[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1775 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1775

   To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to accept additional 
 documentation when considering the application for veterans status of 
  an individual who performed service as a coastwise merchant seaman 
              during World War II, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 15, 2015

 Mr. Murphy (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                          on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to accept additional 
 documentation when considering the application for veterans status of 
  an individual who performed service as a coastwise merchant seaman 
              during World War II, 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 ``World War II Merchant Mariner 
Service Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Merchant Marine Act, 1936 established the United 
        States Maritime Commission, and stated as a matter of policy 
        that the United States should have a merchant marine that is 
        ``capable of serving as a naval and military auxiliary in time 
        of war or national emergency''.
            (2) The Social Security Act Amendments of 1939 (Public Law 
        76-379) expanded the definition of employment to include 
        service ``on or in connection with an American vessel under 
        contract of service which is entered into within the United 
        States or during the performance of which the vessel touches at 
        a port in the United States, if the employee is employed on and 
        in connection with such vessel''.
            (3) The Joint Resolution to repeal sections 2, 3, and 6 of 
        the Neutrality Act of 1939, and for other purposes (Public Law 
        77-294; 55 Stat. 764) repealed section 6 of the Neutrality Act 
        of 1939 (related to the arming of United States vessels) and 
        authorized the President during the national emergency to arm 
        or permit to arm any United States vessel.
            (4) On February 7, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 
        through Executive Order Number 9054, established the War 
        Shipping Administration that was charged with building or 
        purchasing, and operating the civilian shipping vessels needed 
        for the war effort.
            (5) During World War II, United States merchant mariners 
        transported goods and materials through ``contested waters'' to 
        the various combat theaters.
            (6) At the conclusion of World War II, United States 
        merchant mariners were responsible for transporting several 
        million members of the United States Armed Forces back to the 
        United States.
            (7) The GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-202) 
        provided that the Secretary of Defense could determine that 
        service for the Armed Forces by organized groups of civilians, 
        or contractors, be considered ``active service'' for benefits 
        administered by the Veterans' Administration.
            (8) Department of Defense Directive 1000.20 directed that 
        the determination be made by the Secretary of the Air Force, 
        and established the Civilian/Military Service Review Board and 
        Advisory Panel.
            (9) In 1987, three merchant mariners along with the AFL-CIO 
        sued Edward C. Aldridge, Secretary of the Air Force, 
        challenging the denial of their application for veterans 
        status. In Schumacher v. Aldridge (665 F. Supp. 41 (D.D.C. 
        1987)), the Court determined that Secretary Aldridge had failed 
        to ``articulate clear and intelligible criteria for the 
        administration'' of the application approval process.
            (10) During World War II, women were repeatedly denied 
        issuance of official documentation affirming their merchant 
        marine seamen status by the War Shipping Administration.
            (11) Coast Guard Information Sheet #77 (April 1992) 
        identifies the following acceptable forms of documentation for 
        eligibility meeting the requirements set forth in the GI Bill 
        Improvement Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-202) and the Veterans 
        Programs Enhancement Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-368):
                    (A) Certificate of shipping and discharge forms.
                    (B) Continuous discharge books (ship's deck or 
                engine logbooks).
                    (C) Company letters showing vessel names and dates 
                of voyages.
            (12) Coast Guard Commandant Order of 20 March 1944 relieved 
        masters of tugs, towboats, and seagoing barges of the 
        responsibility of submitting reports of seamen shipped or 
        discharged on forms, meaning certificates of shipping and 
        discharge forms are not available to all eligible individuals 
        seeking to document their eligibility.
            (13) Coast Guard Information Sheet #77 (April 1992) states 
        that ``deck logs were traditionally considered to be the 
        property of the owners of the ships. After World War II, 
        however, the deck and engine logbooks of vessels operated by 
        the War Shipping Administration were turned over to that agency 
        by the ship owners, and were destroyed during the 1970s'', 
        meaning that continuous discharge books are not available to 
        all eligible individuals seeking to document their eligibility.
            (14) Coast Guard Information Sheet #77 (April 1992) states 
        ``some World War II period log books do not name ports visited 
        during the voyage due to wartime security restrictions'', 
        meaning that company letters showing vessel names and dates of 
        voyages are not available to all eligible individuals seeking 
        to document their eligibility.

SEC. 3. METHODS FOR VALIDATING CERTAIN SERVICE CONSIDERED TO BE ACTIVE 
              SERVICE BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--For the purposes of verifying that an individual 
performed service under honorable conditions that satisfies the 
requirements of a coastwise merchant seaman who is recognized pursuant 
to section 401 of the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-
202; 38 U.S.C. 106 note) as having performed active duty service for 
the purposes described in subsection (c)(1), the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall accept the following:
            (1) In the case of an individual who served on a coastwise 
        merchant vessel seeking such recognition for whom no applicable 
        Coast Guard shipping or discharge form, ship logbook, merchant 
        mariner's document or Z-card, or other official employment 
        record is available, the Secretary shall provide such 
        recognition on the basis of applicable Social Security 
        Administration records submitted for or by the individual, 
        together with validated testimony given by the individual or 
        the primary next of kin of the individual that the individual 
        performed such service during the period beginning on December 
        7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946.
            (2) In the case of an individual who served on a coastwise 
        merchant vessel seeking such recognition for whom the 
        applicable Coast Guard shipping or discharge form, ship 
        logbook, merchant mariner's document or Z-card, or other 
        official employment record has been destroyed or otherwise 
        become unavailable by reason of any action committed by a 
        person responsible for the control and maintenance of such 
        form, logbook, or record, the Secretary shall accept other 
        official documentation demonstrating that the individual 
        performed such service during period beginning on December 7, 
        1941, and ending on December 31, 1946.
            (3) For the purpose of determining whether to recognize 
        service allegedly performed during the period beginning on 
        December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946, the 
        Secretary shall recognize masters of seagoing vessels or other 
        officers in command of similarly organized groups as agents of 
        the United States who were authorized to document any 
        individual for purposes of hiring the individual to perform 
        service in the merchant marine or discharging an individual 
        from such service.
    (b) Treatment of Other Documentation.--Other documentation accepted 
by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to subsection (a)(2) 
shall satisfy all requirements for eligibility of service during the 
period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946.
    (c) Benefits Allowed.--
            (1) Burial benefits eligibility.--Service of an individual 
        that is considered active duty pursuant to subsection (a) shall 
        be considered as active duty service with respect to providing 
        burial benefits under chapters 23 and 24 of title 38, United 
        States Code, to the individual.
            (2) Medals, ribbons, and decorations.--An individual whose 
        service is recognized as active duty pursuant to subsection (a) 
        may be awarded an appropriate medal, ribbon, or other military 
        decoration based on such service.
            (3) Status of veteran.--An individual whose service is 
        recognized as active duty pursuant to subsection (a) shall be 
        honored as a veteran but shall not be entitled by reason of 
        such recognized service to any benefit that is not described in 
        this subsection.
    (d) Determination of Coastwise Merchant Seaman.--The Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall verify that an individual performed service 
under honorable conditions that satisfies the requirements of a 
coastwise merchant seaman pursuant to this section without regard to 
the sex, age, or disability of the individual during the period in 
which the individual served as such a coastwise merchant seaman.
    (e) Primary Next of Kin Defined.--In this section, the term 
``primary next of kin'' means, with respect to an individual seeking 
recognition for service under this section, the closest living relative 
of the individual who was alive during the period of such service.
    (f) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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