[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3057 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3057

      To amend title 37, United States Code, to provide a special 
 displacement allowance for members of the uniformed services without 
dependents, to provide for an annual percentage increase in the amount 
    of the family separation allowance for members of the uniformed 
                   services, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2008

  Mr. Smith (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following 
   bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend title 37, United States Code, to provide a special 
 displacement allowance for members of the uniformed services without 
dependents, to provide for an annual percentage increase in the amount 
    of the family separation allowance for members of the uniformed 
                   services, 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 ``Military Family Separation Benefits 
Enhancement Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCEMENTS OF SEPARATION ALLOWANCE FOR MEMBERS OF THE 
              UNIFORMED SERVICES.

    (a) Special Displacement Allowance for Members Without 
Dependents.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 7 of title 37, United States Code, 
        is amended by inserting after section 427 the following new 
        section:
``Sec. 427a. Special displacement allowance
    ``(a) Entitlement to Allowance.--In addition to any allowance or 
per diem to which such a member may be entitled under this title, a 
member of the uniformed services without dependents is entitled to a 
monthly allowance under this section if--
            ``(1) the member is on duty on board a ship away from the 
        home port of the ship for a continuous period of more than 30 
        days; or
            ``(2) the member is on temporary duty away from the 
        member's permanent station for a continuous period of more than 
        30 days.
    ``(b) Effective Date of Allowance.--The commencement of entitlement 
of a member to an allowance under this section shall be determined in 
accordance with the provisions of section 427(a)(2) of this title.
    ``(c) Amount.--The amount of the monthly allowance to which a 
member is entitled under this section is the amount equal to one half 
the amount of the monthly allowance to which members are entitled under 
section 427(a) of this title for the month concerned.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 7 of such title is amended by inserting 
        after the item relating to section 427 the following new item:

``427a. Special displacement allowance.''.
    (b) Annual Increase in Monthly Amount of Family Separation 
Allowance.--Section 427 of such title is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``$250'' in the 
        matter preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting ``$250 (as 
        increased from time to time under subsection (e))''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Annual Increase in Amount.--With respect to any fiscal year, 
the Secretary of Defense shall provide a percentage increase in the 
monthly amount of the allowance payable under subsection (a) equal to 
the percentage of such amount by which--
            ``(1) the Consumer Price Index (all items, United States 
        City average) for the 12-month period ending on the June 30 
        preceding the beginning of the fiscal year for which the 
        increase is made, exceeds
            ``(2) such Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period 
        preceding the 12-month period described in paragraph (1).''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on September 30, 2008, and shall apply with respect to months, 
and, in the case of the increase required by subsection (e) of section 
427 of title 37, United States Code (as added by subsection (b)(2) of 
this section), fiscal years, beginning after that date.
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