[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 127 (Thursday, July 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S4571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 637. Mr. HELLER (for himself and Mr. Tester) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2810, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, 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 appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. TRANSPORTATION ON MILITARY AIRCRAFT ON A SPACE-
                   AVAILABLE BASIS FOR DISABLED VETERANS WITH A 
                   SERVICE-CONNECTED, PERMANENT DISABILITY RATED 
                   AS TOTAL.

       (a) Availability of Transportation.--Section 2641b of title 
     10, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
       ``(f) Special Priority for Certain Disabled Veterans.--(1) 
     The Secretary of Defense shall provide transportation on 
     scheduled and unscheduled military flights within the 
     continental United States and on scheduled overseas flights 
     operated by the Air Mobility Command on a space-available 
     basis for any veteran with a service-connected, permanent 
     disability rated as total.
       ``(2) Notwithstanding subsection (d)(1), in establishing 
     space-available transportation priorities under the travel 
     program, the Secretary shall provide transportation under 
     paragraph (1) on the same basis as such transportation is 
     provided to members of the armed forces entitled to retired 
     or retainer pay.
       ``(3) The requirement to provide transportation on 
     Department of Defense aircraft on a space-available basis on 
     the priority basis described in paragraph (2) to veterans 
     covered by this subsection applies whether or not the travel 
     program is established under this section.
       ``(4) In this subsection, the terms `veteran' and `service-
     connected' have the meanings given those terms in section 101 
     of title 38.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (f) of section 2641b of 
     title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(2) 
     of this section, shall take effect at the end of the 90-day 
     period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 ______