,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gje  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #ad1 #bjac 
,mr4 ,carter 7for himself1 ,mr4         
,mc,caul1 ,mr4 ,wolf1 ,mr4 ,burgess1 and
 ,mr4 ,flores7 introduced the following 
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,armed ,services1 and in  
addition to the ,committee on ,oversight
 and ,government ,reform1 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 ensure that the victims  
and victims' families of the ,november  
#e1 #bjji1 attack at ,fort ,hood1       
,texas1 receive the same treatment and  
benefits as those ,americans who have   
been killed or wounded in a combat zone 
overseas and their families4  #a4 ,short
 title ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,fort ,hood ,victims and ,families      
,benefits ,protection ,act4  #b4        
,findings2 sense of ,congress  7a7      

,findings ,congress makes the following 
findings3  7#a7 ,fort ,hood1 ,texas1 has
 played a highly prominent role in the  
,global ,war on ,terror1 deploying more 
members of the ,armed ,forces into      
overseas theaters of combat since       
,september #aa1 #bjja1 than any other   
,united ,states military installation4  
7#b7 ,the members of the ,armed ,forces 
and community of ,fort ,hood have       
answered the call to service with honor 
and distinction1 and the post has paid a
 steep price1 suffering more combat     
casualties in ,operation ,iraqi ,freedom
 and ,operation ,enduring ,freedom than 
any other ,united ,states military      
installation4  7#c7 ,in ,february #bjaa1
 the ,committee on ,homeland ,security  
and ,governmental ,affairs of the       
,senate issued a report entitled ,a     
,ticking ,time ,bomb3 ,counterterrorism 
,lessons from the ,u4,s4 ,government's  
,failure to ,prevent the ,fort ,hood    
,attack1 which stated the following3 ,on
 ,november #e1 #bjji1 #ac               

,americans--#ab servicemembers and one  
civilian employee of ,do,d--were killed 
and #cb were wounded in an attack at the
 military base at ,fort ,hood1 ,texas4  
,this tragedy was the deadliest         
terrorist attack within the ,united     
,states since ,september #aa1 #bjja44   
7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense
 of ,congress that--  7#a7 any member of
 the ,armed ,forces or civilian employee
 of the ,department of ,defense who was 
killed or wounded in the attack that    
occurred at ,fort ,hood1 ,texas1 on     
,november #e1 #bjji1 and the family     
members of those victims1 should receive
 the same treatment and benefits as the 
victims and families of victims of the  
,september #aa1 #bjja1 terrorist attacks
 on the ,united ,states2 and  7#b7 these
 ,americans have made tremendous        
sacrifices1 and the ,united ,states     
should provide them with the maximum    
level of benefits available1 identical  
to the level of benefits available to   
those who have been killed or wounded in

 an overseas combat zone such as ,iraq  
or ,afghanistan4  #c4 ,treatment of     
members of the ,armed ,forces and       
civilian employees of the ,department of
 ,defense who were killed or wounded in 
the ,november #e1 #bjji1 attack at ,fort
 ,hood1 ,texas  7a7 ,treatment ,for     
purposes of all applicable ,federal     
laws1 regulations1 and policies1 a      
member of the ,armed ,forces or civilian
 employee of the ,department of ,defense
 who was killed or wounded in the attack
 that occurred at ,fort ,hood1 ,texas1  
on ,november #e1 #bjji1 shall be deemed 
as follows3  7#a7 ,in the case of a     
member1 to have been killed or wounded  
in a combat zone as the result of an act
 of an enemy of the ,united ,states4    
7#b7 ,in the case of a civilian employee
 of the ,department of ,defense--  7,a7 
to have been killed or wounded while    
serving with the ,armed ,forces in a    
contingency operation2 and  7,b7 to have
 been killed or wounded in a terrorist  
attack4  7b7 ,exception ,subsection 7a7 

shall not apply to a member of the      
,armed ,forces whose death or wound as  
described in that subsection is the     
result of the willful misconduct of the 
member4