,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #abhh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #bj1 #bjac ,mr4 ,butterfield 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,courtney1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,meadows1 ,mr4 ,mc,intyre1 ,mr4 ,pittenger1 ,mr4 ,holding1 ,mr4 ,hastings of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,brady of ,pennsylvania1 ,mrs4 ,napolitano1 ,mr4 ,cummings1 ,mr4 ,lo,biondo1 ,mr4 ,mc,dermott1 ,ms4 ,pingree of ,maine1 ,mr4 ,lipinski1 ,mr4 ,griffin of ,arkansas1 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,mr4 ,rangel1 ,ms4 ,schwartz1 ,mr4 ,latta1 ,mr4 ,ross1 ,ms4 ,hahn1 ,mr4 ,wittman1 ,mr4 ,loebsack1 ,mr4 ,mc,henry1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,connolly1 ,ms4 ,mc,collum1 ,mrs4 ,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,wasserman ,schultz1 ,mr4 ,barrow of ,georgia1 ,mrs4 ,mc,carthy of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,keating1 ,ms4 ,brown of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,king of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,bordallo1 ,mr4 ,price of ,north ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 ,mr4 ,de,fazio1 ,mr4 ,himes1 ,mr4 ,honda1 and ,mr4 ,westmoreland7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security to accept additional documentation when considering the application for veterans status of an individual who performed service as a coastwise merchant seaman during ,world ,war ,,ii1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,world ,war ,,ii ,merchant ,mariner ,service ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the ,merchant ,marine ,act1 #aicf established the ,united ,states ,maritime ,commission1 and stated as a matter of policy that the ,united ,states should have a merchant marine that is 8capable of serving as a naval and military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency04 7#b7 ,the ,social ,security ,act ,amendments of #aici 7,public ,law #gf-cgi7 expanded the definition of employment to include service 8on or in connection with an ,american vessel under contract of service which is entered into within the ,united ,states or during the performance of which the vessel touches at a port in the ,united ,states1 if the employee is employed on and in connection with such vessel04 7#c7 ,the ,joint ,resolution to repeal sections #b1 #c1 and #f of the ,neutrality ,act of #aici1 and for other purposes 7,public ,law #gg-bid2 #ee ,stat4 #gfd7 repealed section #f of the ,neutrality ,act of #aici 7related to the arming of ,united ,states vessels7 and authorized the ,president during the national emergency to arm or permit to arm any ,united ,states vessel4 7#d7 ,on ,february #g1 #aidb1 ,president ,franklin ,d4 ,roosevelt1 through ,executive ,order ,number #ijed1 established the ,war ,shipping ,administration that was charged with building or purchasing1 and operating the civilian shipping vessels needed for the war effort4 7#e7 ,during ,world ,war ,,ii1 ,united ,states merchant mariners transported goods and materials through 8contested waters0 to the various combat theaters4 7#f7 ,at the conclusion of ,world ,war ,,ii1 ,united ,states merchant mariners were responsible for transporting several million members of the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces back to the ,united ,states4 7#g7 ,the ,,gi ,bill ,improvement ,act of #aigg 7,public ,law #ie-bjb7 provided that the ,secretary of ,defense could determine that service for the ,armed ,forces by organized groups of civilians1 or contractors1 be considered 8active service0 for benefits administered by the ,veterans ,administration4 7#h7 ,department of ,defense ,directive #ajjj4bj directed that the determination be made by the ,secretary of the ,air ,force1 and established the ,civilian_/,military ,service ,review ,board and ,advisory ,panel4 7#i7 ,in #aihg1 three merchant mariners along with the ,,afl-,,cio sued ,edward ,c4 ,aldridge1 ,secretary of the ,air ,force1 challenging the denial of their application for veterans status4 ,in ,schumacher v4 ,aldridge 7#ffe ,f4 ,supp4 #da 7,d4,d4,c4 #aihg771 the ,court determined that ,secretary ,aldridge had failed to 8articulate clear and intelligible criteria for the administration0 of the application approval process4 7#aj7 ,during ,world ,war ,,ii1 women were repeatedly denied issuance of official documentation affirming their merchant marine seamen status by the ,war ,shipping ,administration4 7#aa7 ,coast ,guard ,information ,sheet #gg 7,april #aiib7 identifies the following acceptable forms of documentation for eligibility meeting the requirements set forth in ,,gi ,bill ,improvement ,act of #aigg 7,public ,law #ie-bjb7 and ,veterans ,programs ,enhancement ,act of #aiih 7,public ,law #aje-cfh73 7,a7 ,certificate of shipping and discharge forms4 7,b7 ,continuous discharge books 7ship's deck or engine logbooks74 7,c7 ,company letters showing vessel names and dates of voyages4 7#ab7 ,coast ,guard ,commandant ,order of #bj ,march1 #aidd1 relieved masters of tugs1 towboats1 and seagoing barges of the responsibility of submitting reports of seamen shipped or discharged on forms1 meaning certificates of shipping and discharge forms are not available to all eligible individuals seeking to document their eligibility4 7#ac7 ,coast ,guard ,information ,sheet #gg 7,april1 #aiib7 states that 8deck logs were traditionally considered to be the property of the owners of the ships4 ,after ,world ,war ,,ii1 however1 the deck and engine logbooks of vessels operated by the ,war ,shipping ,administration were turned over to that agency by the ship owners1 and were destroyed during the #aigjs01 meaning that continuous discharge books are not available to all eligible individuals seeking to document their eligibility4 7#ad7 ,coast ,guard ,information ,sheet #gg 7,april1 #aiib7 states 8some ,world ,war ,,ii period log books do not name ports visited during the voyage due to wartime security restrictions01 meaning that company letters showing vessel names and dates of voyages are not available to all eligible individuals seeking to document their eligibility4 #c4 ,methods for validating certain service considered to be active service by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs 7a7 ,in general ,for the purposes of verifying that an individual performed service under honorable conditions that satisfies the requirements of a coastwise merchant seaman who is recognized pursuant to section #dja of the ,,gi ,bill ,improvement ,act of #aigg 7,public ,law #ie-bjb2 #ch ,u4,s4,c4 #ajf note7 as having performed active duty service for the purposes described in subsection 7c77#a71 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall accept the following3 7#a7 ,in the case of an individual who served on a coastwise merchant vessel seeking such recognition for whom no applicable ,coast ,guard shipping or discharge form1 ship logbook1 merchant mariner's document or ,z-card1 or other official employment record is available1 the ,secretary shall provide such recognition on the basis of applicable ,social ,security ,administration records submitted for or by the individual1 together with validated testimony given by the individual or the primary next of kin of the individual that the individual performed such service during the period beginning on ,december #g1 #aida1 and ending on ,december #ca1 #aidf4 7#b7 ,in the case of an individual who served on a coastwise merchant vessel seeking such recognition for whom the applicable ,coast ,guard shipping or discharge form1 ship logbook1 merchant mariner's document or ,z-card1 or other official employment record has been destroyed or otherwise become unavailable by reason of any action committed by a person responsible for the control and maintenance of such form1 logbook1 or record1 the ,secretary shall accept other official documentation demonstrating that the individual performed such service during period beginning on ,december #g1 #aida1 and ending on ,december #ca1 #aidf4 7#c7 ,for the purpose of determining whether to recognize service allegedly performed during the period beginning on ,december #g1 #aida1 and ending on ,december #ca1 #aidf1 the ,secretary shall recognize masters of seagoing vessels or other officers in command of similarly organized groups as agents of the ,united ,states who were authorized to document any individual for purposes of hiring the individual to perform service in the merchant marine or discharging an individual from such service4 7b7 ,treatment of other documentation ,other documentation accepted by the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security pursuant to subsection 7a77#b7 shall satisfy all requirements for eligibility of service during the period beginning on ,december #g1 #aida1 and ending on ,december #ca1 #aidf4 7c7 ,benefits allowed 7#a7 ,burial benefits eligibility ,service of an individual that is considered active duty pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall be considered as active duty service with respect to providing burial benefits under chapters #bc and #bd of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to the individual4 7#b7 ,medals1 ribbons1 and decorations ,an individual whose service is recognized as active duty pursuant to subsection 7a7 may be awarded an appropriate medal1 ribbon1 or other military decoration based on such service4 7#c7 ,status of veteran ,an individual whose service is recognized as active duty pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall be honored as a veteran but shall not be entitled by reason of such recognized service to any benefit that is not described in this subsection4 7d7 ,determination of coastwise merchant seaman ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall verify that an individual performed service under honorable conditions that satisfies the requirements of a coastwise merchant seaman pursuant to this section without regard to the sex1 age1 or disability of the individual during the period in which the individual served as such a coastwise merchant seaman4 7e7 ,definition of primary next of kin ,in this section1 the term primary next of kin with respect to an individual seeking recognition for service under this section means the closest living relative of the individual who was alive during the period of such service4 7f7 ,effective date ,this ,act shall take effect #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act4