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Congressional Daily Record
This section is about changes proposed to a bill or resolution. It mentions committees such as Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, members such as John Karl Fetterman.
Issued
June 23, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextSA 5962. Mr. FETTERMAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 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 X, add the following:
Subtitle H—Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line of Duty
SEC. 1091. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the “Honoring Civil Servants
Killed in the Line of Duty Act”.
SEC. 1092. 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. 1093. 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. 1094. 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. 1095. 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. 1096. 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 1092 of this Act;
(B) section 8102a of title 5, United States Code, as
amended by section 1094 of this Act; or
(C) section 413 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22
U.S.C. 3973), as amended by section 1095 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. 1097. 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 1092 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 1092 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 1092 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).