amendments

amendments Sec. 501. (a) (1) Section 620 of the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940 amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “Any member of a uniformed service (as that term is defined in section 102 of the Servicemen’s and Veterans’ Survivor Benefits Act) while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training (as those terms are defined in such section) shall be deemed to be in the active service for the purpose of applying for insurance under this section; however, as to persons incurring a disability under the conditions provided in section 102 (11) (E) of such Act, application for insurance must be filed under this section within one year after the incurrence of such disability.” (2) Section 621 of the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940 amended by adding at the end thereof the following: “(c) No insurance shall be granted to any person under this section on or after January 1, 1957, unless prior to such date an acceptable application accompanied by proper and valid remittances or authorizations for the payment of premiums (1) was received by the Veterans’ Administration, (2) was placed in the mails properly directed to the Veterans’ Administration, or (3) was delivered to an authorized representative of any of the uniformed services.” (3) (A) Section 622 of the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940 is amended by inserting “(a)” immediately after “Sec. 622.”, and by adding at the end thereof the following: “(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), no application for waiver of premiums may be made after December 31, 1956, except applications therefor filed pursuant to the first proviso of subsection (a).” (B) Except as herein otherwise provided, where an individual dies on or after May 1, 1957, and at the time of his death has in effect a policy of national service life insurance or United States Government life insurance under waiver of premiums under section 622 of the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940, no dependency and indemnity compensation shall be paid under this Act to his widow, children, or parents by reason of his death, but death compensation may be paid under laws administered by the Veterans’ Administration to such widow, children, or parents by reason of his death, notwithstanding the fact that such death occurred after December 31, 1956. In no event shall the foregoing provision be applicable with respect to any person entitled to waiver of premiums under the first proviso to section 622 (a) of the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940, as amended, whose death occurs prior to his return to military jurisdiction or within one hundred and twenty days thereafter. (4) The National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: “Sec. 623. (a) Any person who surrendered a policy of National Service life insurance or United States Government life insurance on permanent plan for its cash value while in the active service on or after April 25, 1951, and prior to January 1, 1957, may, upon application in writing made while in the active service or within one hundred and twenty days after separation from the active service, be granted, without medical examination, permanent plan insurance on the same plan not in excess of the amount surrendered for cash, or may reinstate such surrendered insurance upon payment of the required reserve and the premium for the current month. Waiver of premiums and total disability income benefits otherwise authorized under this Act or the World War Veterans’ Act, 1924, as amended, shall not be denied in 70 Stat. 881 any case of issue or reinstatement of insurance on a permanent plan under this section in which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Administrator that total disability of the applicant commenced prior to the date of application. The cost of the premiums waived and total disability income benefits paid by virtue of the preceding sentence and the excess mortality cost in any case where the insurance matures by death from such total disability shall be borne by the United States and the Administrator is authorized and directed to transfer from time to time from the National Service life insurance appropriation to the National Service Life Insurance Fund and from the military and naval insurance appropriation to the United States Government Life Insurance Fund such sums as may be necessary to reimburse the funds for such costs. “(b) Any person who had United States Government life insurance or National Service life insurance on the five-year level premium term plan, the term of which expired while he was in the active service after April 25, 1951, or within one hundred and twenty days after separation from such active service, and in either case prior to January 1, 1957, shall, upon application made while in the active service or within one hundred and twenty days after separation from active service, payment of premiums and evidence of good health satisfactory to the Administrator, be granted an equivalent amount of insurance on the five-year level premium term plan at the premium rate for his then attained age. “(c) Persons deemed to be in the active service for the purposes of section 5 of the Servicemen’s Indemnity Act of 1951 shall be deemed to be in the active service for the purposes of this section.” (5) Section 619 of the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940 is amended by striking out “sections 620 and 621” and inserting in lieu thereof “sections 620, 621, and 623”. (b) (1) Section 212 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U. S. C., sec. 213) is amended to read as follows: “military benefits “Sec. 212. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), commissioned officers of the Service and their surviving beneficiaries shall, with respect to active service performed by such officers— “(1) in time of war; “(2) on detail for duty with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard; or “(3) while the Service is part of the military forces of the United States pursuant to Executive order of the President; he entitled to all rights, privileges, immunities, and benefits now or hereafter provided under any law of the United States in the case of commissioned officers of the Army or their surviving beneficiaries on account of active military service, except retired pay and uniform allowances. “(b) The President may prescribe the conditions under which commissioned officers of the Service may be awarded military ribbons, medals, and decorations. “(c) The authority vested by law in the Department of the Army, the Secretary of the Army, or other officers of the Department of the Army with respect to rights, privileges, immunities, and benefits referred to in subsection (a) shall be exercised, with respect to commissioned officers of the Service, by the Surgeon General. “(d) Active service of commissioned officers of the Service shall be deemed to be active military service in the Armed Forces of the United States for the purposes of all laws administered by the Veterans’ 70 Stat. 882 Administration (except the Servicemen’s Indemnity Act of 1951) and section 217 of the Social Security Act.” (2) The amendment made by this subsection (A) shall apply only with respect to service performed on or after July 4, 1952, (B) shall not be construed to affect the entitlement of any person to benefits under the Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952, (C) shall not be construed to authorize any payment under section 202 (i) of the Social Security Act, or under Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a), for any death occurring prior to January 1, 1957, and (D) shall not be construed to authorize payment of any benefits for any period prior to January 1, 1957. (3) In the case of any individual— (A) who performed active service (i) as a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service at any time during the period beginning July 4, 1952, and ending December 31, 1956, or (ii) as a commissioned officer of the Coast and Geodetic Survey at any time during the period beginning July 29, 1945, and ending December 31, 1956; and (B) (i) who became entitled to old-age insurance benefits under section 202 (a) of the Social Security Act prior to January 1, 1957, or (ii) who died prior to January 1, 1957, and whose widow, child, or parent is entitled for the month of January 1957, on the basis of his wages and self-employment income, to a monthly survivor’s benefit under section 202 of such Act; and (C) any part of whose service described in subparagraph (A) was not included in the computation of his primary insurance amount under section 215 of such Act but would have been included in such computation if the amendment made by paragraph (1) of this subsection or paragraph (1) of subsection (d) had been effective prior to the date of such computation, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall, notwithstanding the provisions of section 215 (f) (1) of the Social Security Act, recompute the primary insurance amount of such individual upon the filing of an application, after December 1956, by him or (if he dies without filing such an application) by any person entitled to monthly survivor’s benefits under section 202 of such Act on the basis of his wages and self-employment income. Such recomputation shall be made only in the manner provided in title II of the Social Security Act as in effect at the time of the last previous computation or recomputation of such individual’s primary insurance amount, and as though application therefor was filed in the month in which application for such last previous computation or recomputation was filed. No recomputation made under this paragraph shall be regarded as a recomputation under section 215 (f) of the Social Security Act. Any such recomputation shall be effective for and after the twelfth month before the month in which the application was filed, but in no case for any month before January 1957. (c) (1) Section 2 of the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Act of 1954 is amended by striking out all after “District of Columbia” in subsection (b) and inserting in lieu thereof a period, and by adding at the end of such section the following new subsection: “(c) No person shall acquire insurance coverage under this Act by virtue of his status as a member of a uniformed service. The insurance granted to any employee under this Act (1) shall cease (except for a thirty-one day extension of life insurance coverage) on the day immediately prior to his entry on active duty or active duty for training, unless the period of such duty is covered by military leave with pay from a civilian position, and (2) shall not cease during any period of 70 Stat. 883 inactive duty training. The terms used in this subsection shall have the meanings assigned to them by section 102 of the Servicemen’s and Veterans’ Survivor Benefits Act.” (2) The amendments made by this subsection shall not apply with respect to deaths occurring prior to January 1, 1957, nor shall such amendments apply with respect to insurance granted prior to January 1, 1957, under the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Act of 1954 to commissioned officers of the Coast and Geodetic Survey or of the Regular or Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service. No dependency and indemnity compensation shall be payable under this Act to any widow, child, or parent of any such commissioned officer if any amounts are payable under such insurance by reason of the death of such officer occurring on or after May 1, 1957. (d) (1) The second sentence of the second paragraph of section 16 of the Act of May 22, 1917 (33 U. S. C., sec. 857), is amended to read as follows: “Active service of commissioned officers of the Coast and Geodetic Survey shall be deemed to be active military service for the purposes of all laws administered by the Veterans’ Administration (except the Servicemen’s Indemnity Act of 1951) and section 217 of the Social Security Act, and for the purposes of section 210 of the Social Security Act as in effect prior to the Social Security Act Amendments of 1950.” (2) The amendment made by this subsection (A) shall apply only with respect to service performed on or after July 29, 1945, (B) shall not be construed to affect the entitlement of any person to benefits under the Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952, (C) shall not be construed to authorize any payment under section 202 (i) of the Social Security Act, or under Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a), for any death occurring prior to January 1, 1957, and (D) shall not be construed to authorize payment of any benefits for any period prior to January 1, 1957. (e) Section 40 (b) of the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (5 U. S. C., sec. 790 (b)) is amended— (1) by striking out clauses (2) and (3) and redesignating clauses (4) and (5) as clauses (2) and (3), respectively; and (2) by inserting immediately after “United States” the second time it occurs in the parenthetical phrase in clause (1) the following: “, but excluding commissioned officers of the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service, commissioned officers in the Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service on active duty, and commissioned officers of the Coast and Geodetic Survey”. (f) Section 304 of the Naval Reserve Act of 1938 (34 U. S. C., sec. 855c) is amended (1) by striking out all beginning with “If in time of peace” through “Provided further, That” in the third proviso and inserting in lieu thereof “(a) In time of peace”, and (2) by adding at the end thereof the following: “(b) For the purposes of paragraph I (a) of part II of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), all members of the Naval Reserve shall be considered as performing active military or naval service when injured while performing active duty with or without pay, training duty with or without pay, drills, equivalent instruction or duty, appropriate duty, or other prescribed duty, or while performing authorized travel to or from such duties.” (g) Section 2 of the Act of August 12, 1935 (38 U. S. C., sec. 556a), is amended by inserting immediately after “Public Law Numbered 484, Seventy-third Congress,” the following: “the Servicemen’s and Veterans’ Survivor Benefits Act,”. (h) (1) The first sentence of paragraph (1) of section 21 of the World War Veterans’ Act, 1924 (38 U. S. C., sec. 450), is amended 70 Stat. 884 by inserting immediately after “payment of compensation,” the following: “dependency and indemnity compensation,”. (2) The first sentence of paragraph (3) of such section is amended by inserting immediately after “the compensation,” the following: “dependency and indemnity compensation,”. (i) The paragraph under the heading “Transfer of Appropriations” which begins “Army of the Philippines,” in the Act of February 18, 1946 (60 Stat. 14), as amended (38 U. S. C. 38), is amended by striking out all beginning with “and (2)”, and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(2) laws administered by the Veterans’ Administration providing for the payment of compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation on account of service-connected disability or death, and (3) the Missing Persons Act (56 Stat 143) as amended (50 U. S. C. App. 1001 and the following): Provided further, That such compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation shall be paid at the rate of one Philippine peso for each dollar authorized to be paid under the laws providing for such compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation, and where annual income is a factor in entitlement to benefits, the dollar limitations in the laws specifying such annual income shall apply at the rate of one Philippine peso for each dollar: Provided further, That any payments heretofore made under any such law to or with respect to any member of the military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines who served in the services of the Armed Forces of the United States shall not be deemed to be invalid by reason of the circumstances that his service was not service in the military or naval forces of the United States or any component thereof within the meaning of such law.” (j) The paragraph beginning “Finance Service, Army,” under title II of the Act of May 27, 1946 (60 Stat. 223), is amended by striking out paragraphs (6) and the proviso immediately following such paragraph, and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(6) The provisions of laws administered by the Veterans’ Administration for the payment of compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation on account of service-connected disability or death: Provided further, That payments made under the provisions of any law referred to in clauses (5) and (6) above shall be paid at the rate of one Philippine peso for each dollar authorized by such law: Provided further, That where annual income is a factor in entitlement to benefits, the dollar limitations in the laws specifying such annual income shall apply at the rate of one Philippine peso for each dollar:”. (k) Paragraph V of part I of Veterans Regulation Numbered 2 (a) is amended by inserting immediately after “compensation” each place it occurs therein (except paragraph (a)) the following: “, dependency and indemnity compensation”. (l) Section 11 of the Uniformed Services Contingency Option Act of 1953 (37 U. S. C., sec. 380) is amended by inserting immediately after “be considered income” the following: “(except as provided in section 205 (g) of the Servicemen’s and Veterans’ Survivor Benefits Act)”. (m) The second sentence of paragraph XIII of Veterans Regulation Numbered 10 is amended to read as follows: “The receipt of pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation by a widow, child, or parent on account of the death of any person, or receipt by any person of pension or compensation on account of his own service, shall not bar the payment of pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation on account of the death or disability of any other person.” 70 Stat. 885 (n) Section 15 of Public, Numbered 2, Seventy-third Congress (38 U. S. C., sec. 715), is amended (1) by inserting immediately after “under this title” the first time it occurs the following: “or title II of the Servicemen’s and Veterans’ Survivor Benefits Act”, and (2) by inserting immediately after “under this title” the second time it occurs the following: “and under title II of the Servicemen’s and Veterans’ Survivor Benefits Act”. (o) Section 3 of the Act of October 17, 1940 (38 U. S. C., sec. 49a), is amended by inserting immediately after “compensation” the second time it occurs the following: “, dependency and indemnity compensation,”. (p) The Act of September 7, 1944 (38 U. S. C., sec. 733), is amended (1) by inserting immediately after “Seventy-third Congress, as amended,” the following: “or of dependency and indemnity compensation payable under the Servicemen’s and Veterans’ Survivor Benefits Act,”, and (2) by inserting immediately after “death pension or compensation” in the second proviso the following: “or dependency and indemnity compensation”. (q) The portion of section 201 of the World War Veterans’ Act, 1924 (38 U. S. C., sec. 472), which precedes paragraph (1) thereof is amended by striking out “That if death results from injury—” and inserting in lieu thereof: “If death occurs prior to January 1, 1957, and results from injury—”. (r) The first paragraph of section 3 of the Act of August 16, 1937 (38 U. S. C., sec. 472b), is amended by striking out “World War veteran who died” and inserting in lieu thereof “World War veteran who died prior to January 1, 1957,”. (s) (1) Paragraph IV of part I and paragraph III of part II of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a) are each amended by inserting immediately after “deceased person who died” the following: “prior to January 1, 1957”. (2) The amendments made by this subsection shall not apply with respect to any death occurring on or after May 1, 1957, under the circumstances described in section 501 (a) (3) (B) of this Act. (t) Section 121 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: “(18) Dependency and indemnity compensation paid to survivors of members of a uniformed service and certain other persons, see section 210 of the Servicemen’s and Veterans’ Survivor Benefits Act.” (u) (1) Subparagraph I (a) (3) of part I of Veterans Regulation Numbered 2 (a) is amended to read as follows: “(3) Where a claim has been finally disallowed, a subsequent claim on the same factual basis, if supported by new and material evidence, shall have the attributes of a new claim, except that, whenever any disallowed claim is reopened and thereafter allowed on the basis of new and material evidence resulting from the correction of the military or naval records of the proper service department under section 207 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, the effective date of commencement of the benefit so awarded shall be the date on which an application was filed for correction of the military record.” (2) The amendments made by this subsection shall be effective as of August 2, 1946, except that no payment shall be made for any period before the date of enactment of this subsection unless application therefor is made within one year after the date of enactment of this subsection.