123STA T . 23 49PUBLIC LA W 111 –8 4 —O CT. 28 , 2 0 09 ‘ ‘ (4)Thelastd a yof the m o n th pr e c ed i n g the month d u ring w hich the mem b er begins recei v ing compensation under section 1 114(r)( 2 ) of title 38. ‘‘(e) CONSTRUC T I ON W IT HO TH E R PAY AN DAL LO W ANCES. —M onthly special compensation payable to a member under this section is in addition to any other pay and allowances payable to the member by law. ‘‘(f) B ENE F IT I NFOR M ATION.—(1) The S ecretary of D efense , in collaboration with the Secretary of V eterans Affairs, shall ensure that members of the uniformed services who may be eligible for compensation under this section are made aware of the availability of such compensation by including information about such com - pensation in written and online materials for such members and their families. ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that a member eligible to receive special monthly compensation under this section is aware that the member ’ s eligibility for such compensation will e x pire pursuant to subsection (d)(1) after the end of the 90 -day period that begins on the date of the separation or retirement of the member even though the member has not begun to receive compensation under section 1114(r)(2) of title 38 before the end of such period. ‘‘(g) CATASTRO P HIC IN J URY OR ILLNESS DEFINED.—In this sec- tion, the term ‘catastrophic in j ury or illness’ means a permanent, severely disabling injury, disorder, or illness that the Secretary concerned determines compromises the ability of the afflicted person to carry out the activities of daily living to such a degree that the person re q uires— ‘‘(1) personal or mechanical assistance to leave home or bed
or ‘‘(2) constant supervision to avoid physical harm to self or others. ‘‘(h) R E G ULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense (or the Secretary of H omeland Security, with respect to the Coast G uard) shall pre- scribe regulations to carry out this section.’’. (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— (1) IN GENERAL.— N ot later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense (and the Secretary of Homeland Security, with respect to the Coast Guard) shall submit to Congress a report on the provision of compensation under section 439 of title 3 7 , U nited States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section. (2) E LEMENTS.—The report required by paragraph (1) shall include the following
(A) An estimate of the number of members of the uniformed services eligible for compensation under such section 439. (B) The number of members of the uniformed services receiving compensation under such section. (C) The average amount of compensation provided to members of the uniformed services receiving such com- pensation. (D) The average amount of time required for a member of the uniformed services to receive such compensation after the member becomes eligible for such compensation. (E) A summary of the types of injuries, disorders, and illnesses of members of the uniformed services receiving Webposting.
