[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4798 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4798

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide an increase in the 
    maximum annual rates of pension payable to surviving spouses of 
          veterans of a period of war, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2002

Mr. Berry (for himself, Mr. Baca, Mr. Carson of Oklahoma, Mr. Sandlin, 
 Mr. Schiff, Mrs. Tauscher, and Mr. Taylor of Mississippi) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 amend title 38, United States Code, to provide an increase in the 
    maximum annual rates of pension payable to surviving spouses of 
          veterans of a period of war, 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 ``Widows of Wartime Veterans 
Assistance Act''.

SEC. 2. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM ANNUAL RATES OF PENSION FOR SURVIVING 
              SPOUSES OF VETERANS OF A PERIOD OF WAR.

    (a) Increase.--Section 1541 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``as increased'' and 
        inserting ``as increased under subsection (f), and as further 
        increased'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), and (h) as 
        subsections (g), (h), and (i), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new 
        subsection (f):
    ``(f)(1) Effective for months after November of the year of the 
enactment of this subsection, the annual rate of pension payable to a 
surviving spouse under a provison referred to in paragraph (2) shall be 
increased for any year by the amount equal to the difference between--
            ``(A) the current poverty line (as that term is defined in 
        section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 
        U.S.C. 9902(2)) for that year for a one-person family unit in 
        the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia; and
            ``(B) the annual rate of pension in effect under subsection 
        (b) in November of that year.
    ``(2) A provision referred to in this paragraph is any of the 
following provisions of this section:
            ``(A) Subsection (b).
            ``(B) The first sentence of subsection (c).
            ``(C) Subsection (d)(1).
            ``(D) The first sentence of subsection (d)(2).
            ``(E) The first sentence of subsection (e)(1).''.
    (b) Disregard of Increased Amount for Purposes of Medicaid 
Eligibility.--Section 1902(r)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1396a(r)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
    ``(C) In determining for purposes of this title the income of a 
surviving spouse of a veteran who receives a monthly pension under 
section 1541 of title 38, United States Code, such income shall not 
inlcude any amount attributable to the application of subsection (f) of 
that section.''.
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