[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7125 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7125
To direct the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with a
federally funded research and development center for a study on the
barriers to minority participation in the elite units of the Armed
Forces, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 8, 2020
Mr. Brown of Maryland (for himself and Mr. Turner) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with a
federally funded research and development center for a study on the
barriers to minority participation in the elite units of the Armed
Forces, and for other purposes.
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 ``Equality in Leadership and Inclusion
in Top Elements Act of 2020'' or the ``ELITE Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In 1999, the RAND Corporation issued a report entitled
``Barriers to Minority Participation in Special Operations
Forces'' that was sponsored by United States Special Operations
Command.
(2) In 2018, the RAND Corporation issued a report entitles
``Understanding Demographic Differences in Undergraduate Pilot
Training Attrition'' that was sponsored by the Air Force.
(3) No significant independent study has been performed by
a federally funded research and development center into
increasing minority participation in the special forces since
1999.
SEC. 3. EVALUATION OF BARRIERS TO MINORITY PARTICIPATION IN CERTAIN
UNITS OF THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) Study Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Defense shall
seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded
research and development center with relevant expertise to
conduct an evaluation of the barriers to minority participation
in covered units of the Armed Forces.
(2) Elements.--The evaluation required under paragraph (1)
shall include the following elements:
(A) A description of the racial, ethnic, and gender
composition of covered units.
(B) A comparison of the participation rates of
minority populations in covered units to participation
rates of the general population as members and as
officers of the Armed Forces.
(C) A comparison of the percentage of minority
officers in the grade of O-7 or higher who have served
in each covered unit to such percentage for all such
officers in the Armed Force of that covered unit.
(D) An identification of barriers to minority
participation in the accession, assessment, and
training processes.
(E) The status and effectiveness of the response to
the recommendations contained in the report referred to
in section 2(1) and any follow-up recommendations.
(F) Recommendations to increase the numbers of
minority officers in the Armed Forces.
(G) Recommendations to increase minority
participation in covered units.
(H) Any other matters the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(3) Report to congress.--The Secretary shall--
(A) submit to the congressional defense committees
a report on the results of the study by not later than
January 1, 2022; and
(B) provide interim briefings to such committees
upon request.
(b) Designation.--The study conducted under subsection (a) shall be
known as the ``Study on Reducing Barriers to Minority Participation in
Elite Units in the Armed Services''.
(c) Implementation Required.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), not
later than March 1, 2023, the Secretary of Defense shall
commence the implementation of each recommendation included in
the final report submitted under subsection (a)(3).
(2) Exceptions.--
(A) Delayed implementation.--The Secretary of
Defense may commence implementation of a recommendation
described paragraph (1) later than March 1, 2023, if--
(i) the Secretary submits to the
congressional defense committees, not later
than January 1, 2023, written notice of the
intent of the Secretary to delay implementation
of the recommendation; and
(ii) includes, as part of such notice, a
specific justification for the delay in
implementing the recommendation.
(B) Nonimplementation.--The Secretary of Defense
may elect not to implement a recommendation described
in paragraph (1), if--
(i) the Secretary submits to the
congressional defense committees, not later
than January 1, 2023, written notice of the
intent of the Secretary not to implement the
recommendation; and
(ii) includes, as part of such notice--
(I) the reasons for the Secretary's
decision not to implement the
recommendation; and
(II) a summary of alternative
actions the Secretary will carry out to
address the purposes underlying the
recommendation.
(3) Implementation plan.--For each recommendation that the
Secretary implements under this subsection, the Secretary shall
submit to the congressional defense committees an
implementation plan that includes--
(A) a summary of actions the Secretary has carried
out, or intends to carry out, to implement the
recommendation; and
(B) a schedule, with specific milestones, for
completing the implementation of the recommendation.
(d) Covered Units Defined.--In this section, the term ``covered
units'' means the following:
(1) Army Special Forces.
(2) Army Rangers.
(3) Navy SEALs.
(4) Air Force Combat Control Teams.
(5) Air Force Pararescue.
(6) Air Force Special Reconnaissance.
(7) Marine Raider Regiments.
(8) Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance.
(9) Coast Guard Deployable Operations Group.
(10) Any other forces designated by the Secretary of
Defense as special operations forces.
(11) Pilot and navigator military occupational specialties.
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