Sec. 648. INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF THE SURVIVOR BENEFIT PLAN

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## SEC. 648 INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF THE SURVIVOR BENEFIT PLAN ###

(a)Assessment Required The Secretary of Defense shall provide for an independent assessment of the Survivor Benefit Plan

(SBP)under subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 10, United States Code, by a Federally-funded research and development center (FFRDC). ###

(b)Assessment Elements The assessment conducted pursuant to subsection

(a)shall include, but not be limited to, the following: ####

(1)The purposes of the Survivor Benefit Plan, the manner in which the Plan interacts with other Federal programs to provide financial stability and resources for survivors of members of the Armed Forces and military retirees, and a comparison between the benefits available under the Plan, on the one hand, and benefits available to Government and private sector employees, on the other hand, intended to provide financial stability and resources for spouses and other dependents when a primary family earner dies. ####

(2)The effectiveness of the Survivor Benefit Plan in providing survivors with intended benefits, including the provision of survivor benefits for survivors of members of the Armed Forces dying on active duty and members dying while in reserve active-status. ####

(3)The feasibility and advisability of providing survivor benefits through alternative insurance products available commercially for similar purposes, the extent to which the Government could subsidize such products at no cost in excess of the costs of the Survivor Benefit Plan, and the extent to which such products might meet the needs of survivors, especially those on fixed incomes, to maintain financial stability. ###

(c)Report Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report setting forth the results of the assessment conducted pursuant to subsection (a), together with such recommendations as the Secretary considers appropriate for legislative or administration action in light of the results of the assessment. ## Subtitle E Commissary and Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentality Benefits and Operations