneros, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Craig, Mr. Meeks, and Mr. Vela) introduced 
   the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to treat a 
 period of full-time National Guard duty, performed in response to the 
 national emergency declared on March 13, 2020, by the President with 
           respect to COVID-19, as not shorter than 90 days.

    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 ``National Guard COVID-19 Earned 
Benefits Guarantee Act''.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF A PERIOD OF FULL-TIME NATIONAL GUARD DUTY, 
              PERFORMED IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY, 
              AS NOT SHORTER THAN 90 DAYS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs 
shall treat a period of covered duty as a period not shorter than 90 
days.
    (b) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) The term ``covered duty'' means full-time National 
        Guard duty performed--
                    (A) by an individual other than a member of 
                Congress; and
                    (B) in response to the covered national emergency.
            (2) The term ``covered national emergency'' means the 
        national emergency declared on March 13, 2020, by the President 
        under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 
        with respect to COVID-19.
            (3) The term ``full-time National Guard duty'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10, United 
        States Code.
                                 <all>