S.Amdt. 4335

SA 4335. Mrs. MURRAY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by her to the bill S. 2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2017 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title VI, add the following:

[[Page S3336]]

SEC. 663. COMMISSARY, EXCHANGE, AND MORALE, WELFARE, AND
RECREATION BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN SAME-SEX
SURVIVING SPOUSES OF MEMBERS AND FORMER MEMBERS
OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES.

(a) In General.--A qualifying same-sex surviving spouse of
a member or former member of the uniformed services is
entitled to commissary, exchange, and morale, welfare, and
recreation privilege benefits, and shall be issued a
Department of Defense Identification Card for purposes of
receipt of such benefits, to the same extent, and on the same
basis, as the surviving spouse of a retired member of the
uniformed services who is not a qualifying same-sex surviving
spouse but is entitled to such benefits.
(b) Qualifying Same-sex Surviving Spouse.--For purposes of
this section, an individual is a qualifying same-sex
surviving spouse of a member or former member of the
uniformed services if the individual is the same-sex
surviving spouse of any member of the uniformed services as
follows:
(1) A member who died while on active duty.
(2) A member who was awarded the medal of honor.
(3) A former member who was a veteran with a service-
connected disability or combination of disabilities rated as
100 percent disabling under the schedule of ratings of
disabilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(4) A retired member.
(c) Documentation.--An individual seeking to be treated as
a qualifying same-sex surviving spouse under subsection (a)
shall submit to the Secretary of Defense documentation to
establish the status of the individual under subsection (b)
as the Secretary shall specify for purposes of this section.
Such documentation shall include the following:
(1) To establish former marital status, any one of the
following:
(A) A marriage certificate.
(B) A certification of domestic partnership.
(C) A death certificate for the member concerned.
(D) An affidavit by a judge advocate certifying a common-
law marriage.
(E) Any other documentation the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(2) To establish identity, one of the following:
(A) An identification card issued by the Federal
Government.
(B) A driver's license issued by a State.
(C) A birth certificate.
(D) Any other documentation the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(d) Comptroller General Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to Congress a report on extent of
the inclusion by the Department of Defense of same-sex
spouses and same-sex widows and widowers in the benefits
provided by the Department to spouses and surviving spouses
in their status as current or former military dependents (as
applicable).
(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall
set forth the following:
(A) The number of same-sex spouses, widows, and widowers
who are eligible for benefits described in paragraph (3) as
current or former military dependents.
(B) The number of individuals described in subparagraph (A)
who are receiving benefits for which they are eligible.
(C) An analysis, including a complete file review of a
representative sample of military personnel files,
identifying policy or procedural barriers that prevent same-
sex military spouses, widows, and widowers from receiving
benefits as current or former military dependents.
(D) An evaluation of the compliance by Army Human Resources
Command with the requirements of subsection (a).
(E) An evaluation of the compliance by Army Human Resources
Command with policies in place before the date of the
enactment of this Act with respect to the equitable treatment
of same-sex spouses, widows, and widowers in eligibility for
benefits as current or former military dependents.
(F) Recommendations for actions to correct any
noncompliance identified pursuant to subparagraphs (D) and
(E).
(G) Recommendations for actions to ensure that individuals
described in subparagraph (A) who were inappropriately denied
benefits described in paragraph (3) are notified and assisted
in receiving such benefits.
(H) Any other matters the Comptroller General considers
appropriate.
(3) Benefits.--The benefits described in this paragraph are
as follows:
(A) Commissary, exchange and morale, welfare and recreation
privileges and benefits.
(B) Health care, including medical, dental, and pharmacy
services.
(C) Education benefits.
(D) Life Insurance.
(E) On-installation housing.
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