A bill to amend the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1985, to extend medical benefits for certain former spouses.
Public Law 100-271 · H.R. 3967 · 100th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Mar 29, 1988 · Armed Forces and National Security
Sponsor: Rep. Beverly Byron (D-MD-6)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateVoice vote
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Amends the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1985 to extend until December 31, 1988, the date up to which a former spouse may receive a final decree of divorce and still be considered a dependent of a member of the armed forces and therefore still eligible for medical benefits as a military dependent.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 9 actions.
- Mar 29, 1988Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 100-271.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Mar 22, 1988PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Mar 17, 1988FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
- Mar 9, 1988FloorFloor · Passed House by Voice Vote.
- FloorFloor · Called up by House by Unanimous Consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from House Armed Services Committee
- Feb 18, 1988CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Armed Services Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.