[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2946 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2946

  To provide veterans benefits to individuals who serve in the United 
             States merchant marine during a period of war.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 8, 1997

  Mr. Forbes (for himself, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Towns, Mr. 
Clay, Mr. Delahunt, and Mr. Lazio of New York) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide veterans benefits to individuals who serve in the United 
             States merchant marine during a period of war.

    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 ``Combat Merchant Mariners Veterans 
Benefits Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY FOR VETERANS BENEFITS.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the service of an 
individual in the United States merchant marine during a period of war 
for a total period equal to at least 12 months shall be considered to 
be active duty in determining the individual's eligibility for veterans 
benefits under all laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs.
    (b) Qualified Service.--The service referred to in subsection (a) 
shall be limited to the following:
            (1) Ocean, coastal, or intercoastal voyages.--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. The service shall be rendered to the Armed Forces 
        in a capacity considered civilian employment or contractual 
        service at the time the service was rendered.
            (2) Forcible detention or internment.--Any period of 
        forcible detention or internment by an enemy government or 
        hostile force as a result of hostile action against a vessel of 
        the United States while the individual was performing the 
        service referred to in paragraph (1) on the 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, except that not more than 6 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 
Secretary 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 permanently 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 subjected 
to hostile action.

SEC. 4. VERIFICATION OF SERVICE.

    The service referred to in section 2(a) may be verified by entries 
in a continuous discharge book, a certificate of discharge to merchant 
seamen, a certificate of substantially continuous service, or 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 ``Armed Forces'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 101(10) of title 38, United States Code.
            (2) The term ``combat zone'' means an area in which the 
        Armed Forces are engaged in combat, as determined by the 
        Secretary of Defense.
            (3) 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.
            (4) The term ``period of war'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 101(11) of title 38, United States Code.
            (5) The term ``vessel of the United States'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 2101(46) of title 46, United 
        States Code.

SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY AND PROHIBITION OF RETROACTIVE BENEFITS.

    The service referred to in section 2(a) may be rendered before the 
date of the enactment 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 of accrual before the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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