House
On June 25, the House passed, 389-22, the FY2010 National Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 2647), after defeating, 170-244, a motion to recommit by Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA). The House Armed Services Committee approved the legislation on June 16 (see The Source, 6/19/09).
According the committee report, H.R. 2647 would authorize $680.5 billion, including $135.724 billion for military personnel, which is $292.5 million less than the president’s request for military personnel. The bill also would authorize $1.959 billion for defense family housing, $13.635 billion for military construction, and $7.666 billion for BRAC [Base Realignment and Closure]. Defense health programs would receive $26.9 billion in FY2010.
In acknowledging the increasingly important role of women service members, the committee recognized the “Lionesses,” saying, “The committee is aware that there are members of the armed forces deployed in support of contingency operations who…volunteer to provide mission support outside of the requirements of their military occupation. These individuals are often temporarily removed from their regular assignment to serve in these capacities before returning to their regular duties during their deployment. One such group of volunteers are women who are serving at the point of the spear and are referred to as ‘Lionesses.’ They participate in offensive operations by providing culturally-sensitive search and engagement activities for certain combat units deployed in theRepublic of Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan…The committee is concerned that there is no mechanism in place within the services to properly document service member participation in operational missions outside of the requirements of their military occupation. Therefore, the committee directs the secretary of Defense, in consultation with the services, to review the way the services manage and document the additional services some service members perform” (pp. 315-316).
The committee also emphasized the strain long-term and multiple deployments have had on military families. To that end, the report includes several provisions aimed at supporting military families. Specifically, the report would establish a pilot program for federal agency internships for military spouses; require the comptroller general to “review and assess the progress of the Department of Defense [DoD] in implementing the recommendations contained in the report entitled, ‘Military Personnel: Progress Made in Implementing recommendations to Reduce Domestic Violence, but Further Management Action Needed’ (GAO-06-540), and to submit a report containing the results of the review and assessment to the congressional defense committees within 180 days after the date of enactment”; prevent courts from permanently changing child custody arrangements while a service member is deployed unless there is evidence to show that it is in the best interest of the child; and expand Family and Medical Leave Act (P.L. 103-3) coverage to include active duty service members (p. 325).
In addressing the need for access to, and availability of, quality health care, the committee expressed its concern “about the ability of the Defense Health Program to support operational requirements, accessibility, and quality of health care provided to service members, retirees, and family members” (pp. 334-335). Therefore, the committee would require the secretary of Defense to “prepare a report on the health care needs of military family members…[and]…the secretary of the Army to establish as a pilot program, a center focused on the needs of military children and adolescents” (p. 342).
Preventing sexual assault in the military, as well as ensuring that victims of sexual assault receive the proper medical and mental health treatment services, remained a focus of the Armed Services Committee. The committee report addressed the need for restricted reporting requirements in cases in which the victims of sexual assault wish to retain their confidentiality (p. 317) and would require the comptroller general to “report [to Congress] on the capacity of each military services’ infrastructure for the investigation and adjudication of allegations of sexual assault, to determine if there are any barriers [that] negatively affect the ability of the services to facilitate the investigation and adjudication of these cases to the full extent of the Uniform Code of Military Justice” (p. 326).
With respect to medical services for victims of sexual assault, the report “directs the secretary to report to Congress on the availability and adequacy of proper medical care, including mental health care, for victims of sexual assault in combat zones. The committee further directs the secretary of Defense to report on the availability and adequacy of post-mobilization medical and mental health care for victims of sexual assault in the Reserve Components” (p. 336).
The committee also addressed concerns for women in Afghanistan by recommending that the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and Women “modify their auditing and assessment protocols to include the impact that U.S. development assistance has on the lives of girls and women as part of their reporting requirements to Congress” (p. 411).
During consideration of the defense authorization bill, the House approved, by voice vote, an en bloc amendment consisting of, among others, an amendment by Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH) to require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress on the impact of domestic violence on the families of service members. The GAO report also would review any progress made in ensuring that children in such families receive adequate care and services. The en bloc amendment also contained an amendment by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) to require DoD to report on its actions to prevent intra-familial international abductions affecting military parents and efforts to assist such parents with the return of their children.
Senate Armed Services Committee
On June 25, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved, 26-0, its version of the FY2010 Defense Authorization legislation (as-yet-unnumbered).
According to the committee summary, the bill would authorize $679.8 billion, just below the administration’s request of $680.2 billion, for seven committee priorities, which include improving “the quality of life of the men and women of the all-volunteer force…and their families.” The authorization includes $135.6 billion for military personnel ($124 million than the House’s mark) and $27.9 for the Defense Health Program ($1 billion more than the House). The measure also would authorize $24.2 billion for military construction accounts, $135 million less than the president’s request; the House would authorize $13.635 billion.
The committee would extend the reporting deadline for the Department of Defense (DoD) Task Force on Sexual Assault to December 1, 2009.
The Senate would provide $30 million in impact aid and $10 million in special assistance to local education agencies (LEAs) that are affected by BRAC. The House would provide $50 million to the LEAs. The Senate version also would encourage states to enact the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, which is designed to help military children who transfer across state lines integrate into their new schools.
Placing additional emphasis on the needs of military children, the committee would require the secretary of Defense to assess the “impacts of military deployment of dependent children of service members, and…review…the mental health care and counseling services available to military children.” The secretary also would be required to “develop and implement a policy and program to provide broad-based community support to military children with autism and their families.”
The committee included a statement expressing the “Sense of the Senate” the need for a properly prepared and coordinated family care plan for service members who have custody of a child pursuant to a court order of a separation agreement and would require the secretary of Defense “to submit to Congress a report on judicial cases involving child custody cases in which the service of a deployed or deploying member of the armed forces was an issue in a child custody dispute.”
More information will be available when the committee report accompanying the bill is printed.
