PROPER Act

Proudly Restoring Officers of Prior Enlistment Retirement Act or the PROPER Act - Reduces to four the number of years that previously enlisted commissioned officers who have performed a certain minimum number of years of military service to become eligible for retirement must have actively served in the rank of commissioned officer in order to retire in the officer rank instead of in their previous enlisted rank. (Currently, a requirement for 10 years of active service as a commissioned officer has been reduced temporarily to 8 years.)

Makes the reduction to four years applicable during the period from January 1, 2014, to September 30, 2016.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5832 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5832

To amend title 10, United States Code, to modify the enhanced selective 
discharge authority currently available to the Secretary of a military 
department to permit a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces who was 
appointed from the enlisted ranks and has at least 20 years of service, 
 at least four years of which has been commissioned service, to retire 
                  in the officer's commissioned rank.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 10, 2014

 Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Walz, Mr. Rangel, Ms. 
    Shea-Porter, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Rush, Mr. Marino, Mr. Amodei, Mr. 
  Barletta, Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Wilson of 
South Carolina, and Mr. Perry) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to modify the enhanced selective 
discharge authority currently available to the Secretary of a military 
department to permit a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces who was 
appointed from the enlisted ranks and has at least 20 years of service, 
 at least four years of which has been commissioned service, to retire 
                  in the officer's commissioned rank.

    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 ``Proudly Restoring Officers of Prior 
Enlistment Retirement Act'' or the ``PROPER Act''.

SEC. 2. REDUCTION IN REQUIRED LENGTH OF COMMISSIONED SERVICE FOR 
              RETIREMENT AS AN OFFICER.

    (a) Army.--Section 3911(b) of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``The period'' and 
        inserting ``Except as provided in paragraph (3), the period''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) During the period beginning on January 1, 2014, and ending on 
September 30, 2016, the requirement under subsection (a) for at least 
10 years of active service as a commissioned officer shall be reduced 
to a period of at least four years.''.
    (b) Navy and Marine Corps.--Section 6323(a)(2) of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``The period'' and 
        inserting ``Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the 
        period''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(B) During the period beginning on January 1, 2014, and ending on 
September 30, 2016, the requirement under paragraph (1) for at least 10 
years of active service as a commissioned officer shall be reduced to a 
period of at least four years.''.
    (c) Air Force.--Section 8911(b) of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``The period'' and 
        inserting ``Except as provided in paragraph (3), the period''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) During the period beginning on January 1, 2014, and ending on 
September 30, 2016, the requirement under subsection (a) for at least 
10 years of active service as a commissioned officer shall be reduced 
to a period of at least four years.''.
    (d) Retroactive Application.--In the case of a member of the Army, 
Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps who was retired under section 638a, 
3911(a), 6323(a), or 8911(a) of title 10, United States Code, during 
the period beginning on January 1, 2014, and ending on the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the military department 
concerned shall modify the rank in which the member was retired if 
necessary to comply with the amendments made by this section.
                                 <all>