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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7411 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7411
To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 to
improve reviews of characterizations of discharges of members of the
Armed Forces on the basis of sexual orientation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 20, 2024
Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer (for herself, Mr. Ciscomani, Mr. Van Orden, Mr.
Miller of Ohio, Mr. Turner, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. Duarte, Mr. Carey, Mr.
Amodei, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Garbarino, Mrs. Cammack, and Ms. Mace)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 to
improve reviews of characterizations of discharges of members of the
Armed Forces on the basis of sexual orientation.
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 ``Recover Pride in Service Act''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO REVIEWS OF CHARACTERIZATIONS OF DISCHARGES OF
MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL
ORIENTATION.
(a) Clarification of Standards of Review.--Section 527 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law
116-92; 10 U.S.C. 1552 note) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B);
(B) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``In accordance'';
and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
``(2) Notwithstanding section 1552(a)(3)(B) of title 10,
United States Code, the appropriate board may not require a
covered member to submit any documentation as a condition
precedent to a review under paragraph (1).''.
(b) Establishment of Outreach Unit; Reports.--Such section is
further amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (f); and
(2) by inserting, after subsection (c), the following new
subsections:
``(d) Outreach Unit.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of the enactment of the Recover Pride in Service Act, the
Secretary of Defense shall establish an outreach unit.
``(2) Unit commander.--The commander of the unit
established under this subsection shall be an officer in a
grade above O-3.
``(3) Duties.--The unit established under this subsection
shall conduct outreach to inform covered members of the right
to request a review under subsection (a). In performing such
outreach, the unit commander may coordinate with stakeholders
including the following:
``(A) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
``(B) The Archivist of the United States.
``(C) Representatives of organizations recognized
by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 5902
of title 38, United States Code.
``(D) Other individuals determined appropriate by
the unit commander.
``(4) Reporting.--
``(A) Initial report.--Not later than 60 days after
the date of the enactment of the Recover Pride in
Service Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to
the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and
House of Representatives a report identifying the unit
commander and 30 members of the unit established under
this subsection.
``(B) Plan.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of the enactment of the Recover Pride in Service Act,
the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed
Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a
plan regarding outreach to be conducted by such unit.
Such plan shall include the following:
``(i) How the unit shall identify and
contact covered members.
``(ii) An allocation of responsibilities
among the unit and external stakeholders for
executing the plan.
``(iii) A schedule for the implementation,
execution, and completion of the plan, along
with any necessary funding, personnel, or
resources required for its successful
implementation.
``(C) Progress reports.--Not less than every 90
days after the submission of the plan under
subparagraph (B), the commander of such unit shall
submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the
Senate and House of Representatives a report on the
activities of the unit during the preceding 90 days.
``(D) Final report.--Not later than three years
after the date of the enactment of the Recover Pride in
Service Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to
the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and
House of Representatives a final report on the unit.
Such report shall include the following:
``(i) The number of covered members.
``(ii) The number of covered members
contacted through the outreach efforts of the
unit.
``(iii) The number of covered members who
requested a review under subsection (a) before
and after the date of the enactment of the
Recover Pride in Service Act.
``(iv) The number of covered members
described in clause (iii), whose discharge
characterization was upgraded to honorable.
``(v) The number of former members of the
Armed Forces whose discharge characterizations
have been upgraded to honorable since September
20, 2011.
``(5) Termination.--The unit shall terminate upon
submission of the final report under paragraph (4)(D).
``(e) Reports.--The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives
four annual reports on the determination of the Secretary regarding the
consistency of reviews under subsection (a). The first such report
shall be due not later than one year after the date of the enactment of
the Recover Pride in Service Act.''.
SEC. 3. PROACTIVE UPGRADE OF DISCHARGES.
(a) In General.--The Department of Defense shall upgrade all
discharges based solely on account of sexual orientation to an
honorable discharge.
(b) Section 527 of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92; 10 U.S.C. 1552) is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) No correction may be made under subsection (a)(1) unless a
claimant (or claimant's heir, spouse, or legal representative) or the
Secretary concerned files a request for correction. The Secretary
concerned may file a request for correction of a military record of
their own accord or if the request is made on behalf of a group,
members, or former members of the Armed Forces who were harmed by the
error or injustice being claimed. A board established under subsection
(a)(1) may excuse a failure to file within three years after discovery
if it finds it to be in the interest of justice, and may not impose a
year limit from when the claimed error or injustice occurred or was
discovered as it relates to individuals discharged on the basis of
sexual orientation.'';
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (a)(3)(A) the
following:
``(i) There must be established a procedure
within each military department to upgrade all
discharges based solely on sexual orientation,
without requiring affected veterans to request
such an upgrade.''; and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (a)(3)(D) the 27
following:
``(i) Any request for reconsideration
denied prior to January 1, 2025, regarding a
claim pertaining to a discharge based on sexual
orientation, must be revisited by the
respective board.''.
(c) No later than five years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall have approved the upgrade of
all discharges which were based on sexual orientation.
(d) The Secretary of Defense shall provide Congress an annual
report on the progress of upgraded discharges.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
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