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H.R. 39 119th Congress House

Original Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2025

Official title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund to provide benefi… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund to provide benefits to certain individuals who served in the United States merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) during World War II.

Introduced: January 3, 2025 Introduced by: Al Green Democratic · Texas See on congress.gov
Armed Forces and National Security Conflicts and warsGovernment trust fundsMarine and inland water transportationTransportation employeesVeterans' pensions and compensation
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 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Dec 19, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Jan 3, 2025
Introduced in House
Jan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
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What's happening now December 19, 2025

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Original Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2025

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to distribute a payment of $25,000 to U.S. merchant marines who engaged in qualified service during World War II. To be eligible, an individual must apply for the benefit and must not have received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. The bill sets forth what constitutes qualified service, including time frame of service and licensing requirements.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Democratic 1
D
DeSaulnier, Mark
California · Sep 8, 2025
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 39: Original Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2025. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-39/
MLA
"H.R. 39: Original Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2025." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-39/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 39, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-39/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 39: Original Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2025](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-39/)
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