Sergeant Daniel Somers Network of Support Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1467 To require a pilot program on information sharing between the Department of Defense and designated relatives and friends of members of the Armed Forces regarding the experiences and challenges of military serv- ice, particularly during and after overseas deployments, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 14, 2019 Ms. SINEMA (for herself, Mr. TILLIS, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To require a pilot program on information sharing between the Department of Defense and designated relatives and friends of members of the Armed Forces regarding the experiences and challenges of military service, particu- larly during and after overseas deployments, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sergeant Daniel 4 Somers Network of Support Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1467.IS S1467 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1467 IS SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON INFORMATION SHARING BE- 1 TWEEN DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND DES- 2 IGNATED RELATIVES AND FRIENDS OF MEM- 3 BERS OF THE ARMED FORCES REGARDING 4 THE EXPERIENCES AND CHALLENGES OF 5 MILITARY SERVICE. 6 (a) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 9 retary of Defense shall seek to enter into an agree- 10 ment with the American Red Cross to carry out a 11 pilot program under which— 12 (A) the American Red Cross— 13 (i) encourages a member of the 14 Armed Forces, upon the enlistment or ap- 15 pointment of such member, to designate up 16 to 15 persons to whom information regard- 17 ing the military service of such member 18 shall be disseminated using contact infor- 19 mation obtained under paragraph (5); and 20 (ii) provides such persons, within 30 21 days after the date on which such persons 22 are designated under clause (i), the option 23 to elect to receive such information regard- 24 ing military service; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1467.IS S1467 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1467 IS (B) the Secretary disseminates, not less 1 frequently than quarterly, such information to 2 such persons who elect to receive such informa- 3 tion under subparagraph (A)(ii). 4 (2) TYPES OF INFORMATION.—The types of in- 5 formation to be disseminated by the Secretary to 6 persons who elect to receive information under the 7 pilot program shall include information regarding— 8 (A) aspects of daily life and routine experi- 9 enced by members of the Armed Forces; 10 (B) the challenges and stresses of military 11 service, particularly during and after deploy- 12 ment as part of a contingency operation; 13 (C) the services available to members of 14 the Armed Forces and the dependents of such 15 members to cope with the experiences and chal- 16 lenges of military service; 17 (D) benefits administered by the Secretary 18 for members of the Armed Forces and the de- 19 pendents of such members; 20 (E) a toll-free telephone number through 21 which such persons who elect to receive infor- 22 mation under the pilot program may request in- 23 formation regarding the program; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1467.IS S1467 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1467 IS (F) such other information as the Sec- 1 retary, in consultation with members of the 2 Armed Forces and such persons who elect to re- 3 ceive information under the pilot program, de- 4 termines to be appropriate. 5 (3) PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.—In carrying 6 out the pilot program under paragraph (1), the Sec- 7 retary may not disseminate information under para- 8 graph (2) in violation of laws and regulations per- 9 taining to the privacy of members of the Armed 10 Forces, including requirements pursuant to— 11 (A) section 552a of title 5, United States 12 Code; and 13 (B) the Health Insurance Portability and 14 Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104– 15 191). 16 (4) NOTICE AND MODIFICATIONS.—In carrying 17 out the pilot program under paragraph (1), the Sec- 18 retary shall, with respect to a member of the Armed 19 Forces— 20 (A) ensure that such member is notified of 21 the ability to modify designations made by such 22 member under paragraph (1)(A); and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1467.IS S1467 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1467 IS (B) upon the request of a member, author- 1 ize such member to modify such designations at 2 any time. 3 (5) CONTACT INFORMATION.—In making a des- 4 ignation under the pilot program, a member of the 5 Armed Forces shall provide necessary contact infor- 6 mation, specifically including an email address, to 7 facilitate the dissemination of information regarding 8 the military service of the member. 9 (6) OPT-OUT OF PROGRAM.—In carrying out 10 the pilot program under paragraph (1), the Sec- 11 retary shall, with respect to a person who has elect- 12 ed to receive information under such pilot program, 13 cease disseminating such information to that person 14 upon request of such person. 15 (b) SURVEY AND REPORT ON PILOT PROGRAM.— 16 (1) SURVEY.—Not later than two years after 17 the date on which the pilot program commences, the 18 Secretary, in consultation with the American Red 19 Cross, shall administer a survey to persons who 20 elected to receive information under the pilot pro- 21 gram for the purpose of receiving feedback regarding 22 the quality of information disseminated under this 23 section, including whether such information appro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1467.IS S1467 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1467 IS priately reflects the military career progression of 1 members of the Armed Forces. 2 (2) REPORT.—Not later than three years after 3 the date on which the pilot program commences, the 4 Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense 5 committees a report on the pilot program which in- 6 cludes— 7 (A) the results of the survey administered 8 under paragraph (1); 9 (B) a determination as to whether the pilot 10 program should be made permanent; and 11 (C) recommendations as to modifications 12 necessary to improve the program if made per- 13 manent. 14 (3) CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES 15 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘congres- 16 sional defense committees’’ has the meaning given 17 that term in section 101 of title 10, United States 18 Code. 19 (c) TERMINATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The pilot 20 program shall terminate upon submission of the report re- 21 quired by subsection (b)(2). 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 May 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1467.IS S1467 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS