[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1790 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1790

To amend title 38, United States Code, and the Internal Revenue Code of 
 1986 to establish, in the event of any war, a war tax to be collected 
     and deposited in a trust fund for the payment of benefits and 
                 compensation to veterans of that war.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2017

  Mr. O'Rourke (for himself, Mr. Jones, Mr. Moulton, and Mr. Young of 
   Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Veterans' Affairs, 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, and the Internal Revenue Code of 
 1986 to establish, in the event of any war, a war tax to be collected 
     and deposited in a trust fund for the payment of benefits and 
                 compensation to veterans of that war.

    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 ``Veterans Health Care Trust Fund 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) war is inherently unpredictable, and the true cost of 
        health care related to conflicts is often not fully understood 
        until several decades later;
            (2) an independent estimate from Harvard University found 
        that over the next 40-50 years, the costs related to health 
        care and disability compensation for the wars in Iraq and 
        Afghanistan will exceed $970 billion;
            (3) this is evidenced by the growing treatment costs for 
        conditions related to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam 
        Veterans, Gulf War Syndrome in Gulf War Veterans, and 
        conditions related to burn pit exposure in Iraq and Afghanistan 
        Veterans; and
            (4) taking steps to address these costs now ensures that 
        Congress fully accounts for these costs when considering the 
        use of military force and that our Nation is better postured to 
        address the long-term and unforeseen health care needs of its 
        veterans.

SEC. 3. WAR TRUST FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 119. War trust funds
    ``(a) Establishment.--Upon the commencement of any war, the 
Secretary shall establish in the General Fund of the Treasury a trust 
fund to be named for that war. Amounts collected pursuant to section 
59A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by reason of the occurrence of 
that war shall be deposited into the fund.
    ``(b) Use of Funds.--Amounts available in a trust fund established 
under subsection (a) for a war may be used by the Secretary to provide 
for the following for veterans who serve on active duty in the Armed 
Forces during that war:
            ``(1) Hospital care and medical services.
            ``(2) Payments of disability compensation under the laws 
        administered by the Secretary.
            ``(3) Other programs and benefits under the laws 
        administered by the Secretary that the Secretary determines are 
        directly related to the health care of such veterans.
    ``(c) Concurrent Wars.--If more than one war occurs concurrently, 
the Secretary shall establish a separate trust fund under subsection 
(a) for each such war.
    ``(d) Reports.--(1) Not later than 30 days after the Secretary 
first makes a withdrawal from a trust fund established under this 
section, and every 30 days thereafter until the Secretary makes the 
final withdrawal from the fund, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a report 
describing the intended use of the amounts withdrawn from the fund 
during the period covered by the report.
    ``(2) For any fiscal year during which the Secretary makes a 
withdrawal from a fund established under this section, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall conduct an audit of the consolidated 
financial statements relating to the fund, as prepared by the 
Department of the Treasury. Not later than 30 days after the last day 
of such a fiscal year, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a report 
containing the results of the audit.
    ``(e) War Defined.--In this section, the term `war' means any use 
of the Armed Forces pursuant to any of the following:
            ``(1) A war conducted pursuant to a declaration of war by 
        Congress.
            ``(2) The War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148; 50 
        U.S.C. 1541 et seq.).
            ``(3) The Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public 
        Law 107-40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note).
            ``(4) Any other authorization for use of military force 
        enacted on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``119. War trust funds.''.

SEC. 4. WAR TAX.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after part VI the following new 
part:

                          ``PART VII--WAR TAX

``Sec. 59A. War tax.

``SEC. 59A. WAR TAX.

    ``(a) In General.--In the case of a covered individual, there is 
hereby imposed (in addition to any other tax imposed by this subtitle) 
with respect to each war occurring at any time during the taxable year 
a tax determined under the following table:

``If adjusted gross income of the                                      
  taxpayer is:                                              The tax is:
        Less than $30,000......................................    $25 
        At least $30,000 but less than $40,000.................    $57 
        At least $40,000 but less than $50,000.................    $98 
        At least $50,000 but less than $75,000.................   $164 
        At least $75,000 but less than $100,000................   $270 
        At least $100,000 but less than $200,000...............   $485 
        At least $200,000...................................... $1,000.
    ``(b) Definitions and Special Rules.--For purposes of this 
section--
            ``(1) War.--The term `war' means any use of the Armed 
        Forces pursuant to any of the following:
                    ``(A) A war conducted pursuant to a declaration of 
                war by Congress.
                    ``(B) The War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148; 
                50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.).
                    ``(C) The Authorization for Use of Military Force 
                (Public Law 107-40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note).
                    ``(D) Any other authorization for use of military 
                force enacted on or after the date of the enactment of 
                this Act.
            ``(2) Covered individual.--The term `covered individual' 
        means any individual who has not served on active duty in the 
        Armed Forces of the United States.
            ``(3) Enumeration of wars.--The Secretary shall in forms 
        and guidance enumerate each war with respect to which a tax is 
        imposed by subsection (a) for any taxable year.
    ``(c) Not Treated as Tax Imposed by This Chapter for Certain 
Purposes.--The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as 
tax imposed by this chapter for purposes of determining the amount of 
any credit under this chapter or for purposes of section 55.''.
    (b) Section 15 Not To Apply.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
shall not be treated as a change in a rate of tax for purposes of 
section 15 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of parts for subchapter A of 
chapter 1 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to part VI the following new item:

                         ``Part VII--War Tax''.

    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2016.
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