Bill to Reauthorize Defense Programs Clears Congress

On December 20, the House approved, 315-107, the conference report for the FY2013 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 4310). The Senate approved the report on December 21, by a vote of 81-14. The House and Senate approved their respective versions of the measure on May 4 (see The Source, 5/25/12) and December 4 (see The Source, 12/7/12), respectively. It is expected that President Obama will sign the measure into law.

According to the conference report and House Armed Services Committee summary, the legislation authorizes $640.7 billion in mandatory and discretionary funds for the base Department of Defense (DoD) budget ($552.2 billion) and overseas contingency operations ($88.5 billion). This amount is $1.7 billion over the president’s FY2013 request for these programs.

The committee summary notes that the conference report “reflects a bipartisan effort to provide significant new regulations and procedures for combating and prosecuting sexual assault within the military, as well as deterring potential sexual predators” by requiring “that new commanders assess the climate of their organizations with regard to sexual assault shortly after assuming command and then annually thereafter and requir[ing] the Department of Defense to make information about resources available to report and respond to sexual assaults widely available throughout the department.” The summary notes that the “conference report also requires each of the military services to establish a special victims’ capability for the investigation, prosecution, and victim support in connection with sexual assault and other offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice” (See Subtitle H, pp. 285-318 of the conference report for the provisions of the bill relating to the DoD’s response to sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military).

The conference report requires the military services to reevaluate the options for combat-related service available to women in the military (p. 212).

Current DoD policy allows federal funds for abortion services in order to save the life of the mother. The conference report permits federal funds to pay for abortion services in instances of rape or incest, as is the case with the Hyde Amendment (p. 408). The measure also includes a conscience clause that requires the armed forces to accommodate the “conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the [service] member” (p. 218).

The report provides for transitional compensation for dependent children who are in utero at the time a dependent-abuse offense is committed by a member of the armed forces (p. 275).

In light of the troop draw-down in Afghanistan, the conference report requires the secretary of Defense to submit to Congress a report on the future of family support programs (p. 282). The report must include the name and scope of each program, the costs of running family support programs, the anticipated costs of eliminating the programs, and an assessment of the programs (p. 284).

The conference report requires the secretaries of Defense and State to submit to Congress a report on the measures by the U.S. government to protect Afghan women and girls as the U.S. transitions out of Afghanistan (p. 923). The report must discuss changes in women’s security conditions in transitional areas, efforts to increase gender awareness and responsiveness among the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP), and efforts to increase the number of women in the ANA and ANP (pp. 923-927).

The conference report addresses human trafficking by government contractors and subcontractors by requiring them to certify that they have a plan to prevent human trafficking and to “monitor, detect, and terminate” any contractor or subcontractor found to be engaged in activities described in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (P.L. 106-386) (see pp. 1180-1197).

The administrator of the Small Business Administration is required to study and report to Congress within five years the industries, as defined under the North American Industry Classification System, that are underrepresented by small businesses owned and controlled by women (p. 1177)