[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5198 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5198
To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a working group to
review and recommend improvements to the casualty assistance program of
the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 10, 2021
Mr. Bacon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a working group to
review and recommend improvements to the casualty assistance program of
the Department of Defense, 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. CASUALTY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: REFORM; ESTABLISHMENT OF
WORKING GROUP.
(a) Casualty Assistance Reform Working Group.--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
establish a working group to be known as the ``Casualty
Assistance Reform Working Group'' (in this section referred to
as the ``Working Group'').
(2) Duties.--The Working Group shall perform the following
duties:
(A) Create standards and training for CAOs across
the military departments.
(B) Explore the possibility of establishing a
unique badge designation for--
(i) CAOs who have performed CAO duty more
than five times; or
(ii) professional CAOs.
(C) Commission a 30-day study that--
(i) documents the current workflow of
casualty affairs support across the military
departments, including administrative processes
and survivor engagements; and
(ii) performs a gap analysis and solution
document that clearly identifies and
prioritizes critical changes to modernize and
professionalize the casualty experience for
survivors.
(D) Review the organization of the Office of
Casualty, Mortuary Affairs and Military Funeral Honors
to ensure it is positioned to coordinate policy and
assist in all matters under its jurisdiction, across
the Armed Forces, including any potential intersections
with the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing in Action
Accounting Agency.
(E) Explore the establishment of--
(i) an annual meeting, led by the Secretary
of Defense, with gold star families; and
(ii) a surviving and gold star family
leadership council.
(F) Recommend improvements to the family
notification process of Arlington National Cemetery.
(G) Explore the redesign of the Days Ahead Binder,
including creating an electronic version.
(H) Consider the expansion of the DD Form 93 to
include more details regarding the last wishes of the
deceased member.
(I) Assess coordination between the Department of
Defense and the Office of Survivors Assistance of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(3) Membership.--The membership of the Working Group shall
be comprised of the following:
(A) The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel
and Readiness, who shall serve as Chair of the Working
Group.
(B) One individual from each Armed Force, appointed
by the Secretary of the military department concerned,
who is--
(i) a civilian employee in the Senior
Executive Service; or
(ii) an officer in a grade higher than O-6.
(C) One individual from the Joint Staff, appointed
by the Secretary of Defense, who is--
(i) a civilian employee in the Senior
Executive Service; or
(ii) an officer in a grade higher than O-6.
(D) The Director of the Defense Prisoner of War and
Missing in Action Accounting Agency.
(E) The Director of the Defense Health Agency (or
the designee of such Director).
(F) The Chief of Chaplains of each Armed Force.
(G) Such other members of the Armed Forces or
civilian employees of the Department of Defense whom
the Secretary of Defense determines to appoint.
(4) Report.--Not later than September 30, 2022, the Working
Group shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report
containing the determinations and recommendations of the
Working Group.
(5) Termination.--The Working Group shall terminate upon
submission of the report under paragraph (4).
(b) Report Required.--Not later than November 1, 2022, the
Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services
of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report setting forth
the results of a review and assessment of the casualty assistance
officer program, including the report of the Working Group.
(c) Establishment of Certain Definitions.--Not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense,
in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall
prescribe regulations that establish standard definitions, for use
across the military departments, of the terms ``gold star family'' and
``gold star survivor''.
(d) CAO Defined.--In this section, the term ``CAO'' means a
casualty assistance officer of the Armed Forces.
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