[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2638 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2638
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to treat certain
individuals who participated in the invasion of the Bay of Pigs, Cuba,
in April, 1961, as veterans for the purposes of eligibility for
benefits under laws administered by the Secretary.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 17, 2023
Mr. Gimenez (for himself, Ms. Salazar, and Ms. Malliotakis) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to treat certain
individuals who participated in the invasion of the Bay of Pigs, Cuba,
in April, 1961, as veterans for the purposes of eligibility for
benefits under laws administered by the Secretary.
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 ``Cuban-American Unrecognized Bravery
Act of 2023'' or the ``CUBA Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) On April 16, 1961, Cubans who had been trained and
equipped by the United States landed in the Bay of Pigs, Cuba,
with the mission to topple the Castro regime and free Cuba from
communist tyranny.
(2) Lack of adequate support, and poor planning and
execution of the invasion led to the deaths of several hundred
members of the invasion force and subsequent capture and
imprisonment of the survivors.
(3) Many of these survivors faced harsh conditions
accompanied by torture and threats of execution while they
waited for their release.
(4) After 20 months of negotiations for their release,
President John F. Kennedy welcomed back the last survivors in
Miami, Florida, upon their return to the United States on
December 29, 1962.
(5) Many survivors became productive United States citizens
and contributed greatly to their new home that gave them back
the freedom they lost in Cuba.
(6) Currently, it is estimated that there are approximately
300 survivors still living from the Bay of Pigs invasion. These
survivors still struggle with the emotional effects of the
invasion, along with financial hardships and healthcare
challenges.
(7) These survivors fought on behalf of the United States
in a cause of freedom in the face of global communist tyranny.
They were trained and sent to Cuba by the United States
Government yet do not receive the benefits of veterans that
they deserve and to which they ought to be entitled.
(8) Granting these survivors eligibility for benefits under
the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
would help them and their families with financial and
healthcare burdens, allow for them to receive a military
funeral, and aid in healing the lingering psychological wounds
left from the Bay of Pigs invasion 62 years ago.
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR VETERANS BENEFITS TO CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS WHO SERVED IN BAY OF PIGS, CUBA, IN APRIL,
1961.
(a) In General.--For the purposes of determining eligibility for
benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, the Secretary shall treat a covered individual as a veteran.
(b) Applicability Date.--Beginning on the date that is 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, a covered individual may
file a claim for a benefit described in subsection (a), and the
Secretary shall consider and make a determination regarding such claim,
without regard to any time limit applicable to such filing or claim.
(c) Covered Individual Defined.--In this section, the term
``covered individual'' means an individual whom the Secretary
determines--
(1) was a member of the military group that invaded the Bay
of Pigs, Cuba, in April, 1961;
(2) is a citizen of the United States; and
(3) is not in receipt of the benefit for which the covered
individual applied.
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