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117TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
S. 407
AN ACT
To provide redress to the employees of Air America.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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† S 407 ES
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Air America Act of
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2022’’.
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SEC. 2. AIR AMERICA.
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(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
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(1) Air America, Incorporated (referred to in
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this section as ‘‘Air America’’) and its related cover
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corporate entities were wholly owned and controlled
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by the United States Government and directed and
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managed by the Department of Defense, the Depart-
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ment of State, and the Central Intelligence Agency
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from 1950 to 1976.
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(2) Air America, a corporation owned by the
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Government of the United States, constituted a
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‘‘Government corporation’’, as defined in section 103
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of title 5, United States Code.
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(3) The service and sacrifice of the employees
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of Air America included—
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(A) suffering a high rate of casualties in
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the course of employment;
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(B) saving thousands of lives in search and
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rescue missions for downed United States air-
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men and allied refugee evacuations; and
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(C) lengthy periods of service in chal-
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lenging circumstances abroad.
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(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
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† S 407 ES
(1) the term ‘‘affiliated company’’, with respect
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to Air America, includes Air Asia Company Limited,
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CAT Incorporated, Civil Air Transport Company
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Limited, and the Pacific Division of Southern Air
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Transport;
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(2) the term ‘‘qualifying service’’ means service
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that—
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(A) was performed by a United States cit-
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izen as an employee of Air America or an affili-
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ated company during the period beginning on
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January 1, 1950, and ending on December 31,
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1976; and
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(B) is documented in the attorney-certified
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corporate records of Air America or any affili-
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ated company;
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(3) the term ‘‘survivor’’, with respect to an indi-
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vidual who performed qualifying service, means—
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(A) a widow or widower of the individual
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who performed qualifying service; or
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(B) an individual who, at any time during
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or since the period of qualifying service, was a
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dependent or child of the individual who per-
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formed qualifying service; and
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(4) the terms ‘‘widow’’, ‘‘widower’’, ‘‘depend-
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ent’’, and ‘‘child’’ have the meanings given those
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† S 407 ES
terms in section 8341(a) of title 5, United States
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Code, except that that section shall be applied by
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substituting ‘‘individual who performed qualifying
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service’’ for ‘‘employee or Member’’.
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(c) CREDITABLE SERVICE.—Any period of qualifying
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service shall be treated as creditable service for purposes
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of subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5, United States
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Code.
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(d) RIGHTS.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual who performed
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qualifying service or a survivor of such an indi-
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vidual—
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(A) shall be entitled to the rights, retro-
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active as applicable, provided to employees and
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their survivors for creditable service under the
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Civil Service Retirement System under sub-
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chapter III of chapter 83 of title 5, United
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States Code, with respect to that qualifying
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service; and
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(B) may submit an application for benefits
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based on the qualifying service to the Office of
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Personnel Management not later than 2 years
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after the effective date under section 2(g) of
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this Act.
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† S 407 ES
(2) INDIVIDUALS DECEASED BEFORE DATE OF
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ENACTMENT.—A survivor of an individual who per-
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formed qualifying service and became eligible, by
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reason of this Act, for benefits based on the quali-
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fying service under subchapter III of chapter 83 of
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title 5, United States Code (but became deceased be-
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fore the date of enactment of this Act)—
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(A) may submit an application for benefits
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based on the qualifying service to the Office of
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Personnel Management not later than 2 years
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after the effective date under section 2(g) of
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this Act, disregarding any requirement that an
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employee have filed an application while living;
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and
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(B) upon submission of the application
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under subparagraph (A), shall be eligible for a
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survivor annuity under section 8341 of title 5,
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United States Code, equal to 55 percent (or 50
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percent if the deceased individual retired before
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October 11, 1962) of the self-only annuity (as
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defined in section 838.103 of title 5, Code of
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Federal Regulations (or any successor regula-
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tion)) that otherwise would have been paid to
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the deceased individual.
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† S 407 ES
(e) DEDUCTION, CONTRIBUTION, AND DEPOSIT RE-
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QUIREMENTS.—The deposit of funds in the Treasury of
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the United States made by Air America in the form of
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a lump-sum payment apportioned in part to the Civil Serv-
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ice Disability and Retirement Fund in 1976 is deemed to
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satisfy the deduction, contribution, and deposit require-
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ments under section 8334 of title 5, United States Code,
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with respect to all periods of qualifying service.
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(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act
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shall be construed to set any type of precedent for pur-
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poses of civil service retirement credit with the Civil Serv-
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ice Retirement and Disability Fund or any successor fund.
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(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect on
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the date that is 30 days after the date of enactment of
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this Act.
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Passed the Senate June 14, 2022.
Attest:
Secretary.
117TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
S. 407
AN ACT
To provide redress to the employees of Air America.
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