[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 705 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 705

  To ensure that the victims and victims' families of the November 5, 
   2009, attack at Fort Hood, Texas, receive the same treatment and 
benefits as those Americans who have been killed or wounded in a combat 
                   zone overseas and their families.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2013

  Mr. Carter (for himself, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Burgess, and Mr. 
   Flores) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Oversight and Government Reform, 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 ensure that the victims and victims' families of the November 5, 
   2009, attack at Fort Hood, Texas, receive the same treatment and 
benefits as those Americans who have been killed or wounded in a combat 
                   zone overseas and their families.

    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 ``Fort Hood Victims and Families 
Benefits Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Fort Hood, Texas, has played a highly prominent role in 
        the Global War on Terror, deploying more members of the Armed 
        Forces into overseas theaters of combat since September 11, 
        2001, than any other United States military installation.
            (2) The members of the Armed Forces and community of Fort 
        Hood have answered the call to service with honor and 
        distinction, and the post has paid a steep price, suffering 
        more combat casualties in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation 
        Enduring Freedom than any other United States military 
        installation.
            (3) In February 2011, the Committee on Homeland Security 
        and Governmental Affairs of the Senate issued a report entitled 
        ``A Ticking Time Bomb: Counterterrorism Lessons from the U.S. 
        Government's Failure to Prevent the Fort Hood Attack'', which 
        stated the following: ``On November 5, 2009, 13 Americans--12 
        servicemembers and one civilian employee of DoD--were killed 
        and 32 were wounded in an attack at the military base at Fort 
        Hood, Texas. This tragedy was the deadliest terrorist attack 
        within the United States since September 11, 2001.''.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) any member of the Armed Forces or civilian employee of 
        the Department of Defense who was killed or wounded in the 
        attack that occurred at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009, 
        and the family members of those victims, should receive the 
        same treatment and benefits as the victims and families of 
        victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the 
        United States; and
            (2) these Americans have made tremendous sacrifices, and 
        the United States should provide them with the maximum level of 
        benefits available, identical to the level of benefits 
        available to those who have been killed or wounded in an 
        overseas combat zone such as Iraq or Afghanistan.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES 
              OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE WHO WERE KILLED OR WOUNDED 
              IN THE NOVEMBER 5, 2009, ATTACK AT FORT HOOD, TEXAS.

    (a) Treatment.--For purposes of all applicable Federal laws, 
regulations, and policies, a member of the Armed Forces or civilian 
employee of the Department of Defense who was killed or wounded in the 
attack that occurred at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009, shall be 
deemed as follows:
            (1) In the case of a member, to have been killed or wounded 
        in a combat zone as the result of an act of an enemy of the 
        United States.
            (2) In the case of a civilian employee of the Department of 
        Defense--
                    (A) to have been killed or wounded while serving 
                with the Armed Forces in a contingency operation; and
                    (B) to have been killed or wounded in a terrorist 
                attack.
    (b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to a member of the 
Armed Forces whose death or wound as described in that subsection is 
the result of the willful misconduct of the member.
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