[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2156 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2156

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to change the name of the 
Servicemen's Group Life Insurance program to Servicemembers' Group Life 
Insurance, to merge the Retired Reservists' Servicemembers' Group Life 
 Insurance program into the Veterans' Group Life Insurance program, to 
extend Veterans' Group Life Insurance coverage to members of the Ready 
 Reserve of a uniformed service who retire with less than 20 years of 
    service, to permit an insured to convert a Veterans' Group Life 
   Insurance policy to an individual policy of life insurance with a 
 commercial insurance company at any time, and to permit an insured to 
convert a Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance policy to an individual 
policy of life insurance with a commercial company upon separation from 
                                service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 1995

Mr. Stump (for himself and Mr. Montgomery) (both by request) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to change the name of the 
Servicemen's Group Life Insurance program to Servicemembers' Group Life 
Insurance, to merge the Retired Reservists' Servicemembers' Group Life 
 Insurance program into the Veterans' Group Life Insurance program, to 
extend Veterans' Group Life Insurance coverage to members of the Ready 
 Reserve of a uniformed service who retire with less than 20 years of 
    service, to permit an insured to convert a Veterans' Group Life 
   Insurance policy to an individual policy of life insurance with a 
 commercial insurance company at any time, and to permit an insured to 
convert a Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance policy to an individual 
policy of life insurance with a commercial company upon separation from 
                                service.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' 
Insurance Reform Act of 1995''.
    (b) References.--Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever 
in this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to a 
section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be 
made to a section or other provision of title 38, United States Code.

SEC. 2. RENAMING OF SERVICEMEN'S GROUP LIFE INSURANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The program of insurance operated by the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs under subchapter III of chapter 19 of title 38, 
United States Code, is hereby redesignated as the Servicemembers' Group 
Life Insurance program.
    (b) Amendments to Chapter 19.--(1) Sections 1967(a), (c), and (f), 
1968(b), 1969(a)-(e), 1970(a), (f), and (g), 1971(b), 1973, 1974, and 
1977(a), (d), (e), and (g) are amended by striking out ``Servicemen's 
Group'' each place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof 
``Servicemembers' Group''.
    (2)(A) The heading of subchapter III of chapter 19 is amended to 
read as follows:

   ``SUBCHAPTER III--SERVICEMEMBERS' GROUP LIFE INSURANCE (FORMERLY 
                 SERVICEMEN'S GROUP LIFE INSURANCE)''.
    (B) The heading of section 1974 is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1974. Advisory Council on Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance 
              (formerly Servicemen's Group Life Insurance)''.
    (3) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 19 is 
amended--
            (A) by striking out the item relating to subchapter III and 
        inserting in lieu thereof the following:

   ``subchapter iii--servicemembers' group life insurance (formerly 
               servicemen's group life insurance)''; and
            (B) by striking out the item relating to section 1974 and 
        inserting in lieu thereof the following:

``1974. Advisory Council on Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance 
                            (formerly Servicemen's Group Life 
                            Insurance)''.
    (c) Other Conforming Amendments.--(1) Section 1315(f)(1)(F) is 
amended by striking out ``servicemen's'' the first place it appears and 
inserting in lieu thereof ``servicemembers''.
    (2) Sections 3017(a) and 3224(1) are amended by striking out 
``Servicemen's'' each place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof 
``Servicemembers'''.
SEC. 3. MERGER OF RETIRED RESERVE SERVICEMEMBERS' GROUP LIFE INSURANCE 
              AND VETERANS' GROUP LIFE INSURANCE AND EXTENSION OF 
              VETERANS' GROUP LIFE INSURANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE READY 
              RESERVE.

    (a) Definition of Member.--Section 1965(5) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
            (2) by striking out subparagraphs (C) and (D); and
            (3) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (C).
    (b) Persons Insured.--Section 1967 is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (1);
                    (B) by striking out paragraphs (3) and (4); and
                    (C) by striking out ``or the first day a member of 
                the Reserves, whether or not assigned to the Retired 
                Reserve of a uniformed service, meets the 
                qualifications of section 1965(5)(C) of this title, or 
                the first day a member of the Reserves meets the 
                qualifications of section 1965(5)(D) of this title,'';
            (2) by striking out subsection (d); and
            (3) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively.
    (c) Duration and Termination of Coverage.--Section 1968 is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking out ``subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) 
                of section 1965(5)'' and inserting in lieu thereof 
                ``section 1965(5)(B)'';
                    (B) by striking out the period at the end of 
                paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting in lieu thereof a 
                semicolon;
                    (C) by striking out the period at the end of 
                paragraph (3) and inserting in lieu thereof ``; and'';
                    (D) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) by striking out ``from such'' in the 
                        matter preceding subparagraph (A) and all that 
                        follows through ``(A) unless on'' and inserting 
                        in lieu thereof ``from such assignment, unless 
                        on'';
                            (ii) by striking out the semicolon after 
                        ``such assignment'' and inserting in lieu 
                        thereof a period; and
                            (iii) by striking out subparagraphs (B) and 
                        (C); and
                    (E) by striking out paragraphs (5) and (6); and
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking out the last two 
        sentences.
    (d) Premiums.--Section 1969 is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking out ``is assigned to 
        the Reserve (other than the Retired Reserve) and meets the 
        qualifications of section 1965(5)(C) of this title, or is 
        assigned to the Retired Reserve and meets the qualifications of 
        section 1965(5)(D) of this title,'';
            (2) by striking out subsection (e); and
            (3) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections 
        (e) and (f), respectively.

SEC. 4. CONVERSION TO COMMERCIAL LIFE INSURANCE POLICY.

    (a) SGLI Conversion.--Section 1968(b), as amended by section 
3(c)(2), is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``the date such insurance 
        would cease,'';
            (2) by redesignating clauses (1) and (2) as clauses (A) and 
        (B), respectively; and
            (3) by striking out ``title.'' and inserting in lieu 
        thereof ``title, or (2) at the election of the member, shall be 
        converted to an individual policy of insurance as described in 
        section 1977(e) of this title upon written application for 
        conversion made to the participating company selected by the 
        member and payment of the required premiums.''.
    (b) VGLI Conversion.--Section 1977 is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(a)'';
                    (B) by striking out the last two sentences; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) If any person insured under Veterans' Group Life Insurance 
again becomes insured under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance but 
dies before terminating or converting such person's Veterans' Group 
Insurance, Veterans' Group Life Insurance shall be payable only if such 
person is insured for less than $200,000 under Servicemembers' Group 
Life Insurance, and then only in an amount which, when added to the 
amount of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance payable, does not exceed 
$200,000.''; and
            (2) in subsection (e), by striking out the third sentence 
        and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ``The Veterans' 
        Group Life Insurance policy will terminate on the day before 
        the date on which the individual policy becomes effective.''.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance of any member of the 
Retired Reserve of a uniformed service in force on the date of the 
enactment of this Act shall be converted, effective 90 days after that 
date, to Veterans' Group Life Insurance.
                                 <all>