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House Committee Approves FY2011 Defense Authorization Bill

On May 19, the House Armed Services Committee approved, 59-0, the FY2011 Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 5136). The Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee approved the measure on May 12 (see The Source, 5/14/10).

According to the committee summary, the bill would provide $726 billion in FY2011 for defense programs, programs for service members and their families, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This amount includes $197 billion for personnel programs.

 

The measure includes “the most comprehensive legislative package ever to address sexual assault in the military.” Specifically, the bill would implement several of the recommendations made by the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services, including provisions to “establish privileged communications between a sexual assault victim and a victim advocate for proceedings in military courts; create a single hotline to report a sexual assault; require DoD [Department of Defense] to specifically budget for the sexual assault prevention and response program; standardize terms, structure, and training for the sexual assault prevention and response program; elevate the director of the department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office to either a general/flag officer of civilian [rank] in the Senior Executive Service; clearly articulate the legal rights of military victims of a sexual assault to legal counsel, consultation in the prosecution of their alleged assailants, medical care, and the ability to make a restricted report of a sexual assault so they may receive support services without involving law enforcement; [and] require the secretary of Defense to further evaluate a number of topics to determine if further regulatory or legislative action is necessary with regard to victim support services, current offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and sexual assault prevention and response programs in remote or joint environments” (see p. 4-5).

 

The bill also directs the secretary to study occupational specialties to ensure that women have “every opportunity to serve to the best of their abilities.” The review also would include a review of whether other policies should be changed in order to provide women with equal opportunities to serve.

 

In addition, the bill would allow dependent children of TRICARE recipients to remain on their parents’ insurance until age 26 and establish a career development program for military spouses. The measure includes a 1.9 percent pay raise for troops and $65 million in impact aid for local education agencies that enroll large numbers of military children. 

The House is likely to consider H.R. 5136 next week.