On June 11, the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel approved, by voice vote, the FY2010 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 2647). The five other subcommittees — Strategic Forces; Readiness; Seapower and Expeditionary Forces; Air and Land Forces; and Terrorism, Unconventional Threats, and Capabilities — also approved their portions of H.R. 2647.
In her opening remarks, Chair Susan Davis (D-CA) noted the subcommittee’s continuing efforts to reduce sexual assault and harassment within the military, saying, “Over the past several years, the subcommittee has maintained a focus on sexual assault and harassment, and remains committed to significantly reducing sexual assaults and harassment. The mark builds upon the current focus by senior military leadership and aids in those efforts to reduce sexual assault and harassment within the Department of Defense [DoD].”
Rep. Davis hailed this as the “Year of the Military Family” and expressed support for initiatives in the subcommittee’s mark that support military families, including a pilot program for spouse internships and a DoD study of the “appropriateness of current housing standards.” The measure also includes a 3.4 percent pay raise for the military, which “will further reduce the gap between military and private sector raises from 2.9 percent to 2.4 percent.”
Ranking Member Joe Wilson (R-SC) expressed his support of the bill and noted the inclusion of a provision to require “a medical examination prior to the involuntary separation of service members with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury.”
More details will be available after the full committee considers H.R. 2647.
