[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1238 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1238

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the payment of 
   dependency and indemnity compensation to the surviving spouses of 
    certain former prisoners of war dying with a service-connected 
        disability rated totally disabling at the time of death.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 17, 1999

Mr. Hutchinson (for himself and Mr. Wellstone) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the payment of 
   dependency and indemnity compensation to the surviving spouses of 
    certain former prisoners of war dying with a service-connected 
        disability rated totally disabling at the time of death.

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

SECTION 1. DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES 
              OF FORMER PRISONERS OF WAR.

    (a) Eligibility.--Section 1318(b) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``that either--'' in the matter preceding 
        paragraph (1) and inserting ``rated totally disabling if--''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) the veteran was a former prisoner of war who died 
        after September 30, 1999, and who had been diagnosed as having 
        one of the diseases specified in section 1112(b) of this 
        title.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Such section is further amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by inserting ``the disability'' after ``(1)''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``or'' after ``death;''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``if so rated for a lesser period, 
                was so rated continuously'' and inserting ``the 
                disability was continuously rated totally disabling''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                ``; or''.
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