Lance Corporal Josef Lopez Fairness for Servicemembers Harmed by Vaccines Act of 2009 - Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) from excluding from coverage under traumatic injury provisions with respect to the Servicemember's Group life Insurance program a member suffering a qualifying loss resulting from an adverse reaction to a vaccination administered by the Department of Defense (DOD), whether voluntarily or involuntarily, for purposes of military accession, training, or deployment.
Makes such amendment retroactive to the establishment of such coverage under the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1467 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1467
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide coverage under
Traumatic Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance for adverse reactions to
vaccinations administered by the Department of Defense, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 16, 2009
Mrs. McCaskill introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide coverage under
Traumatic Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance for adverse reactions to
vaccinations administered by the Department of Defense, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Lance Corporal Josef Lopez Fairness
for Servicemembers Harmed by Vaccines Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. TRAUMATIC SERVICEMEMBERS' GROUP LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR
ADVERSE REACTIONS TO VACCINATIONS ADMINISTERED BY
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Section 1032 of the Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and
Tsunami Relief, 2005 (Public Law 109-13), which was enacted on
May 11, 2005, established the Traumatic Servicemember's Group
Life Insurance program by adding section 1980A to title 38,
United States Code.
(2) The Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance
program was established to provide members of the Armed Forces
who suffer a loss as a direct result of traumatic injury with
short-term monetary assistance to mitigate the economic burden
on such members and their families. The families of such
members often incur financial hardships because they relocate
to be with such members as they undergo long and difficult
treatment and rehabilitation periods.
(3) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs is the executive
agent for the Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance
benefit and has established policies and procedures for
dispensing the benefit based on the Secretary's interpretation
of section 1980A of title 38, United States Code.
(4) The Department of Veterans Affairs Insurance Center has
implemented a policy that does not extend the Traumatic
Servicemember's Group Life Insurance benefit to those members
of the Armed Forces who sustain a life altering and permanent
disability caused by an adverse reaction to a vaccine
administered by the Department of Defense as a component of
accessions, training, or pre-deployment preparations for duty
in a combat or imminent danger zone.
(5) There are multiple documented cases of members of the
Armed Forces suffering severe, adverse reactions to
vaccinations administered by the Department of Defense. Such
adverse reactions include the traumatic injuries of coma,
amputation, paralysis, and loss of the activities of daily
living (ADL). All such adverse reactions are covered under
existing Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance program
guidelines.
(6) Lance Corporal Josef Lopez is a Marine from
Springfield, Missouri, who, in September 2006, was administered
a smallpox vaccination by the Department of Defense just prior
to a deployment to Iraq. One week after his arrival in Iraq,
Lance Corporal Lopez suffered complete paralysis, a coma, and
the loss of two activities of daily living, all of which were
subsequently diagnosed as resulting from a rare adverse
reaction to the smallpox vaccine.
(7) Lance Corporal Lopez was medically evacuated from Iraq
to Landstuhl, Germany, and ultimately to the National Naval
Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, where he remained for six
weeks. Lance Corporal Lopez later endured multiple
hospitalizations and physical therapy treatments in his native
Missouri.
(8) Lance Corporal Lopez was wheelchair-bound for one year
and now walks with a permanent limp, is unable to stand for
long periods, and must use a urine collection bag because he
has no control over his bladder. Daily, Lance Corporal Lopez
must take prescription medications to control spasms in his
legs and bladder. These injuries and issues are a result of
Lance Corporal Lopez's adverse reaction to the smallpox vaccine
described in paragraph (6).
(9) Lance Corporal Lopez was medically retired from the
Marine Corps on June 30, 2009.
(10) During the course of the treatment that Lance Corporal
Lopez received for the adverse reaction described in paragraph
(6), he and his family endured substantial hardship. His mother
spent extensive periods at Lance Corporal Lopez's side during
his initial treatment and she had to make expensive
modifications to her home to accommodate Lance Corporal Lopez's
wheelchair.
(11) Lance Corporal Lopez's mother represents the very
finest attributes of love and loyalty to her heroic son to whom
she has provided care and assistance. Such care and assistance
is critical for the healing of injured members of the Armed
Forces like Lance Corporal Lopez. The provision of such care
and assistance by family members is encouraged and recognized
by the Armed Forces, by healthcare providers, and by the
Congress as highly valuable for the care of injured members of
the Armed Forces.
(12) Lance Corporal Lopez applied for Traumatic
Servicemember's Group Life Insurance benefits because his
injuries resulted in qualifying losses under the Traumatic
Servicemember's Group Life Insurance program, including coma,
paralysis, and loss of activities of daily living. Under the
Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance program as in
effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act,
Lance Corporal Lopez and his family would have received $75,000
in associated benefits if his claim was accepted. However, his
claim was denied because the current policy of the Department
of Veterans Affairs Insurance Center prohibits extending
Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance benefits to
those who have adverse reactions to vaccinations administered
by the Department of Defense to facilitate military service in
combat theaters.
(13) Lance Corporal Lopez and his family endured undue
financial hardship in the time immediately following his
traumatic injuries and during his recovery process. They were
not able to mitigate the financial challenges they faced with
assistance from the Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life
Insurance program, which was created to provide assistance to
families of members of the Armed Forces when facing the
challenges of traumatic events precisely like that experienced
by Lance Corporal Lopez.
(14) The policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs in
effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act
that denies Traumatic Servicemember's Group Life Insurance
benefits to members of the Armed Forces who experience
traumatic injuries as a result of being administered vaccines
consequent to their preparation to serve the United States in
combat is inconsistent with the intent of the Traumatic
Servicemember's Group Life Insurance program, as enacted by
Congress.
(b) Traumatic Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Coverage.--
Section 1980A(b)(3) of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting ``(A)
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Secretary''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(B) The Secretary shall not exclude under subparagraph (A) a
qualifying loss experienced by a member as a result of an adverse
reaction to a vaccination administered by the Department of Defense,
whether voluntarily or involuntarily, for the purposes of military
accession, training, or deployment.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (b) shall
take effect as if included in the provisions of and amendments made by
section 1032 of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for
Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005 (Public Law
109-13; 119 Stat. 257).
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 111-264.
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