[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4944 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4944

To restore certain non-monetary Federal benefits to remarried surviving 
spouses of members of the Armed Forces who die while serving on active 
    duty, to provide student loan deferment for dislocated military 
                    spouses, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2023

 Ms. Stefanik (for herself and Mr. Norcross) introduced the following 
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in 
    addition to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs, Oversight and 
  Accountability, and Education and the Workforce, 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 restore certain non-monetary Federal benefits to remarried surviving 
spouses of members of the Armed Forces who die while serving on active 
    duty, to provide student loan deferment for dislocated military 
                    spouses, 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 Families and Surviving 
Spouses Benefits Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL BENEFITS FOR REMARRIED SURVIVING SPOUSES OF MEMBERS OF 
              THE ARMED FORCES WHO DIE WHILE SERVING ON ACTIVE DUTY.

    (a) Civil Service.--
            (1) Preference eligible.--Section 2108(3)(D) of title 5, 
        United States Code, is amended by striking ``unmarried''.
            (2) Noncompetitive appointment.--Section 3330d(a)(3)(B) of 
        such title is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(B) who was married to a member of the Armed 
                Forces on the date on which the member dies while on 
                active duty in the Armed Forces.''.
    (b) Department of Veterans Affairs.--
            (1) Special marriage provisions.--Section 103(d)(2) of 
        title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
        the following new subparagraph:
    ``(C) The remarriage of the surviving spouse of a person who died 
while serving in the active military, naval, air, or space service 
shall not bar the furnishing of non-monetary benefits to such surviving 
spouse.''.
            (2) Eligibility for housing and small business loans.--
        Section 3701(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
        by inserting ``(without regard to whether such surviving spouse 
        remarries)'' after ``surviving spouse''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply beginning on the first day of the first month beginning after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. ACCESS TO COMMISSARY AND EXCHANGE PRIVILEGES FOR REMARRIED 
              SPOUSES.

    (a) Benefits.--Section 1062 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary of Defense'' and inserting 
        the following:
    ``(a) Certain Unremarried Former Spouses.--The Secretary of 
Defense'';
            (2) by striking ``commissary and exchange privileges'' and 
        inserting ``use commissary stores and MWR retail facilities''; 
        and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Certain Remarried Surviving Spouses.--The Secretary of 
Defense shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to provide 
that a surviving spouse of a deceased member of the armed forces, 
regardless of the marital status of the surviving spouse, is entitled 
to use commissary stores and MWR retail facilities to the same extent 
and on the same basis as an unremarried surviving spouse of a member of 
the uniformed services.
    ``(c) MWR Retail Facilities Defined.--In this section, the term 
`MWR retail facilities' has the meaning given that term in section 
1063(e) of this title.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) Section heading.--The heading of such section 1062 is 
        amended by inserting ``and surviving spouses'' after ``Certain 
        former spouses''.
            (2) Table of sections.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 54 of title 10, United States Code, is 
        amended by striking the item relating to section 1062 and 
        inserting the following:

``1062. Certain former spouses and surviving spouses.''.

SEC. 4. STUDENT LOAN DEFERMENT FOR DISLOCATED MILITARY SPOUSES.

    (a) In General.--Section 455(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs 
        (5) and (6), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) Deferment for dislocated military spouses.--
                    ``(A) Duration and effect on principal and 
                interest.--A borrower of a loan made under this part 
                who meets the requirements of subparagraph (B) shall be 
                eligible for a deferment for an aggregate period of 180 
                days, during which periodic installments of principal 
                need not be paid, and interest--
                            ``(i) shall not accrue, in the case of a--
                                    ``(I) Federal Direct Stafford Loan; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) a Federal Direct 
                                Consolidation Loan that consolidated 
                                only Federal Direct Stafford Loans, or 
                                a combination of such loans and Federal 
                                Stafford Loans for which the student 
                                borrower received an interest subsidy 
                                under section 428; or
                            ``(ii) shall accrue and be capitalized or 
                        paid by the borrower, in the case of a Federal 
                        Direct PLUS Loan, a Federal Direct Unsubsidized 
                        Stafford Loan, or a Federal Direct 
                        Consolidation Loan not described in clause 
                        (i)(II).
                    ``(B) Eligibility.--A borrower of a loan made under 
                this part shall be eligible for a deferment under 
                subparagraph (A) if the borrower--
                            ``(i) is the spouse of a member of the 
                        Armed Forces serving on active duty; and
                            ``(ii) has experienced a loss of employment 
                        as a result of relocation to accommodate a 
                        permanent change in duty station of such 
                        member.
                    ``(C) Documentation and approval.--
                            ``(i) In general.--A borrower may establish 
                        eligibility for a deferment under subparagraph 
                        (A) by providing to the Secretary--
                                    ``(I) the documentation described 
                                in clause (ii); or
                                    ``(II) such other documentation as 
                                the Secretary determines appropriate.
                            ``(ii) Documentation.--The documentation 
                        described in this clause is--
                                    ``(I) evidence that the borrower is 
                                the spouse of a member of the Armed 
                                Forces serving on active duty;
                                    ``(II) evidence that a military 
                                permanent change of station order was 
                                issued to such member; and
                                    ``(III)(aa) evidence that the 
                                borrower is eligible for unemployment 
                                benefits due to a loss of employment 
                                resulting from relocation to 
                                accommodate such permanent change in 
                                duty station; or
                                    ``(bb) a written certification, or 
                                an equivalent as approved by the 
                                Secretary, that the borrower is 
                                registered with a public or private 
                                employment agency due to a loss of 
                                employment resulting from relocation to 
                                accommodate such permanent change in 
                                duty station.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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