S. 249 — Introduced in Senate

II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 249 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 22, 2015Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide that members of the Armed Forces performing hazardous humanitarian services in West Africa to combat the spread of the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak shall be entitled to tax benefits in the same manner as if such services were performed in a combat zone. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Operation United Assistance Tax Exclusion Act of 2015. 2. Treatment of certain hazardous humanitarian service as combat zone service for purposes of the combat zone compensation exclusion (a) In general For purposes of section 112 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, service by a qualified member of the Armed Forces during Operation United Assistance shall be treated as service in a combat zone in the same manner as if the President of the United States had by Executive Order designated the Ebola virus disease outbreak area as an area of combat under section 112(c)(2) of such Code. (b) Definitions (1) Qualified member of the Armed Forces The term qualified member of the Armed Forces means a member of the Armed Forces serving in Operation United Assistance who is required to undergo a program of not less than 21 days of controlled monitoring in a controlled monitoring area upon the individual's return from the Ebola virus disease outbreak area. (2) Operation United Assistance The term Operation United Assistance means the mission beginning in September 2014 in the Ebola virus disease outbreak area. (3) Ebola virus disease outbreak area The term Ebola virus disease outbreak area means Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, and any other region designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as experiencing a widespread Ebola virus disease outbreak as of the date of the enactment of this Act. (c) Effective date This section shall apply with respect to compensation received for months before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act.