1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Fleet Reserve Association 100th Anniversary Act . 2. Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) On November 11, 1924, the Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) was founded by Navy Chief Yeoman George L. Carlin and chartered in 1924 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. FRA was born out of the need for an organization to protect the pay and benefits of enlisted Sea Service members and their families. (2) The Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) is a congressionally chartered, non-profit organization that represents the interests of the Sea Service community. Although the association was originally named for the Navy’s Fleet Reserve program, membership in FRA is open to all current and former sailors, marines, and Coast Guard personnel. (3) In 1930, FRA-proposed legislation was enacted that authorizes a death gratuity benefit of six months basic pay to the estates of recalled Fleet Reservists who subsequently die on active duty. (4) In 1932, FRA was successful in exempting enlisted personnel from Great Depression-era pay cuts that deferred pay for Federal employees by 8 to 20 percent. (5) In 1934, FRA regained two-thirds of the 15 percent pay cut authorized in the Economy Act of 1933. The remaining 5 percent was restored in 1935. (6) In 1935, FRA was successful in obtaining eligibility for Navy retirees and Fleet Reservists to receive emergency care in veterans’ hospitals in areas where military facilities were not available. (7) In 1937, FRA helped advance legislation that authorized commissary privileges for military widows. (8) In 1946, FRA was successful in establishing equity in disability compensation for disabled peacetime veterans with their wartime counterparts. (9) In 1950, FRA first proposed legislation to provide a survivor benefit program as part of the military retirement system. (10) In 1972, FRA played a major role in the enactment of the Widow’s Equity bill, the precursor of today’s Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and FRA sponsored the Navy’s first Sailors of the Year