To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish certain rights for spouses of members of the uniformed services.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3900 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish certain rights for spouses of members of the uniformed services. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 7, 2023 Mr. DELUZIO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish certain rights for spouses of members of the uniformed services. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF CERTAIN RIGHTS FOR 3 SPOUSES OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED 4 SERVICES. 5 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 4303 of title 38, United 6 States Code, is amended— 7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (14) through 8 (17) as paragraphs (15) through (18), respectively; 9 and 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3900 IH (2) by inserting, after paragraph (13), the fol- 1 lowing new paragraph: 2 ‘‘(14) The term ‘spouse’ means husband or 3 wife, as the case may be.’’. 4 (b) TERMINATION OF ENTITLEMENT.—Section 4304 5 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 6 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘A person’s’’; 7 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub- 8 section: 9 ‘‘(b) Except for reemployment rights under section 10 4312 of this title, a person’s entitlement to the benefits 11 of this chapter by reason of service in the uniformed serv- 12 ices by the spouse of such person terminates on the date 13 of issuance, by a court of competent jurisdiction, of a final 14 decree of divorce, dissolution, or annulment, regarding 15 such person and such spouse.’’; and 16 (3) in the heading, by striking ‘‘Character of 17 service’’ and inserting ‘‘Termination of enti- 18 tlement’’. 19 (c) DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.—Section 4311 of 20 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 21 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, or the 22 spouse of such a person,’’ after ‘‘uniformed service’’; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3900 IH (2) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘spouses of 1 such persons;’’ after ‘‘and’’. 2 (d) REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS.—Section 4312 of title 3 38, United States Code, is amended as follows: 4 (1) In subsection (a)— 5 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 6 by inserting ‘‘, or by reason of such service by 7 the spouse of such person,’’ after ‘‘uniformed 8 services’’; 9 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘service 10 in the uniformed services does not exceed five 11 years; and’’ and inserting ‘‘such service does 12 not exceed five years;’’; 13 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 14 paragraph (4); and 15 (D) by inserting, after paragraph (2), the 16 following new paragraph (3): 17 ‘‘(3) in the case of a person whose absence is 18 by reason of such service by the spouse of such per- 19 son, the length of the absence does not exceed two 20 consecutive years; and’’. 21 (2) In subsection (c)— 22 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 23 (1)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3900 IH (i) by striking ‘‘who is absent from a 1 position of employment by reason of serv- 2 ice in the uniformed services if such per- 3 son’s cumulative period of service in the 4 uniformed services’’ and inserting ‘‘de- 5 scribed in such subsection if the cumu- 6 lative period of absence’’; and 7 (ii) by striking ‘‘any such period of 8 service shall not include any service’’ and 9 inserting ‘‘any such period of absence shall 10 not include any absence’’; 11 (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘for the 12 member of the uniformed services’’ before ‘‘to 13 complete’’; 14 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(or the 15 spouse of such person)’’ after ‘‘such person’’ 16 both places it appears; 17 (D) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘for 18 service’’ before ‘‘performed as required’’; and 19 (E) in paragraph (4), in the matter pre- 20 ceding subparagraph (A)— 21 (i) by striking ‘‘performed’’; and 22 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(or the spouse of 23 such a member)’’ after ‘‘uniformed serv- 24 ice’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3900 IH (3) In subsection (d)(1)— 1 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; 2 or’’ and inserting a semicolon; 3 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 4 subparagraph (D); and 5 (C) by inserting, after subparagraph (B), 6 the following new subparagraph (C): 7 ‘‘(C) in the case of a person whose absence 8 from employment is by reason of service in the uni- 9 formed services by the spouse of such person, such 10 person obtains new employment.’’. 11 (4) In subsection (e)— 12 (A) in paragraph (1)— 13 (i) in the matter preceding subpara- 14 graph (A), by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ 15 and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 16 and 17 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 18 ‘‘(or the spouse of such a person)’’ after 19 ‘‘180 days’’; 20 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘, or 21 the spouse of such a person,’’ before ‘‘shall’’; 22 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 23 paragraph (4); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3900 IH (D) by inserting, after paragraph (2), the 1 following new paragraph (3): 2 ‘‘(3) In the case of a person absent from employment 3 by reason of service in the uniformed services by the 4 spouse of such person, if such person ceases to be married 5 to such spouse— 6 ‘‘(A) by reason of the death of such spouse, 7 such person shall notify the employer of such person 8 of the person’s intent to return to a position of em- 9 ployment with such employer not later than two 10 years after such death; or 11 ‘‘(B) for any reason other than the death of 12 such spouse, such person shall notify the employer 13 of such person of the person’s intent to return to a 14 position of employment with such employer not later 15 than 30 days after a court of competent jurisdiction 16 issues a final decree of divorce, dissolution, or annul- 17 ment.’’. 18 (5) In subsection (h), by striking ‘‘person’s 19 training or service’’ and inserting ‘‘person’s (or the 20 person’s spouse’s) training or service’’. 21 (6) In the heading, by striking ‘‘of persons 22 who serve in the uniformed services’’. 23 (e) REEMPLOYMENT POSITIONS.—Section 24 4313(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3900 IH in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by inserting 1 ‘‘(or whose spouse’s)’’ after ‘‘whose’’. 2 (f) REEMPLOYMENT BY THE FEDERAL GOVERN- 3 MENT.—Section 4314 of title 38, United States Code, is 4 amended by inserting ‘‘(or the spouse of such person)’’ 5 before ‘‘entered’’ both places it appears. 6 (g) REEMPLOYMENT BY CERTAIN FEDERAL AGEN- 7 CIES.—Section 4315(b) of title 38, United States Code, 8 is amended by inserting ‘‘, and the spouses of such per- 9 sons,’’ after ‘‘uniformed services’’. 10 (h) RIGHTS, BENEFITS, AND OBLIGATIONS OF 11 SPOUSES ABSENT FROM EMPLOYMENT FOR SERVICE IN 12 A UNIFORMED SERVICE.—Section 4316 of title 38, United 13 States Code, is amended— 14 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, by such 15 person or the spouse of such person,’’ after ‘‘of serv- 16 ice’’; 17 (2) in subsection (b)— 18 (A) in paragraph (1)— 19 (i) in the matter preceding subpara- 20 graph (A), by striking ‘‘in the uniformed 21 services’’ and inserting ‘‘described in sub- 22 section (a)’’; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3900 IH (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 1 ‘‘while performing’’ and inserting ‘‘dur- 2 ing’’; and 3 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 4 ‘‘while such person performs’’ and insert- 5 ing ‘‘during’’; 6 (B) in paragraph (2)— 7 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 8 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘in 9 the uniformed services’’ and inserting 10 ‘‘described in subsection (a)’’; and 11 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 12 ‘‘service in the uniformed services’’ 13 and inserting ‘‘such service’’; and 14 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 15 ‘‘service in the uniformed services’’ and in- 16 serting ‘‘such service’’; and 17 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘while 18 serving in the uniformed services’’ and inserting 19 ‘‘during service described in subsection (a)’’; 20 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘person’s pe- 21 riod of service’’ both places it appears and inserting 22 ‘‘period of service described in subsection (a)’’; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3900 IH (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘in the uni- 1 formed services’’ and inserting ‘‘described in sub- 2 section (a)’’; and 3 (5) in the heading, by striking ‘‘for’’ and in- 4 serting ‘‘due to’’. 5 (i) HEALTH PLANS.—Section 4317 of title 38, 6 United States Code, is amended— 7 (1) in subsection (a)— 8 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘by 9 such person or the spouse of such person’’ after 10 ‘‘uniformed services’’; 11 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘per- 12 forms service in the uniformed services’’ and in- 13 serting ‘‘is absent from such position of employ- 14 ment by reason of service described in sub- 15 section (a)’’; and 16 (C) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii), by striking 17 ‘‘served by the person in the uniformed serv- 18 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘of service described in sub- 19 section (a)’’; and 20 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘in the uni- 21 formed services’’ and inserting ‘‘described in sub- 22 section (a)’’. 23 (j) EMPLOYEE PENSION BENEFIT PLANS.—Section 24 4318 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3900 IH (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘peri- 2 ods of service in the uniformed services’’ and 3 inserting ‘‘periods of absence from employment 4 described in section 4312 of this title’’; and 5 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘pe- 6 riod served by a person in the uniformed serv- 7 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘such period of absence’’; 8 (2) in subsection (b)— 9 (A) in paragraph (1)— 10 (i) in the matter preceding subpara- 11 graph (A)— 12 (I) by striking ‘‘period of service’’ 13 both places it appears and inserting 14 ‘‘such period’’; and 15 (II) by striking ‘‘service in the 16 uniformed services’’ and inserting ‘‘a 17 period of absence’’; and 18 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by strik- 19 ing ‘‘period served by the person in the 20 uniformed services’’ and inserting ‘‘period 21 of absence’’; 22 (B) in paragraph (2)— 23 (i) by striking ‘‘period of service’’ and 24 inserting ‘‘period of absence’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3900 IH (ii) by striking ‘‘service in the uni- 1 formed services’’ and inserting ‘‘absence’’; 2 and 3 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘period 4 of service’’ both places it appears and inserting 5 ‘‘period of absence’’. 6 (k) TRAINING FOR FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCY 7 HUMAN RESOURCES PERSONNEL ON EMPLOYMENT AND 8 REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND LIMITATIONS.—Section 9 4318(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 10 inserting ‘‘(and the spouses of such members)’’ after 11 ‘‘members’’ both places it appears. 12 (l) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections 13 at the beginning of chapter 43 of title 38, United States 14 Code, is amended as follows: 15 (1) By striking the item relating to section 16 4304 and inserting the following: 17 ‘‘4304. Termination of entitlement.’’. (2) By striking the item relating to section 18 4311 and inserting the following: 19 ‘‘4311. Discrimination against persons who serve in the uniformed services and spouses of such persons; acts of reprisal prohibited.’’. (3) By striking the item relating to section 20 4312 and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘4312. Reemployment rights.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3900 IH (4) By striking the item relating to section 1 4316 and inserting the following: 2 ‘‘4316. Rights, benefits, and obligations of persons absent from employment due to service in a uniformed service.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Jul 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3900.IH H3900 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB