[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 88 (Wednesday, June 3, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3719-S3720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1585. Mr. MURPHY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities
of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to
prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1085. METHODS FOR VALIDATING CERTAIN SERVICE CONSIDERED
TO BE ACTIVE SERVICE BY THE SECRETARY OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) 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Law 77-294; 55 Stat. 764) repealed section 6 of the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.
[[Page S3720]]
(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 GI Bill
Improvement Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-202) and 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.
(b) Methods.--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 (d)(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.
(c) Treatment of Other Documentation.--Other documentation
accepted by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to
subsection (b)(2) shall satisfy all requirements for
eligibility of service during the period beginning on
December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946.
(d) Benefits Allowed.--
(1) Burial benefits eligibility.--Service of an individual
that is considered active duty pursuant to subsection (b)
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
(b) 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 (b) 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.
(e) 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.
(f) Primary Next of Kin Defined.--In this section, the term
``primary next of kin'' with respect to an individual seeking
recognition for service under this section means the closest
living relative of the individual who was alive during the
period of such service.
(g) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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