Gold Star Families Equality Act - Requires a lapel button to be designed to identify widows, parents, and next of kin of members of the Armed Forces who die, under circumstances not already prescribed for under existing eligibility standards for a gold star lapel button, while serving on active duty or while assigned to a reserve component in a drill status.
Makes such next of kin button available retroactively to survivors of members of the Armed Forces who have died since September 10, 2001.
Directs the Secretary of each military department and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to provide for the issuance of a Gold Star Installation Access Card to family members with gold or next of kin buttons to expedite their ability to gain unescorted access to military installations for the purpose of obtaining on-base services and benefits.
Requires regulations to be prescribed to permit parents (including stepparents, parents though adoption, or foster parents who stood in loco parentis) with such buttons to use commissary stores and other military retail facilities on the same basis as surviving spouses or children.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4688 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4688
To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide appropriate
recognition for the survivors of members of the Armed Forces who die
while serving on certain active or reserve duty, to expand the
availability of the Gold Star Installation Access Card for survivors of
deceased members of the Armed Forces, and to extend commissary store
and exchange store and other MWR retail facility benefits to the
parents of such members.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 20, 2014
Mr. Keating introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide appropriate
recognition for the survivors of members of the Armed Forces who die
while serving on certain active or reserve duty, to expand the
availability of the Gold Star Installation Access Card for survivors of
deceased members of the Armed Forces, and to extend commissary store
and exchange store and other MWR retail facility benefits to the
parents of such members.
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 ``Gold Star Families Equality Act''.
SEC. 2. LAPEL BUTTON FOR NEXT OF KIN OF DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED
FORCES.
(a) Service-Wide Adoption of Next of Kin Lapel Button.--Section
1126 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (b);
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections
(d) and (e), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsections:
``(b) A lapel button, to be known as the lapel button for next of
kin of deceased members of the armed forces, shall be designed, as
approved by the Secretary of Defense, to identify widows, parents, and
next of kin of members of the armed forces who die, under circumstances
not prescribed by subsection (a), while serving on active duty or while
assigned to a reserve component in a drill status.
``(c) Under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary concerned, upon application to the Secretary,
shall furnish--
``(1) one gold star lapel button without cost to the widow
and to each parent and next of kin of a member who lost or
loses his or her life under any circumstances prescribed in
subsection (a); and
``(2) one lapel button for next of kin of deceased members
to the widow and to each parent and next of kin of a member who
lost or loses his or her life under the circumstances
prescribed in subsection (b).''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Subsection (d) of section 1126 of title
10, United States Code, as redesignated by subsection (a)(2), is
amended by inserting ``or lapel button for next of kin of deceased
members'' after ``gold star lapel button'' both places it appears.
(c) Use of Existing Design.--The design of the lapel button for the
next of kin of deceased members of the Armed Forces required by
subsection (b) of section 1126 of title 10, United States Code, as
added by subsection (a)(3), shall be based on the design of such a
lapel button provided by the Secretary of the Army to certain survivors
of deceased members of the Army, including the Army Reserve and the
Army National Guard, pursuant to Army regulation 600-6-18, as in effect
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Retroactive Availability.--The lapel button for the next of kin
of deceased members of the Armed Forces required by subsection (b) of
section 1126 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection
(a)(3), shall be available to provide appropriate recognition for the
survivors of members of the Armed Forces who have died since September
10, 2001.
SEC. 3. GOLD STAR INSTALLATION ACCESS CARD.
(a) Service-Wide Adoption of Access Card.--The Secretary of each
military department and the Secretary of the Department in which the
Coast Guard is operating (in this section referred to as the
``Secretary concerned'') shall provide for the issuance of a Gold Star
Installation Access Card to Gold Star family members who are the
survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces under the
jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned to expedite the ability of a
Gold Star family member to gain unescorted access to military
installations for the purpose of obtaining the on-base services and
benefits for which the Gold Star family member is entitled or eligible.
(b) Service-Wide Acceptance of Access Card.--The Secretaries
concerned shall work jointly to ensure that a Gold Star Installation
Access Card issued to a Gold Star family member by one Armed Force is
accepted for access to military installations of another Armed Force.
(c) Protection of Installation Security.--In developing, issuing,
and accepting the Gold Star Installation Access Card, the Secretary
concerned may take such measures as the Secretary concerned considers
necessary--
(1) to prevent fraud in the procurement or use of the Gold
Star Installation Access Card;
(2) to limit installation access to those areas that
provide the services and benefits for which the Gold Star
family member is entitled or eligible; and
(3) to ensure that the availability and use of the Gold
Star Installation Access Card does not adversely affect
military installation security.
(d) Implementation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretaries concerned shall complete
implementation of this section.
(e) Gold Star Family Member Defined.--In this section, the term
``Gold Star family member'' means a person who has received a Gold Star
Lapel Button or a Lapel Button for the Next of Kin of Deceased Members
of the Armed Forces under section 1126 of title 10, United States Code.
SEC. 4. USE OF COMMISSARY STORES AND MWR RETAIL FACILITIES BY PARENTS
OF DECEASED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) Use Authorized.--The Secretary of each military department and
the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating
shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to ensure that a
parent of a deceased member of the Armed Forces who receives a Gold
Star Lapel Button or a Lapel Button for the Next of Kin of Deceased
Members of the Armed Forces under section 1126 of title 10, United
States Code, is permitted to use commissary stores and MWR retail
facilities on the same basis as any surviving spouse or child of the
member.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``MWR retail facilities'' means exchange
stores and other revenue generating facilities operated by
nonappropriated fund activities of the Department of Defense or
the department in which the Coast Guard is operating for the
morale, welfare, and recreation of members of the Armed Forces.
(2) The term ``parent'' includes mother, father,
stepmother, stepfather, mother through adoption, father through
adoption, or foster parent who stood in loco parentis.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
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