On October 8, the House passed, 281-146, the conference report to the FY2010 National Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 2647), after defeating, 208-216, a motion to recommit by Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA). The House passed H.R. 2647 on June 25 (see The Source, 6/26/09); the Senate approved its version (S. 1390) on July 23 (see The Source, 7/24/09) and is expected to consider the conference report next week.
The report would provide $680.2 billion in discretionary funds for military and defense related programs, which includes $130 billion for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and $28 billion for the Defense Health Program.
According to the House Armed Services Committee summary, the report includes $2.2 billion for family housing programs and an additional $276 million for housing assistance to aid military members who have been forced to sell their homes at significant losses. The report provides “$30 million to assist local education agencies (LEAs) that offer support to military children, with an additional $14 million for those heavily impacted by force structure changes and base closure and realignment,” and an additional $5 million for LEAs for military children with severe disabilities.
The conference report would direct the Department of Defense (DOD) to “report on the health care needs of military families, including the effects of deployments on the children of service members.” The report also would establish “an internship pilot program for military spouses to obtain employment with federal agencies and departments” to provide them with portable career opportunities.
With regard to domestic violence and sexual assault, the conference report directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to “review and assess the progress DOD has made in implementing recommendations to reduce domestic violence incidents” and “report on the capacity of each of the [armed] services to investigate and adjudicate allegations of sexual assault.” The department also would be required “to develop a sexual assault prevention program and to report on its ability to conduct investigations in a combat zone.” The department would be required to “inform a service member protected by a military restraining order that she or he has the option to request moving to a different base.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee summary also details other provisions important to women and their families. Specifically, the secretary of Defense, in conjunction with the secretary of State, would be required to report international intra-familial abduction of children of service members. The secretary of Defense also would be required to report on “child custody cases in which deployment of a service member was an issue and on measures taken to assist service members in avoiding child custody disputes.”
The conference report also includes a provision that would expand the definition of a hate crime to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
