Women's Fair and Equal Right to Military Service Act - Requires the Secretary of Defense to revise the military personnel policies of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the military departments so that such policies do not restrict members of the Armed Forces from assignment to units and positions based on gender.
Prohibits any change in a military personnel policy that would exclude based on gender from taking effect until: (1) the Secretary submits to Congress a notice of the intent to make the change, and (2) the expiration of 30 legislative days after Congress receives such notice.
Repeals specified existing Armed Forces personnel laws directing the Secretary to notify Congress of changes to the ground combat exclusion policy (defined in the existing provisions as military personnel policies of DOD and military departments, as in effect on October 1, 1994, by which female members of the armed forces are restricted from assignment to units and positions below brigade level whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground), assignment of females to certain military career designators, and other related personnel policy changes.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1928 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1928
To amend title 10, United States Code, to repeal the ground combat
exclusion policy for female members of the Armed Forces.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 13, 2011
Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 10, United States Code, to repeal the ground combat
exclusion policy for female members of the Armed Forces.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Women's Fair and Equal Right to
Military Service Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) 260,457 female members of the Armed Forces have served
in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, or
Operation New Dawn.
(2) 25,099 female members of the Armed Forces are currently
serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
(3) Women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are not excluded
from providing support to combat units or other frontline
units.
(4) As of April 1, 2011, 137 female members of the Armed
Forces have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, and, of the
women killed, over 60 were killed in combat.
(5) More than 1,300 female members of the Armed Forces have
been wounded in action, of which 758 were wounded in hostile
action.
(6) The current nature of war has changed in Iraq and
Afghanistan and, despite the prohibition on female members of
the Armed Forces serving in combat, so has the role of female
members of the Armed Forces.
(7) Women are increasingly attached to combat units and
engaging in frontline roles despite the current ground combat
exclusion policy.
(8) Female members of the Armed Forces are engaging in
direct combat without receiving adequate combat training due to
the current ground combat exclusion policy described in current
section 652 of title 10, United States Code.
(9) The Secretaries of the military departments should be
given the authorization to assign an eligible member of an
armed force under the jurisdiction of that Secretary to a unit
of that armed force based on the needs of the unit, regardless
of the member's gender.
(10) Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has stated that
women have been serving in combat already and female members of
the Armed Services have expressed that because they're not in a
combat military occupational specialty, they haven't had combat
training, but they're on a combat patrol.
(b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to ensure that modern military combat policies reflect
the current operational environment of the combat operations;
and
(2) to raise the profile of the recognition that female
members of the Armed Forces should receive for their service,
particularly when it involves their contribution with regard to
direct combat operations.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF GROUND COMBAT EXCLUSION POLICY FOR FEMALE MEMBERS OF
THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) Repeal.--
(1) Repeal.--Section 652 of title 10, United States Code,
is repealed.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 37 of such title is amended by striking
the item relating to section 652.
(b) Revision of Current Military Personnel Policies.--
(1) Revision.--The Secretary of Defense shall revise the
military personnel policies of the Department of Defense and
the military departments so that such policies do not restrict
members of the Armed Forces from assignment to units and
positions based on gender.
(2) Notice and wait.--Any change in a military personnel
policy that would exclude based on gender shall not take effect
until--
(A) the Secretary of Defense submits to the
Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of
Representatives a notice of the intent to make the
change; and
(B) a period of 30 legislative days has expired
following the date on which the notice is received by
the committees.
(3) Legislative day defined.--In this subsection, term
``legislative day'' means a day on which either House of
Congress is in session.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
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