TRANSPORTATION OF FAMILY MEMBERS OF SERIOUSLY ILL OR INJURED MEMBER

SEC. 615. TRANSPORTATION OF FAMILY MEMBERS OF SERIOUSLY ILL OR INJURED MEMBER (a) In General.—(1) Chapter 7 of title 37, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 411g, as added by section 614, the following new section: “§ 411h. Travel and transportation allowances: transportation of family members incident to the serious illness or injury of members “(a)(1) Under uniform regulations prescribed by the Secretaries concerned, transportation described in subsection (c) may be provided for not more than two family members of a member described in paragraph (2) if the attending physician or surgeon and the commander or head of the military medical facility exercising military control over the member determine that the presence of the family member is necessary for the member’s health and welfare. “(2) A member referred to in paragraph (1) is a member of the uniformed services who— “(A) is serving on active duty; “(B) is seriously ill or seriously injured; and “(C) is hospitalized in a medical facility in or outside the United States. “(b) (1) In this section, the term ‘family member’, with respect to a member, means— “(A) the member’s spouse; “(B) children of the member (including stepchildren, adopted children, and illegitimate children); “(C) parents of the member or persons in loco parentis to the member, as provided in paragraph (2); and “(D) siblings of the member. “(2) Parents of a member or persons in loco parentis to a member include fathers and mothers through adoption and persons who stood in loco parentis to the member for a period not less than one year immediately before the member entered the uniformed service. However, only one father and one mother or their counterparts in loco parentis may be recognized in any one case. 101 STAT. 1096 “(c) The transportation authorized by subsection (a) is round-trip transportation between the home of the family member and the location of the medical facility in which the member is hospitalized. “(d) (1) The transportation authorized by subsection (a) may be provided by any of the following means: “(A) Transportation in-kind. “(B) A monetary allowance in place of transportation in-kind at a rate to be prescribed by the Secretaries concerned. “(C) Reimbursement for the commercial cost of transportation. “(2) An allowance payable under this subsection may be paid in advance. “(3) Reimbursement payable under this subsection may not exceed the cost of government-procured commercial round-trip air travel.” (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 411g (as added by section 614) the following new item: “411h. Travel and transportation allowances: transportation of family members incident to the serious illness or injury of members.” (b) Effective Date.—The authority to provide transportation or to pay transportation expenses under section 411h of title 37, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be effective only with respect to travel that occurs on or after the effective date of regulations prescribed under such section.