HR3317-119

What This Bill Does

The Honoring Civil Servants Killed in the Line of Duty Act creates a new title 5 death gratuity for survivors of federal employees whose deaths result from injuries in federal employment or from qualifying criminal acts, terrorism, natural disasters, or other agency-head determinations. The base amount is $100,000, indexed annually by CPI-U, paid in a statutory beneficiary order, excluded from gross income, and unavailable when death resulted from willful misconduct, intent, intoxication, or self-impairment. The bill extends comparable treatment across FAA, TSA, and Veterans Health Administration personnel, addresses deaths connected to service with the Armed Forces and deaths abroad, and indexes title 10 military death gratuities. It also authorizes sums necessary when an agency head, with OMB concurrence, determines that covered disaster, terrorism, or other incident costs exceed available appropriations, with a sense of Congress that supplemental requests should receive action within 30 days.

Who Benefits and How

Families of federal employees killed in the line of duty benefit from a $100,000 indexed, tax-excluded survivor payment. Surviving spouses benefit because they are high in the statutory payment order when no beneficiary designation controls. Federal civilian employees benefit from clearer survivor protection across agencies, including FAA, TSA, and Veterans Health Administration workforces. Military survivor beneficiaries benefit because title 10 death gratuities are indexed and tax excluded under the bill.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal agency payroll offices must determine eligibility, identify beneficiaries, pay gratuities, and apply annual CPI-U adjustments. Labor Department compensation staff must support determinations tied to federal employment injuries and existing compensation rules. OMB budget staff must review agency determinations that incident costs exceed available appropriations. Federal taxpayers bear the cost of expanded and indexed gratuity payments and any emergency supplemental appropriations.

Key Provisions

• Creates a $100,000 indexed title 5 death gratuity for qualifying federal employee deaths.
• Excludes covered death gratuities from gross income and repeals the older title 5 note.
• Extends survivor-gratuity treatment across FAA, TSA, Veterans Health Administration, Armed Forces support, and overseas-death contexts.
• Authorizes emergency supplemental appropriations when qualifying incident costs exceed agency funds.