Text of US HB 4902 (2010)

I 111TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 4902 To establish additional research, study, and reporting requirements for the Department of Defense working group reviewing the possible repeal of current United States policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and codified as section 654 of title 10, United States Code. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 22, 2010 Mr. MCKEON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To establish additional research, study, and reporting re- quirements for the Department of Defense working group reviewing the possible repeal of current United States policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and codified as section 654 of title 10, United States Code. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4902 IH SECTION 1. REVISED GUIDANCE, TERMS OF REFERENCE, 1 AND OBJECTIVES FOR DEPARTMENT OF DE- 2 FENSE WORKING GROUP REVIEWING POS- 3 SIBLE REPEAL OF CURRENT POLICY CON- 4 CERNING HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE ARMED 5 FORCES. 6 (a) MODIFICATION OF GUIDANCE AND TERMS OF 7 REFERENCE.— 8 (1) MODIFICATION REQUIRED.—As specified in 9 paragraph (2) and subsection (b), the Secretary of 10 Defense shall modify the guidance and terms of ref- 11 erence issued on March 2, 2010, in connection with 12 the establishment of the Department of Defense 13 working group (in this section referred to as the 14 ‘‘working group’’) to conduct a comprehensive review 15 of the possible repeal of section 654 of title 10, 16 United States Code, which codifies United States 17 policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed 18 Forces (in this section referred to as ‘‘section 654’’). 19 (2) EVALUATION.—In making the modifications 20 required by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall en- 21 sure that the final report of the working group pro- 22 vides a comprehensive and objective evaluation of— 23 (A) whether application of section 654 has 24 or is undermining military readiness in any sig- 25 nificant way; 26 VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4902 IH (B) whether repeal or amendment of sec- 1 tion 654 will improve military readiness in sig- 2 nificant, measurable ways; and 3 (C) what the implications for and effects 4 on military readiness, cohesion, morale, good 5 order, and discipline are entailed as a result of 6 repeal or amendment of section 654. 7 (3) SCOPE OF EVALUATION.—The evaluation 8 described in paragraph (2) shall encompass the reg- 9 ular and reserve components, military family mem- 10 bers and dependents, and matters of expanded eligi- 11 bility of retirees and their families and dependents 12 for Federal benefits as a result of military service 13 before any repeal of such section. 14 (b) EXPANDED OBJECTIVES.—In addition to the re- 15 quirements established by the terms of reference issued 16 on March 2, 2010, the working group shall examine and 17 report to the Secretary of Defense on the following mat- 18 ters: 19 (1) Whether the findings contained in sub- 20 section (a) of section 654 remain valid. 21 (2) Whether section 654 has hindered, in a 22 measurably significant way, the ability of the Armed 23 Forces to recruit and retain a sufficient number of 24 VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4902 IH qualified personnel to meet service manpower re- 1 quirements. 2 (3) Whether section 654 has hindered the abil- 3 ity of any component, especially the Army, the Ma- 4 rine Corps, and the Army National Guard, to in- 5 crease manpower, especially during wartime. 6 (4) Whether the discharge of personnel under 7 section 654 has had a measurably significant impact 8 on military readiness or on the ability of the Armed 9 Forces to carry out their wartime missions since 10 September 11, 2001. 11 (5) Given the numbers of personnel discharged 12 under section 654 since enactment of the section on 13 November 30, 1993, compared to the total number 14 of personnel separated from the Armed Forces for 15 all reasons since that date, whether discharges under 16 section 654 have been a significant source of attri- 17 tion for the Armed Forces. 18 (6) Whether repeal of section 654 is a military 19 necessity for sustaining future military readiness 20 and effectiveness. 21 (7) The extent to which, and how, repeal of sec- 22 tion 654 would improve military readiness, cohesion, 23 morale, good order, and discipline. 24 VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4902 IH (8) The extent to which repeal of section 654 1 would have negative impacts on military readiness, 2 cohesion, morale, good order, and discipline; the na- 3 ture and extent of the negative impacts; whether the 4 negative impacts would be of short duration or an 5 extended duration; and what measures will be nec- 6 essary to negate or mitigate the anticipated negative 7 impacts of repeal. 8 (9) Whether, and how, repeal of section 654 9 would improve military family readiness, and the 10 measures necessary to ensure that a repeal of sec- 11 tion 654 would not degrade military family readi- 12 ness. 13 (10) The extent to which repeal of section 654 14 would affect the propensity of prospective recruits to 15 enlist in the Armed Forces and the propensity of 16 influencers (such as parents, coaches, teachers, and 17 religious leaders) to recommend military service. 18 (11) The extent to which repeal of section 654 19 would affect retention, especially whether repeal of 20 section 654 would significantly improve the ability of 21 the Armed Forces to retain personnel to meet man- 22 power requirements. 23 (12) Assuming repeal of section 654, the extent 24 to which pay and benefits (such as health care, mili- 25 VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4902 IH tary housing, and survivor benefits) and other sup- 1 port (such as spouse employment preferences, edu- 2 cation and training, and dependent education) cur- 3 rently provided by the Department of Defense to 4 married couples and families should be provided to 5 the domestic partners, spouses and dependents of 6 gay and lesbian personnel, and the extent to which 7 those benefits should be any different than the bene- 8 fits provided to military spouses and dependents, 9 and the extent to which those benefits could be pro- 10 vided by policy or executive order without statutory 11 changes. 12 (13) The extent to which Federal laws, includ- 13 ing those regulating the Department of Veterans Af- 14 fairs, the Department of Education, and the Depart- 15 ment of Health and Human Services, the Uniform 16 Code of Military Justice, and Department of De- 17 fense and Department of Veterans affairs policies 18 would have to be changed in order for a repeal of 19 section 654 to be effective in promoting the readi- 20 ness, morale, cohesion, welfare and discipline of 21 members of the Armed Forces and their families and 22 dependents. 23 (14) Whether a statute prohibiting discrimina- 24 tion on the basis of sexual orientation, such as pro- 25 VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4902 IH posed in H.R. 1283 of the 111th Congress, would be 1 necessary or desirable as part of the repeal of sec- 2 tion 654; and, if the nondiscrimination policy set out 3 in such bill were enacted into law, given such bill’s 4 proposed statutory definition of sexual orientation, 5 an evaluation of— 6 (A) the Department of Defense and Armed 7 Forces polices that would have to be changed 8 and the nature of the changes; 9 (B) the legal and practical implementation 10 challenges associated with such changes, espe- 11 cially for commanders and leaders; 12 (C) the measures required to overcome 13 those challenges; and 14 (D) the effect such a nondiscrimination 15 statute would have on current military billeting 16 and housing policies and practices. 17 (15) Assuming repeal of section 654— 18 (A) whether the Defense of Marriage Act 19 (Public Law 104–199; 1 U.S.C. 7) and the as- 20 sociated provision of such H.R. 1283 would cre- 21 ate a significant difference in the pay, benefits, 22 and other forms of support from the Depart- 23 ment of Defense, the Department of Veterans 24 Affairs, and other Federal departments that 25 VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4902 IH could be provided to legally married hetero- 1 sexual military couples, families and dependents 2 and the pay, benefits, and other forms of sup- 3 port that could be provided to legally married 4 military gay couples, families and dependents; 5 (B) explain the nature and extent of those 6 differences; 7 (C) explain the extent to which the limita- 8 tions on benefits resulting from the Defense of 9 Marriage Act would affect military readiness, 10 cohesion, morale, and good order and discipline; 11 and 12 (D) explain the extent to which this diver- 13 sity of benefits would affect military family 14 readiness, morale, welfare, and cohesion. 15 (16) To effectively implement a repeal of sec- 16 tion 654, whether the Defense of Marriage Act 17 should be repealed or amended, and explain the 18 basis for the conclusion. 19 (17) The extent to which, and the nature and 20 objectives of, education and training measures and 21 programs that would be required, upon repeal of sec- 22 tion 654, for members of the Armed Forces, their 23 families, and dependents. 24 VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4902 IH (18) The projected costs of a repeal of section 1 654, including costs attributable to changes in mili- 2 tary barracks, housing policies, and military con- 3 struction considered necessary to accommodate var- 4 ious sexual orientations. 5 (19) The extent to which, upon repeal of section 6 654, gay and lesbian military retirees, their families, 7 and dependents should be made eligible retroactively 8 for Federal benefits in the same manner as the ben- 9 efits received by heterosexual military retirees, their 10 families, and dependents as a result of service in the 11 Armed Forces, and if so, what benefits should be 12 provided and at what estimated cost. 13 (c) METHODOLOGY.— 14 (1) USE OF IN-HOUSE RESOURCES.—The sur- 15 veys, polling, studies, updates or revisions, and anal- 16 ysis conducted by or for the working group, and in- 17 struments designed to conduct such surveys, polling, 18 studies, updates or revisions, and analysis, shall pri- 19 marily, if not exclusively, employ the in-house capa- 20 bilities of the Department of Defense. 21 (2) RESTRICTION.—If the Secretary of Defense 22 or the working group determines that required sur- 23 veys, polling, focus groups, and analysis cannot be 24 conducted solely using in-house capabilities of the 25 VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4902 IH Department of Defense, the Secretary and the work- 1 ing group may not for those purposes employ, or use 2 the survey instruments or data from, any organiza- 3 tion that has previously done any survey, polling, or 4 analysis work on matters related to a potential re- 5 peal of section 654 or the Department of Defense 6 policy that preceded enactment of section 654. 7 (d) REVISED REPORTING REQUIREMENT AND TIME 8 LINES.—Not later than six months after the working 9 group provides its final report to the Secretary of Defense, 10 the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed 11 Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate 12 a report containing— 13 (1) the report and recommendations of the 14 working group, as modified as required by sub- 15 sections (a) and (b); 16 (2) the comments and recommendations of the 17 Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Oper- 18 ations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the 19 Commandant of the Marine Corps regarding the 20 conclusions and recommendations of the working 21 group; and 22 (3) the conclusions and recommendations of the 23 Secretary of Defense, including a comprehensive pro- 24 VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4902 IH posal for all Federal legislation required to be en- 1 acted or amended should section 654 be repealed. 2 Æ VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:38 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4902.IH H4902 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS