[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5753-S5754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6228. Ms. SINEMA submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) 
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 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. ____. INCREASE OF DEATH GRATUITIES AND FUNERAL 
                   ALLOWANCES FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line of Duty Act''.
       (b) Increasing Death Gratuity for Federal Employees Killed 
     in the Line of Duty.--
       (1) Amendments to title 5, united states code.--
       (A) In general.--Subchapter VII of chapter 55 of title 5, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``Sec. 5571. Employee death gratuity payments

       ``(a) Definition.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 5561(2), in this 
     section, the term `employee' means an individual who has been 
     determined by the Secretary of Labor to be an employee within 
     the meaning of section 8101(1), but does not include any 
     individual described in subparagraph (D) of section 8101(1).
       ``(2) Exclusive authority.--A determination described in 
     paragraph (1) may be made only by the Secretary of Labor.
       ``(b) Gratuity.--
       ``(1) In general.--With respect to the death of an employee 
     occurring on or after the date of enactment of this section, 
     notwithstanding section 8116, and in addition to any payment 
     made under subchapter I of chapter 81, the head of the agency 
     employing the employee shall pay from appropriations made 
     available for salaries and expenses of that agency a death 
     gratuity to the person identified under subsection (c)(2), if 
     the death of the employee--
       ``(A) results from injury sustained while in the line of 
     duty of the employee; and
       ``(B) is not--
       ``(i) caused by willful misconduct of the employee;
       ``(ii) caused by the intention of the employee to bring 
     about the injury or death of the employee or another; or
       ``(iii) proximately caused by the intoxication of the 
     injured employee.
       ``(2) Amount.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the amount of a death gratuity paid under paragraph (1) with 
     respect to an employee shall be $100,000, as adjusted each 
     March 1 by the amount determined by the Secretary of Labor to 
     represent the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index 
     for All Urban Consumers (all items; United States city 
     average) published for December of the preceding year over 
     that Index published for the December of the year prior to 
     the preceding year, adjusted to the nearest \1/10\ of 1 
     percent.
       ``(B) Local compensation plans.--For an employee 
     compensated under a local compensation plan established under 
     section 408 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 
     3968), the amount of a death gratuity paid under paragraph 
     (1) with respect to the employee shall be in an amount 
     determined in rules issued by the Secretary of State.
       ``(c) Recipient of Payment.--
       ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `child'--
       ``(A) includes--
       ``(i) a natural child; and
       ``(ii) an adopted child; and
       ``(B) does not include a stepchild.
       ``(2) Order of precedence.--A death gratuity paid under 
     subsection (b) with respect to an employee shall be paid in 
     the following order of precedence:
       ``(A)(i) To the beneficiary designated to receive the 
     gratuity by the employee in a signed and witnessed writing 
     that is received by the agency employing the employee before 
     the date of the death of the employee.
       ``(ii) A designation, change, or cancellation of 
     beneficiary in a will, or another document not described in 
     clause (i), shall have no force or effect for the purposes of 
     that clause.
       ``(B) If there is no beneficiary described in subparagraph 
     (A), to the surviving spouse of the employee.
       ``(C) If neither subparagraph (A) nor (B) applies, to the 
     children of the employee (including the descendant of any 
     deceased child by representation) such that each such child 
     receives an equal amount of the gratuity.
       ``(D) If none of subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) applies, to 
     the surviving parents of the employee such that each such 
     surviving parent receives an equal amount of the gratuity.
       ``(E) If none of subparagraphs (A) through (D) applies, to 
     the duly appointed executor or administrator of the estate of 
     the employee.
       ``(F) If none of subparagraphs (A) through (E) applies, to 
     the person entitled, under the laws of the State in which the 
     employee is domiciled, as of the date on which the employee 
     dies, to receive the payment.''.
       (B) Repeal of death gratuity payment authority.--Section 
     651 of the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government 
     Appropriations Act, 1997 (5 U.S.C. 8133 note) is repealed.
       (C) Technical and conforming amendments.--
       (i) Subchapter heading.--The heading for subchapter VII of 
     chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``EMPLOYEES'' and inserting ``PERSONS AND PAYMENTS 
     FOR DISABILITY OR DEATH''.
       (ii) Other conforming changes.--The table of sections for 
     chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--

       (I) by striking the item relating to subchapter VII and 
     inserting the following:

    ``subchapter vii--payments to missing persons and payments for 
                       disability or death''; and

       (II) by inserting after the item relating to section 5570 
     the following:

``5571. Employee death gratuity payments.''.
       (2) Amendment to title 49.--Section 40122(g)(2) of title 
     49, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) in subparagraph (I)(iii), by striking ``and'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (B) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by inserting after subparagraph (J), the following:
       ``(K) section 5571, relating to death gratuities resulting 
     from an injury sustained in the line of duty.''.
       (c) Funeral Expenses.--
       (1) In general.--Section 8134(a) of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (A) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(a)'';
       (B) by striking ``$800'' and inserting ``$8,800''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) The amount described in paragraph (1) shall be 
     adjusted on March 1 of each year by the percentage amount 
     determined by the Secretary of Labor under section 8146a for 
     that year.''.
       (2) Applicability.--The amendment made by paragraph (1)(B) 
     shall apply with respect to any death occurring on or after 
     the date of enactment of this Act.
       (d) Death Gratuity for Injuries Incurred in Connection With 
     Employee's Service With an Armed Force.--Section 8102a of 
     title 5, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``The United States'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) In general.--The United States'';
       (B) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by striking ``up 
     to''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Adjustment.--The amount described in paragraph (1) 
     shall be adjusted each March 1 by the amount determined by 
     the Secretary of Labor to represent the percentage change in 
     the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (all items; 
     United States city average) published for December of the 
     preceding year over that Index published for the December of 
     the year prior to the preceding year, adjusted to the nearest 
     \1/10\ of 1 percent.'';
       (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
       ``(c) Relationship to Other Benefits.--With respect to a 
     death occurring on or after the date of enactment of the 
     Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line of Duty Act, the 
     death gratuity payable under this section may not be reduced 
     by the amount of any other death gratuity provided under any 
     other provision of Federal law based on the same death.''; 
     and
       (3) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(7) If a person covered by this section does not have any 
     eligible survivors, as described in this subsection, and that 
     person has not designated an alternate person to receive a 
     payment under this section, the payment shall be paid to the 
     personal representative of the person's estate.''.

[[Page S5754]]

       (e) Agency Gratuity for Deaths Sustained in the Line of 
     Duty Abroad.--Section 413 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 
     (22 U.S.C. 3973) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``dependents'' and 
     inserting ``beneficiaries''; and
       (B) in the second sentence, by inserting ``, except as 
     provided in subsection (e)'' after ``payable from any 
     source'';
       (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
       ``(b) Executive Agencies.--The head of an executive agency 
     shall, pursuant to guidance issued under subsection (c), make 
     a death gratuity payment authorized by this section to the 
     surviving beneficiaries of--
       ``(1) any employee of that agency who dies as a result of 
     injuries sustained in the performance of duty abroad while 
     subject to the authority of the chief of mission pursuant to 
     section 207; or
       ``(2) an individual in a special category serving in an 
     uncompensated capacity for that agency abroad in support of a 
     diplomatic mission, as identified in guidance issued under 
     subsection (c), who dies as a result of injuries sustained in 
     the performance of duty abroad.'';
       (3) by striking subsection (d);
       (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
       ``(d) Eligibility Under Chapter 81 of Title 5, United 
     States Code.--A death gratuity payment shall be made under 
     this section only if the death is determined by the Secretary 
     of Labor to have resulted from an injury (excluding a disease 
     proximately caused by the employment) sustained in the 
     performance of duty under section 8102 of title 5, United 
     States Code.'';
       (5) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f);
       (6) by inserting after subsection (d), as added by 
     paragraph (4), the following:
       ``(e) Offset.--For deaths occurring on or after the date of 
     enactment of the Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line 
     of Duty Act, the death gratuity payable under this section 
     shall be reduced by the amount of any death gratuity provided 
     under section 5571 of title 5, United States Code, based on 
     the same death.''; and
       (7) in subsection (f), as so redesignated by paragraph (5), 
     by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
       ``(2) the term `surviving beneficiaries' means the person 
     or persons identified pursuant to the order of precedence 
     established under section 5571(c)(2) of title 5, United 
     States Code.''.
       (f) Emergency Supplemental Authorization.--
       (1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
       (A) the term ``agency'' means an agency that is authorized 
     or required to make a payment under a covered provision; and
       (B) the term ``covered provision'' means--
       (i) section 5571 of title 5, United States Code, as added 
     by subsection (b);
       (ii) section 8102a of title 5, United States Code, as 
     amended by subsection (d); or
       (iii) section 413 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 
     U.S.C. 3973), as amended by subsection (e).
       (2) Authorization.--If the head of an agency determines, 
     with the concurrence of the Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget, that a natural disaster, act of 
     terrorism, or other incident results in the inability of the 
     agency to make additional payments under a covered 
     provision--
       (A) there are authorized to be appropriated to the agency 
     such sums as may be necessary to make those additional 
     payments; and
       (B) the head of the agency may make those additional 
     payments only to the extent additional amounts are made 
     available for those purposes.
       (3) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, 
     not later than 30 days after the date on which the head of an 
     agency submits to Congress a request for supplemental 
     appropriations for the purposes described in paragraph (2), 
     Congress should take action with respect to that request.
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