[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1598 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1598
To clarify and improve accountability for certain members of the Armed
Forces during consideration for medical separation in the Integrated
Disability Evaluation System of the Department of Defense, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 15, 2023
Mr. Scott of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To clarify and improve accountability for certain members of the Armed
Forces during consideration for medical separation in the Integrated
Disability Evaluation System 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Wounded Warrior Bill of Rights Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES DURING
THE INTEGRATED DISABILITY EVALUATION SYSTEM.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Members of the Armed Forces are the brave men and women
who voluntarily put themselves in harm's way, while fighting
the enemies of freedom around the world so that all citizens of
the United States and countless citizens of other nations can
enjoy the blessings of liberty in peace. We owe those members
not only a debt of gratitude, but our willingness to ensure
every single member receives excellent health care and just
treatment in the medical separation process when they've become
ill or injured in the line of duty. This is critically
important, not only for the present state of readiness in the
Armed Forces, but for potential recruitment of future
warfighters as elucidated by President George Washington when
he stated, ``The willingness with which our young people are
likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be
directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early
wars were treated and appreciated by our nation.''.
(2) Wounded Warriors remain members of an Armed Force under
the jurisdiction of the Secretary of a military department and
determinations regarding their physical ability is the
responsibility of the chain of command of the member, rather
than the personnel within or under the direction of the Defense
Health Agency. That responsibility through the jurisdiction of
the military chain of command is effective during the entirety
of the process of the Integrated Disability Evaluation System
of the Department of Defense, or successor system, instead of
vesting for practical purposes only at the end of such process.
(3) Section 1214 of title 10, United States Code,
guarantees that ``[n]o member of the armed forces may be
retired or separated for physical disability without a full and
fair hearing if he demands it.''.
(4) Section 1216(b) of such title grants the Secretary
concerned ``all powers, functions, and duties incident to the
determination'' of ``fitness for active duty of any member of
an armed force under his jurisdiction.''.
(5) Sections 7013(b), 8013(b), and 9013(b) of such title
assigns responsibility for and grants ``the authority necessary
to conduct'' the administration of the ``morale and welfare of
personnel'' to the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the
Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force respectively.
(b) Declaration of Policy Regarding Accountability for Wounded
Warriors.--It is the policy of Congress that--
(1) determinations of fitness for duty or physical
capability to perform a military occupational specialty of a
member of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the
Secretary of a military department are the responsibility of
such Secretary;
(2) determinations of fitness for a Wounded Warrior may be
assessed by medical professionals outside the military
department of the Wounded Warrior and may be influenced by
precedents across other entities of the Department of Defense,
including the Defense Health Agency, but ultimately, such
determination remains a decision of the Secretary of the
military department concerned;
(3) the full authority for a determination described in
paragraph (1) or (2) resides in the military chain of command
and not the chain of responsibility of the Defense Health
Agency; and
(4) at no point during the medical evaluation of a Wounded
Warrior shall the Wounded Warrior be denied the protections,
privileges, or right to due process afforded under the laws,
regulations, or other applicable guidance of the military
department of the Wounded Warrior.
(c) Clarification of Responsibilities Regarding the Integrated
Disability Evaluation System.--Subsection (h) of section 1073c of title
10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(h) Authorities Reserved to Secretaries of the Military
Departments.--(1) Notwithstanding the responsibilities and authorities
of the Director of the Defense Health Agency with respect to the
administration of military medical treatment facilities under this
section, the Secretary of each military department shall maintain
authority over and responsibility for any member of the armed forces
under the jurisdiction of the military department concerned while the
member is being considered by a medical evaluation board or during any
other part of the implementation of the Integrated Disability
Evaluation System of the Department of Defense, or successor system.
``(2) Responsibility of the Secretary of a military department
under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
``(A) Responsibility for administering the morale and
welfare of each member of the armed forces under the
jurisdiction of such Secretary.
``(B) Responsibility for determinations of fitness for
active duty of each such member.
``(C) Complete operational and administrative control of
each such member at every stage of the implementation of the
Integrated Disability Evaluation System, or successor system,
from the beginning of the medical evaluation board to the
conclusion of the physical evaluation board, including the
authority to pause for a reasonable amount of time or
completely withdraw the member from such system if the military
commander with jurisdiction over the member finds that any
policies, procedures, regulations, or other related guidance
has not been followed in the case of the member.''.
(d) Opportunity for Due Process Hearing in the Military Chain of
Command.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
update the policies and procedures applicable to the
implementation of the Integrated Disability Evaluation System
of the Department of Defense, or successor system, to ensure
that appeals made by Wounded Warriors under the jurisdiction of
the Secretary concerned include (if the member demands it) a
full and fair hearing on such determination, to be conducted by
the Secretary concerned.
(2) Characterization of appeal.--An appeal made under
paragraph (1) is separate from and in addition to any appellate
options available to a Wounded Warrior under the Integrated
Disability Evaluation System of the Department of Defense, or
successor system.
(3) Timely manner.--
(A) In general.--Upon request by Wounded Warrior,
the military commander with jurisdiction over the
Wounded Warrior shall process an appeal under paragraph
(1).
(B) Adjudication.--Not later than 90 days after the
initiation by a Wounded Warrior of an appeal under
paragraph (1) the military commander with jurisdiction
over the Wounded Warrior, and every echelon of command
all the way up to the general court-martial convening
authority if the commander denies the appeal, shall
complete adjudication of the appeal.
(e) Briefing.--Not later than February 1, 2024, the Secretary of
Defense shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees a
briefing on the status of the implementation of this section and the
amendments made by this section.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
has the meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10,
United States Code.
(3) Wounded warrior.--The term ``Wounded Warrior'' means a
member of the Armed Forces being processed for potential
medical separation at any point in the Integrated Disability
Evaluation System of the Department of Defense, or successor
system.
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