[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2125 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2125

   To provide that unremarried former spouses of retired and career 
 members of the Armed Forces shall be entitled to military health care 
 and commissary and exchange benefits if married for at least 10 years 
during the member's military service and if the former spouse left the 
      marriage due to domestic violence or unbearable conditions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 2005

  Mr. Filner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide that unremarried former spouses of retired and career 
 members of the Armed Forces shall be entitled to military health care 
 and commissary and exchange benefits if married for at least 10 years 
during the member's military service and if the former spouse left the 
      marriage due to domestic violence or unbearable conditions.

    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 ``Continued Benefits for Injured 
Military Spouses Act''.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN UNREMARRIED FORMER MILITARY SPOUSES FOR 
              MILITARY HEALTH CARE AND AND COMMISSARY AND EXCHANGE 
              BENEFITS.

    (a) Eligibility.--A person described in subsection (b) shall be 
deemed for all purposes to be described in subparagraph (F)(i) of 
section 1072(2) of title 10, United States Code.
    (b) Persons Covered.--Subsection (a) applies to a person who--
            (1) is the unremarried former spouse of a member of the 
        uniformed services who performed at least 20 years of service 
        which is creditable in determining the member's eligibility for 
        retired pay and on the date of the final decree of divorce, 
        dissolution, or annulment had been married to the member for a 
        period of at least 20 years, of which at least 10 years were 
        during the period the member performed service creditable in 
        determining the member's eligibility for retired pay; and
            (2) sought a divorce, dissolution, or annulment from the 
        member of the uniformed services due, in whole or in part, to 
        (A) domestic violence involving that person or a child of that 
        person that is substantiated by counseling or medical records, 
        or (B) other circumstances that (as determined by the Secretary 
        concerned) constitute unbearable conditions.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``retired pay'' includes retainer pay or 
        equivalent pay.
            (2) The term ``member'' includes a former member entitled 
        to retired pay or who would be entitled to that pay but for 
        being under age 60.
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