MONTGOMERY GI BILL DEATH BENEFIT.

SEC. 101. MONTGOMERY GI BILL DEATH BENEFIT. (a) In General.—Subchapter II of chapter 30 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “§ 1417. Death benefit “(a) (1) In the event of the service-connected death of any individual— “(A) who— “(i) is entitled to basic educational assistance under this chapter; or “(ii) is on active duty in the Armed Forces and but for section 1411(a)(1)(A)(i) or division (i) or (ii) of section 1412(a)(1)(A) of this title would be eligible for such basic educational assistance; and “(B) who dies while on active duty, the Administrator shall make a payment, subject to paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection, in the amount described in subsection (b) of this section to the person or persons described in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection. “(2) (A) The payment referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be made to the person or persons first listed below who is surviving on the date of such individual’s death: “(i) The beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by such individual under the individual’s Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance policy. “(ii) The surviving spouse of the individual. 102 STAT. 4162 “(iii) The surviving child or children of the individual, in equal shares. “(iv) The surviving parent or parents of the individual, in equal shares. “(B) If no such person survives such individual, no payment shall be made under this section. “(b) The amount of any pa3mient made under this section shall be equal to— “(1) the amount reduced from the individual’s pay under section 1411(b), 1412(c), or 1418(c) of this title, less “(2) the total of— “(A) the amount of educational assistance that has been paid to the individual under this chapter before the payment is made under this section; and “(B) the amount of accrued benefits paid or payable with respect to such individual in connection with this chapter. “(c) A payment under this section shall be considered to be a benefit under this title and, for purposes of section 1435(b)(1), it shall be considered to be an entitlement earned under this subchapter.’. (b) Clerical Amendment.—The table of sections for subchapter II of chapter 30 is amended by adding at the end the following new item: “1417. Death benefit”. (c) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect as of July 1, 1985.