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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2078 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2078
To amend title 5, United States Code, to increase death gratuities and
funeral allowances for Federal employees, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 12, 2025
Mr. Fetterman (for himself, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Padilla, and Mr. Hawley)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to increase death gratuities and
funeral allowances for Federal employees, 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 ``Honoring Civil Servants Killed in
the Line of Duty Act''.
SEC. 2. INCREASING DEATH GRATUITY FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES KILLED IN THE
LINE OF DUTY.
(a) Amendments to Title 5, United States Code.--
(1) In general.--Subchapter VII of chapter 55 of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Sec. 5571. Employee death gratuity payments
``(a) Definition.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 5561(2), in this
section, the term `employee' means an individual who has been
determined by the Secretary of Labor to be an employee within
the meaning of section 8101(1), but not including any
individual described in subparagraph (D) of section 8101(1).
``(2) Exclusive authority.--A determination described in
paragraph (1) may be made only by the Secretary of Labor.
``(b) Gratuity.--
``(1) In general.--With respect to the death of an employee
occurring on or after the date of enactment of this section,
notwithstanding section 8116, and in addition to any payment
made under subchapter I of chapter 81, the head of the agency
employing the employee shall pay from appropriations made
available for salaries and expenses of that agency a death
gratuity to the person identified under subsection (c)(2), if
the death of the employee--
``(A) results from injury sustained while in the
line of duty of the employee; and
``(B) is not--
``(i) caused by willful misconduct of the
employee;
``(ii) caused by the intention of the
employee to bring about the injury or death of
the employee or another; or
``(iii) proximately caused by the
intoxication of the injured employee.
``(2) Amount.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the amount of a death gratuity paid
under paragraph (1) with respect to an employee shall
be $100,000, as adjusted each March 1 by the amount
determined by the Secretary of Labor to represent the
percentage change in the Personal Consumption
Expenditures Price Index published for December of the
preceding year over that Index published for the
December of the year prior to the preceding year,
adjusted to the nearest \1/10\ of 1 percent.
``(B) Local compensation plans.--For an employee
compensated under a local compensation plan established
under section 408 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980
(22 U.S.C. 3968), the amount of a death gratuity paid
under paragraph (1) with respect to the employee shall
be in an amount determined in rules issued by the
Secretary of State.
``(c) Recipient of Payment.--
``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `child'--
``(A) includes--
``(i) a natural child; and
``(ii) an adopted child; and
``(B) does not include a stepchild.
``(2) Order of precedence.--A death gratuity paid under
subsection (b) with respect to an employee shall be paid in the
following order of precedence:
``(A)(i) To the beneficiary designated to receive
the gratuity by the employee in a signed and witnessed
writing that is received by the agency employing the
employee before the date of the death of the employee.
``(ii) A designation, change, or cancellation of
beneficiary in a will, or another document not
described in clause (i), shall have no force or effect
for the purposes of that clause.
``(B) If there is no beneficiary described in
subparagraph (A), to the surviving spouse of the
employee.
``(C) If neither subparagraph (A) nor (B) applies,
to the children of the employee (including the
descendant of any deceased child by representation)
such that each such child receives an equal amount of
the gratuity.
``(D) If none of subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)
applies, to the surviving parents of the employee such
that each such surviving parent receives an equal
amount of the gratuity.
``(E) If none of subparagraphs (A) through (D)
applies, to the duly appointed executor or
administrator of the estate of the employee.
``(F) If none of subparagraphs (A) through (E)
applies, to the person entitled, under the laws of the
State in which the employee is domiciled, as of the
date on which the employee dies, to receive the
payment.''.
(2) Repeal of death gratuity payment authority.--Section
651 of the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government
Appropriations Act, 1997 (5 U.S.C. 8133 note) is repealed.
(3) Technical and conforming amendments.--The table of
sections for chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(A) by striking the item relating to subchapter VII
and inserting the following:
``subchapter vii--payments to missing persons and payments for
disability or death''; and
(B) by inserting after the item relating to section
5570 the following:
``5571. Employee death gratuity payments.''.
(4) Additional technical and conforming amendment.--The
heading for subchapter VII of chapter 55 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``EMPLOYEES'' and inserting
``PERSONS AND PAYMENTS FOR DISABILITY OR DEATH''.
(b) Amendment to Title 49.--Section 40122(g)(2) of title 49, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (I)(iii), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (J) the following:
``(K) section 5571, relating to death gratuities
resulting from an injury sustained in the line of
duty.''.
SEC. 3. FUNERAL EXPENSES.
(a) In General.--Section 8134(a) of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(a)'';
(2) by striking ``$800'' and inserting ``$8,800''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) The amount described in paragraph (1) shall be adjusted on
March 1 of each year by the percentage amount determined by the
Secretary of Labor under section 8146a for that year.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a)(2) shall
apply with respect to any death occurring on or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. DEATH GRATUITY FOR INJURIES INCURRED IN CONNECTION WITH
EMPLOYEE'S SERVICE WITH AN ARMED FORCE.
Section 8102a of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``The United States'' and inserting
the following:
``(1) In general.--The United States'';
(B) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by striking
``up to''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Adjustment.--The amount described in paragraph (1)
shall be adjusted each March 1 by the amount determined by the
Secretary of Labor to represent the percentage change in the
Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index published for
December of the preceding year over that Index published for
the December of the year prior to the preceding year, adjusted
to the nearest \1/10\ of 1 percent.'';
(2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
``(c) Relationship to Other Benefits.--With respect to a death
occurring on or after the date of enactment of the Honoring Civil
Servants Killed in the Line of Duty Act, the death gratuity payable
under this section may not be reduced by the amount of any other death
gratuity provided under any other provision of Federal law based on the
same death.''; and
(3) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following:
``(7) If a person covered by this section does not have any
eligible survivors, as described in this subsection, and that
person has not designated an alternate person to receive a
payment under this section, the payment shall be paid to the
personal representative of the person's estate.''.
SEC. 5. AGENCY GRATUITY FOR DEATHS SUSTAINED IN THE LINE OF DUTY
ABROAD.
Section 413 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3973) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the first sentence, by striking
``dependents'' and inserting ``beneficiaries''; and
(B) in the second sentence, by inserting ``, except
as provided in subsection (e)'' after ``payable from
any source'';
(2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
``(b) Executive Agencies.--The head of an executive agency shall,
pursuant to guidance issued under subsection (c), make a death gratuity
payment authorized by this section to the surviving beneficiaries of--
``(1) any employee of that agency who dies as a result of
injuries sustained in the performance of duty abroad while
subject to the authority of the chief of mission pursuant to
section 207; or
``(2) an individual in a special category serving in an
uncompensated capacity for that agency abroad in support of a
diplomatic mission, as identified in guidance issued under
subsection (c), who dies as a result of injuries sustained in
the performance of duty abroad.'';
(3) by striking subsection (d);
(4) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) Eligibility Under Chapter 81 of Title 5, United States
Code.--A death gratuity payment shall be made under this section only
if the death is determined by the Secretary of Labor to have resulted
from an injury (excluding a disease proximately caused by the
employment) sustained in the performance of duty under section 8102 of
title 5, United States Code.'';
(5) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f);
(6) by inserting after subsection (d), as added by
paragraph (4), the following:
``(e) Offset.--For deaths occurring on or after the date of
enactment of the Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line of Duty
Act, the death gratuity payable under this section shall be reduced by
the amount of any death gratuity provided under section 5571 of title
5, United States Code, based on the same death.''; and
(7) in subsection (f), as so redesignated by paragraph (5),
by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
``(2) the term `surviving beneficiaries' means the person
or persons identified pursuant to the order of precedence
established under section 5571(c)(2) of title 5, United States
Code.''.
SEC. 6. EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORIZATION.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``agency'' means an agency that is authorized
or required to make a payment under a covered provision; and
(2) the term ``covered provision'' means--
(A) section 5571 of title 5, United States Code, as
added by section 2 of this Act;
(B) section 8102a of title 5, United States Code,
as amended by section 4 of this Act; or
(C) section 413 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980
(22 U.S.C. 3973), as amended by section 5 of this Act.
(b) Authorization.--If the head of an agency determines, with the
concurrence of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
that a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other incident results in
the inability of the agency to make additional payments under a covered
provision--
(1) there are authorized to be appropriated to the agency
such sums as may be necessary to make those additional
payments; and
(2) the head of the agency may make those additional
payments only to the extent additional amounts are made
available for those purposes.
(c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, not later
than 30 days after the date on which the head of an agency submits to
Congress a request for supplemental appropriations for the purposes
described in subsection (b), Congress should take action with respect
to that request.
SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``agency''
has the meaning given the term in section 5561 of title 5,
United States Code.
(2) Requirement.--If the head of an agency makes a death
gratuity payment under section 5571 of title 5, United States
Code, as added by section 2 of this Act, the agency head shall,
not later than 15 business days after the date on which the
agency head makes that payment, submit to the Comptroller
General of the United States a notification regarding that
payment.
(b) GAO Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform of the House of Representatives a report regarding
the aggregate amount of death gratuities paid under section 5571 of
title 5, United States Code, as added by section 2 of this Act, during
the year covered by the report.
(c) Audit.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall--
(1) perform an audit regarding death gratuities paid under
section 5571 of title 5, United States Code, as added by
section 2 of this Act;
(2) as part of the audit performed under paragraph (1),
determine the frequency with which future audits of the
payments described in that paragraph shall occur; and
(3) submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives
the results of the audit performed under paragraph (1).
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
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