[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 975 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 975
To make transitional compensation available to dependents of members of
the Armed Forces convicted of dependent abuse in Federal or State court
and dependents of members accused of dependent abuse who have forfeited
all pay and allowances for an unrelated offense.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 10, 2023
Mr. Buchanan (for himself and Mr. Horsford) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To make transitional compensation available to dependents of members of
the Armed Forces convicted of dependent abuse in Federal or State court
and dependents of members accused of dependent abuse who have forfeited
all pay and allowances for an unrelated offense.
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 ``Rachael Booth Act''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO TRANSITIONAL COMPENSATION FOR DEPENDENTS OF
MEMBERS SEPARATED FOR DEPENDENT ABUSE.
(a) Covered Punitive Actions.--Subsection (b) of section 1059 of
title 10, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``; or'' and inserting
a semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) who is--
``(A) convicted of a dependent-abuse offense in a
district court of the United States or a State court;
and
``(B) separated from active duty pursuant to a
sentence of a court-martial, or administratively
separated, voluntarily or involuntarily, from active
duty, for an offense other than the dependent-abuse
offense; or
``(4) who is--
``(A) accused but not convicted of a dependent-
abuse offense;
``(B) determined, as a result of a review by the
commander of the member and based on a preponderance of
evidence, to have committed the dependent-abuse
offense; and
``(C) required to forfeit all pay and allowances
pursuant to a sentence of a court-martial for an
offense other than the dependent-abuse offense.''.
(b) Recipients of Payments.--Subsection (d) of such section is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``resulting in the
separation'' and inserting ``referred to in subsection (b)'';
and
(2) in paragraph (4)--
(A) by striking ``determined as of the date'' and
inserting the following: ``determined--
``(A) as of the date'';
(B) by striking ``offense or, in a case'' and
inserting the following: ``offense;
``(B) in a case'';
(C) by striking the period at the end and inserting
``; or''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(C) in a case described in subsection (b)(4), as
of, as applicable--
``(i) the first date on which the
individual is held in pretrial confinement
relating to the dependent-abuse offense of
which the individual is accused after the 7-day
review of pretrial confinement required by Rule
305(i)(2) of the Rules for Courts-Martial; or
``(ii) the date on which a review by a
commander of the individual determines there is
probable cause that the individual has
committed that offense.''.
(c) Commencement of Payment.--Subsection (e)(1) of such section is
amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by
inserting after ``offense'' the following: ``or an
offense described in subsection (b)(3)(B)''; and
(B) in clause (ii), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (B)--
(A) by striking ``(if the basis'' and all that
follows through ``offense)''; and
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting
a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(C) in the case of a member described in subsection
(b)(4), shall commence as of, as applicable--
``(i) the first date on which the member is held in
pretrial confinement relating to the dependent-abuse
offense of which the member is accused after the 7-day
review of pretrial confinement required by Rule
305(i)(2) of the Rules for Courts-Martial; or
``(ii) the date on which a review by a commander of
the member determines there is probable cause that the
member has committed that offense.''.
(d) Definition of Dependent Child.--Subsection (l) of such section
is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(1) by striking ``resulting in the separation of the former
member or'' and inserting ``referred to in subsection (b) or'';
and
(2) by striking ``resulting in the separation of the former
member and'' and inserting ``and''.
(e) Delegation of Determinations Relating to Exceptional
Eligibility.--Subsection (m)(4) of such section is amended to read as
follows:
``(4) The Secretary concerned may delegate the authority under
paragraph (1) to authorize eligibility for benefits under this section
for dependents and former dependents of a member or former member to
the first general or flag officer (or civilian equivalent) in the chain
of command of the member.''.
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