Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act

Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act - Repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to retired pay except for being under 60 years of age.

Prohibits requiring repayment of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund.

Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse.

Directs the Secretary concerned to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member.

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 775 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 775

To repeal the requirement for reduction of survivor annuities under the 
Survivor Benefit Plan to offset the receipt of veterans dependency and 
                        indemnity compensation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 28, 2009

Mr. Ortiz (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. 
Edwards of Texas, Mr. Brown of South Carolina, Mr. Jones, Ms. Berkley, 
  Mr. Holt, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. 
Kennedy, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Pastor of Arizona, 
Mr. Honda, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, 
 Mr. Boucher, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Gallegly, 
  Mr. Bachus, Mr. Filner, Mr. Walz, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. 
    Carney, Mr. Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Taylor, Mr. 
  Marshall, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Young of Alaska, Ms. 
Woolsey, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Sestak, Mr. 
    Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Connolly of 
 Virginia, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Boswell, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mrs. Tauscher, 
   Mr. Wittman, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Perriello, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Brady of 
 Pennsylvania, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Holden, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Moore of 
 Kansas, Mr. Berman, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Israel, Mr. Nunes, Mr. Gohmert, 
 Mr. Wilson of Ohio, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Carter, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
Mr. Klein of Florida, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Nye, Mr. Kagen, Ms. Kilpatrick 
  of Michigan, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Langevin, Ms. 
 Schwartz, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Wu, Mr. Massa, Mr. Platts, 
Mr. Kingston, Ms. Norton, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Foxx, Mr. Scalise, 
Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Cummings, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Tim 
    Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Murphy of 
   Connecticut, Mr. Rooney, Mr. Bright, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Putnam, Mr. 
  LaTourette, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Braley of Iowa, and Mr. Michaud) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To repeal the requirement for reduction of survivor annuities under the 
Survivor Benefit Plan to offset the receipt of veterans dependency and 
                        indemnity compensation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Military Surviving Spouses Equity 
Act''.

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT OF REDUCTION OF SBP SURVIVOR ANNUITIES BY 
              DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION.

    (a) Repeal.--
            (1) Repeal.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 10, 
        United States Code, is amended as follows:
                    (A) In section 1450, by striking subsection (c).
                    (B) In section 1451(c)--
                            (i) by striking paragraph (2); and
                            (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 
                        (4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--Such subchapter is further 
        amended as follows:
                    (A) In section 1450--
                            (i) by striking subsection (e); and
                            (ii) by striking subsection (k).
                    (B) In section 1451(g)(1), by striking subparagraph 
                (C).
                    (C) In section 1452--
                            (i) in subsection (f)(2), by striking 
                        ``does not apply--'' and all that follows and 
                        inserting ``does not apply in the case of a 
                        deduction made through administrative error.''; 
                        and
                            (ii) by striking subsection (g).
                    (D) In section 1455(c), by striking ``, 
                1450(k)(2),''.
    (b) Prohibition on Retroactive Benefits.--No benefits may be paid 
to any person for any period before the effective date provided under 
subsection (f) by reason of the amendments made by subsection (a).
    (c) Prohibition on Recoupment of Certain Amounts Previously 
Refunded to SBP Recipients.--A surviving spouse who is or has been in 
receipt of an annuity under the Survivor Benefit Plan under subchapter 
II of chapter 73 of title 10, United States Code, that is in effect 
before the effective date provided under subsection (f) and that is 
adjusted by reason of the amendments made by subsection (a) and who has 
received a refund of retired pay under section 1450(e) of title 10, 
United States Code, shall not be required to repay such refund to the 
United States.
    (d) Repeal of Authority for Optional Annuity for Dependent 
Children.--Section 1448(d)(2) of such title is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Dependent children.--'' and all that 
        follows through ``In the case of a member described in 
        paragraph (1),'' and inserting ``Dependent children.--In the 
        case of a member described in paragraph (1),''; and
            (2) by striking subparagraph (B).
    (e) Restoration of Eligibility for Previously Eligible Spouses.--
The Secretary of the military department concerned shall restore 
annuity eligibility to any eligible surviving spouse who, in 
consultation with the Secretary, previously elected to transfer payment 
of such annuity to a surviving child or children under the provisions 
of section 1448(d)(2)(B) of title 10, United States Code, as in effect 
on the day before the effective date provided under subsection (f). 
Such eligibility shall be restored whether or not payment to such child 
or children subsequently was terminated due to loss of dependent status 
or death. For the purposes of this subsection, an eligible spouse 
includes a spouse who was previously eligible for payment of such 
annuity and is not remarried, or remarried after having attained age 
55, or whose second or subsequent marriage has been terminated by 
death, divorce or annulment.
    (f) Effective Date.--The sections and the amendments made by this 
section shall take effect on the later of--
            (1) the first day of the first month that begins after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act; or
            (2) the first day of the fiscal year that begins in the 
        calendar year in which this Act is enacted.
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