Restore Honor to Service Members Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3517 To direct the Secretary of Defense to review the discharge characterization of former members of the Armed Forces who were discharged by reason of the sexual orientation of the member, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 26, 2019 Mr. POCAN (for himself, Ms. HILL of California, Mr. BEYER, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. TITUS, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. PAL- LONE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. HIMES, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. WELCH, Mr. SOTO, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. MOORE, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. FRANKEL, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. RUSH, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MENG, Mr. KIND, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. KILMER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. RYAN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. CASE, Mr. HECK, Ms. JACK- SON LEE, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. WILD, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. COX of California, Ms. OMAR, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. CRIST, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. BASS, Ms. PORTER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. ROSE of New York, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. SARBANES, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. STANTON, and Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3517 IH A BILL To direct the Secretary of Defense to review the discharge characterization of former members of the Armed Forces who were discharged by reason of the sexual orientation of the member, 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 ‘‘Restore Honor to Serv- 4 ice Members Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. REVIEW OF DISCHARGE CHARACTERIZATION. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this section, 7 the appropriate discharge boards— 8 (1) shall review the discharge characterization 9 of covered members at the request of the covered 10 member; and 11 (2) if such characterization is any characteriza- 12 tion except honorable, may change such character- 13 ization to honorable. 14 (b) CRITERIA.—In changing the discharge character- 15 ization of a covered member to honorable under subsection 16 (a)(2), the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that such 17 changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across 18 the military departments using the following criteria: 19 (1) The original discharge must be based on 20 Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (in this Act referred to as 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3517 IH ‘‘DADT’’) or a similar policy in place prior to the 1 enactment of DADT. 2 (2) Such discharge characterization shall be so 3 changed if, with respect to the original discharge, 4 there were no aggravating circumstances, such as 5 misconduct, that would have independently led to a 6 discharge characterization that was any character- 7 ization except honorable. For purposes of this para- 8 graph, such aggravating circumstances may not in- 9 clude— 10 (A) an offense under section 925 of title 11 10, United States Code (article 125 of the Uni- 12 form Code of Military Justice), committed by a 13 covered member against a person of the same 14 sex with the consent of such person; or 15 (B) statements, consensual sexual conduct, 16 or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation 17 or identity, or the disclosure of such state- 18 ments, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at 19 the time of discharge but after the date of such 20 discharge became permitted. 21 (3) When requesting a review, a covered mem- 22 ber, or the member’s representative, shall be re- 23 quired to provide either— 24 (A) documents consisting of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3517 IH (i) a copy of the DD–214 form of the 1 member; 2 (ii) a personal affidavit of the cir- 3 cumstances surrounding the discharge; and 4 (iii) any relevant records pertaining to 5 the discharge; or 6 (B) an affidavit certifying that the mem- 7 ber, or the member’s representative, does not 8 have the documents specified in subparagraph 9 (A). 10 (4) If a covered member provides an affidavit 11 described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3)— 12 (A) the appropriate discharge board shall 13 make every effort to locate the documents speci- 14 fied in subparagraph (A) of such paragraph 15 within the records of the Department of De- 16 fense; and 17 (B) the absence of such documents may 18 not be considered a reason to deny a change of 19 the discharge characterization under subsection 20 (a)(2). 21 (c) REQUEST FOR REVIEW.—The appropriate dis- 22 charge board shall ensure the mechanism by which covered 23 members, or their representative, may request to have the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3517 IH discharge characterization of the covered member reviewed 1 under this section is simple and straightforward. 2 (d) REVIEW.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—After a request has been 4 made under subsection (c), the appropriate dis- 5 charge board shall review all relevant laws, records 6 of oral testimony previously taken, service records, 7 or any other relevant information regarding the dis- 8 charge characterization of the covered member. 9 (2) ADDITIONAL MATERIALS.—If additional 10 materials are necessary for the review, the appro- 11 priate discharge board— 12 (A) may request additional information 13 from the covered member or the member’s rep- 14 resentative, in writing, and specifically detailing 15 what is being requested; and 16 (B) shall be responsible for obtaining a 17 copy of the necessary files of the covered mem- 18 ber from the member, or when applicable, from 19 the Department of Defense. 20 (e) CHANGE OF CHARACTERIZATION.—The appro- 21 priate discharge board shall change the discharge charac- 22 terization of a covered member to honorable if such change 23 is determined to be appropriate after a review is conducted 24 under subsection (d) pursuant to the criteria under sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3517 IH section (b). A covered member, or the member’s represent- 1 ative, may appeal a decision by the appropriate discharge 2 board to not change the discharge characterization by 3 using the regular appeals process of the board. 4 (f) CHANGE OF RECORDS.—For each covered mem- 5 ber whose discharge characterization is changed under 6 subsection (e), or for each covered member who was hon- 7 orably discharged but whose DD–214 form reflects the 8 sexual orientation of the member, the Secretary of Defense 9 shall reissue to the member or the member’s representa- 10 tive a revised DD–214 form that reflects the following: 11 (1) For each covered member discharged, the 12 Separation Code, Reentry Code, Narrative Code, and 13 Separation Authority shall not reflect the sexual ori- 14 entation of the member and shall be placed under 15 secretarial authority. Any other similar indication of 16 the sexual orientation or reason for discharge shall 17 be removed or changed accordingly to be consistent 18 with this paragraph. 19 (2) For each covered member whose discharge 20 occurred prior to the creation of general secretarial 21 authority, the sections of the DD–214 form referred 22 to paragraph (1) shall be changed to similarly reflect 23 a universal authority with codes, authorities, and 24 language applicable at the time of discharge. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3517 IH (g) STATUS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each covered member whose 2 discharge characterization is changed under sub- 3 section (e) shall be treated without regard to the 4 original discharge characterization of the member, 5 including for purposes of— 6 (A) benefits provided by the Federal Gov- 7 ernment to an individual by reason of service in 8 the Armed Forces; and 9 (B) all recognitions and honors that the 10 Secretary of Defense provides to members of 11 the Armed Forces. 12 (2) REINSTATEMENT.—In carrying out para- 13 graph (1)(B), the Secretary shall reinstate all rec- 14 ognitions and honors of a covered member whose 15 discharge characterization is changed under sub- 16 section (e) that the Secretary withheld because of 17 the original discharge characterization of the mem- 18 ber. 19 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE OF CHANGE OF CHARAC- 20 TERIZATION FOR VETERANS BENEFITS.—For pur- 21 poses of the provision of benefits to which veterans 22 are entitled under the laws administered by the Sec- 23 retary of Veterans Affairs to a covered member 24 whose discharge characterization is changed under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3517 IH subsection (e), the date of discharge of the member 1 from the Armed Forces shall be deemed to be the 2 effective date of the change of discharge character- 3 ization under that subsection. 4 (4) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub- 5 section shall be construed to authorize any benefit to 6 a covered member in connection with the change of 7 discharge characterization of the member under sub- 8 section (e) for any period before the effective date of 9 the change of discharge characterization. 10 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) The term ‘‘appropriate discharge board’’ 12 means the boards for correction of military records 13 under section 1552 of title 10, United States Code, 14 or the discharge review boards under section 1553 15 of such title, as the case may be. 16 (2) The term ‘‘covered member’’ means any 17 former member of the Armed Forces who was dis- 18 charged from the Armed Forces because of the sex- 19 ual orientation of the member. 20 (3) The term ‘‘discharge characterization’’ 21 means the characterization under which a member 22 of the Armed Forces is discharged or released, in- 23 cluding ‘‘dishonorable’’, ‘‘general’’, ‘‘other than hon- 24 orable’’, and ‘‘honorable’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3517 IH (4) The term ‘‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’’ means 1 section 654 of title 10, United States Code, as in ef- 2 fect before such section was repealed pursuant to the 3 Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (Public 4 Law 111–321). 5 (5) The term ‘‘representative’’ means the sur- 6 viving spouse, next of kin, or legal representative of 7 a covered member. 8 SEC. 3. TIGER TEAM FOR OUTREACH TO FORMER MEM- 9 BERS. 10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 11 gress that— 12 (1) the mission of the Department of Defense 13 is to provide the military forces needed to deter war 14 and to protect the security of the United States; 15 (2) expanding outreach to veterans impacted by 16 DADT or a similar policy prior to the enactment of 17 DADT is important to closing a period of history 18 harmful to the creed of integrity, respect, and honor 19 of the military; 20 (3) the Department is responsible for providing 21 for the review of a veteran’s military record before 22 the appropriate discharge review board or, when 23 more than 15 years has passed, board of correction 24 for military or naval records; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3517 IH (4) the Secretary of Defense should, wherever 1 possible, coordinate and conduct outreach to im- 2 pacted veterans through the veterans community 3 and networks, including through the Department of 4 Veterans Affairs and veterans service organizations, 5 to ensure that veterans understand the review proc- 6 esses that are available to them for upgrading mili- 7 tary records. 8 (b) TIGER TEAM.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 11 of Defense shall establish a team (commonly known 12 as a ‘‘tiger team’’ and referred to in this section as 13 the ‘‘Tiger Team’’) responsible for conducting out- 14 reach to build awareness among former members of 15 the Armed Forces of the process established pursu- 16 ant to section 2 for the review of discharge charac- 17 terizations by appropriate discharge boards. The 18 Tiger Team shall consist of appropriate personnel of 19 the Department of Defense assigned to the Tiger 20 Team by the Secretary for purposes of this section. 21 (2) TIGER TEAM LEADER.—One of the persons 22 assigned to the Tiger Team under paragraph (1) 23 shall be a senior-level officer or employee of the De- 24 partment who shall serve as the lead official of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3517 IH Tiger Team (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Tiger 1 Team Leader’’) and who shall be accountable for the 2 activities of the Tiger Team under this section. 3 (3) REPORT ON COMPOSITION.—Not later than 4 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 5 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report set- 6 ting forth the names of the personnel of the Depart- 7 ment assigned to the Tiger Team pursuant to [Text truncated for display. 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