Fairness for Families of Fallen Sailors Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6277 To amend title 46, United States Code, to provide for a cause of action by the family of a military service member who dies from an accident on the high seas, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 13, 2020 Ms. ESCOBAR (for herself and Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 46, United States Code, to provide for a cause of action by the family of a military service mem- ber who dies from an accident on the high seas, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 46. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Fairness for Families of Fallen Sailors Act’’. 5 (b) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 303 of title 46, United 6 States Code, is amended— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6277.IH H6277 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6277 IH (1) by redesignating section 30308 as section 1 30309; and 2 (2) by inserting after section 30307 the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘§ 30308. Death of a member of the Armed Forces 5 from an accident on the high seas. 6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘non- 7 pecuniary damages’ means damages for loss of care, com- 8 fort, or companionship. 9 ‘‘(b) MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS.—In an action 10 under this chapter, if the death of a member of the Armed 11 Forces resulted from an accident occurring on the high 12 seas beyond 12 nautical miles from the shore of the United 13 States while the decedent was serving aboard a United 14 States military vessel, the personal representative of the 15 decedent may bring a civil action in admiralty or at law 16 against the person or vessel responsible. The action shall 17 be for the exclusive benefit of the decedent’s spouse, par- 18 ent, child, dependent relative, or estate. Compensation is 19 recoverable for nonpecuniary and pecuniary damages. 20 ‘‘(c) JURY TRIAL.—A claim under this section may 21 be tried with a jury. 22 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 23 subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) shall apply to any death 24 occurring after January 1, 2017. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6277.IH H6277 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6277 IH ‘‘(e) GOVERNMENT IMMUNITY.—Nothing in this Act 1 shall be construed to affect any existing laws or doctrines 2 establishing governmental immunity from tort-based 3 claims.’’. 4 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis at the be- 5 ginning of such chapter is amended— 6 (1) by redesignating the item relating to section 7 30308 as the item relating to section 30309; and 8 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec- 9 tion 30307 the following: 10 ‘‘30308. Death of a member of the Armed Forces from an accident on the high seas.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Apr 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6277.IH H6277 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS