Diversity in Defense Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8099 To amend titles 10 and 14, United States Code, to include certain diversity- related requirements for the Armed Forces and the Coast Guard, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 25, 2020 Mr. BROWN of Maryland (for himself, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. TURNER, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. KIM) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Com- mittees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend titles 10 and 14, United States Code, to include certain diversity-related requirements for the Armed Forces and the Coast Guard, 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 ‘‘Diversity in Defense 4 Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8099 IH SEC. 2. CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICERS. 1 (a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title 10, United 3 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 4 132a the following new section: 5 ‘‘§ 133. Chief Diversity Officer 6 ‘‘(a) CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER.—(1) There is a 7 Chief Diversity Officer of the Department of Defense, ap- 8 pointed from civilian life by the President, by and with 9 the advice and consent of the Senate. 10 ‘‘(2) The Chief Diversity Officer shall be appointed 11 from among persons who have an extensive management 12 or business background and experience with diversity and 13 inclusion. A person may not be appointed as Chief Diver- 14 sity Officer within seven years after relief from active duty 15 as a commissioned officer of a regular component of an 16 armed force. 17 ‘‘(b) POWERS AND DUTIES.—The Chief Diversity Of- 18 ficer— 19 ‘‘(1) is responsible for policy, oversight, guid- 20 ance, and coordination for all matters of the Depart- 21 ment of Defense related to diversity and inclusion, 22 including matters in connection with the armed 23 forces and members of the armed forces and the ci- 24 vilian employees of the Department; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8099 IH ‘‘(2) exercises authority to direct the Secre- 1 taries of the military departments and the heads of 2 all other elements of the Department with regard to 3 matters for which the Chief Diversity Officer has re- 4 sponsibility under this section; 5 ‘‘(3) exercises authority, direction, and control 6 over the Office of People Analytics, or any successor 7 organization; 8 ‘‘(4) shall establish and maintain a Department 9 of Defense strategic plan that publicly states a di- 10 versity definition, vision, and goals for the Depart- 11 ment; 12 ‘‘(5) shall define a set of strategic metrics that 13 are directly linked to key organizational priorities 14 and goals, actionable, and actively used to imple- 15 ment the strategic plan; 16 ‘‘(6) shall establish training in diversity dynam- 17 ics and training in practices for leading diverse 18 groups effectively; 19 ‘‘(7) shall establish and maintain a strategic 20 plan for diverse participation by institutions of high- 21 er education (including Historically Black colleges 22 and universities and minority-serving institutions), 23 Federally funded research and development centers, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8099 IH and individuals in defense-related research, develop- 1 ment, testing, and evaluation activities; 2 ‘‘(8) shall establish and maintain a strategic 3 plan for outreach to, and recruiting from, untapped 4 locations and underrepresented demographic groups; 5 ‘‘(9) shall conduct regular, rigorous evaluations 6 and assessments of diversity within the Department; 7 and 8 ‘‘(10) shall perform such additional duties and 9 exercise such powers as the Secretary of Defense 10 may prescribe. 11 ‘‘(c) PRECEDENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF DE- 12 FENSE.—(1) The Chief Diversity Officer shall report di- 13 rectly to the Secretary of Defense in the performance of 14 duties under this section. 15 ‘‘(2) The Chief Diversity Officer takes precedence in 16 the Department of Defense after the Chief Management 17 Officer of the Department of Defense. 18 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Historically Black colleges and 20 universities’ means part B institutions (as that term 21 is defined in section 322 of the Higher Education 22 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 23 ‘‘(2) The term ‘minority-serving institutions’ 24 means institutions described in section 371(a) of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8099 IH Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1 1067q(a)).’’. 2 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS ON PRECE- 3 DENCE IN OSD.—Chapter 4 of such title is further 4 amended— 5 (A) in section 131(b)— 6 (i) by redesignated paragraphs (3) 7 through (9) as paragraphs (4) through 8 (10), respectively; and 9 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (2) 10 the following new paragraph (3): 11 ‘‘(3) The Chief Diversity Officer of the Depart- 12 ment of Defense.’’; 13 (B) in section 133a(c)— 14 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and 15 the Chief Information Officer of the De- 16 partment of Defense’’ and inserting ‘‘the 17 Chief Information Officer of the Depart- 18 ment of Defense, and the Chief Diversity 19 Officer of the Department of Defense’’; 20 and 21 (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting 22 ‘‘the Chief Diversity Officer,’’ after ‘‘the 23 Chief Management Officer,’’; and 24 (C) in section 133b(c)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8099 IH (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and 1 the Chief Information Officer of the De- 2 partment of Defense’’ and inserting ‘‘the 3 Chief Information Officer of the Depart- 4 ment of Defense, and the Chief Diversity 5 Officer of the Department of Defense’’; 6 and 7 (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting 8 ‘‘the Chief Diversity Officer,’’ after ‘‘the 9 Chief Management Officer,’’. 10 (3) JOINT RESPONSIBILITY WITH USD(P&R).— 11 Section 136(b) of such title is amended by inserting 12 ‘‘the Chief Diversity Officer and’’ after ‘‘control of 13 the Secretary of Defense,’’. 14 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 15 tions at the beginning of chapter 4 of such title is 16 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec- 17 tion 132a the following new item: 18 ‘‘133. Chief Diversity Officer.’’. (b) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 703 of title 10, 20 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 21 section 7015 the following new section: 22 ‘‘§ 7015a. Chief Diversity Officer 23 ‘‘(a) CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER.—(1) There is a 24 Chief Diversity Officer of the Department of the Army, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8099 IH appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with 1 the advice and consent of the Senate. 2 ‘‘(2) The Chief Diversity Officer shall be appointed 3 from among persons who have an extensive management 4 or business background and experience with diversity and 5 inclusion, 6 ‘‘(b) POWERS AND DUTIES.—The Chief Diversity Of- 7 ficer— 8 ‘‘(1) is responsible for policy, oversight, guid- 9 ance, and coordination for all matters of the Depart- 10 ment of the Army related to diversity and inclusion, 11 including matters in connection with the Army and 12 members of the Army and the civilian employees of 13 the Department; 14 ‘‘(2) exercises authority to direct the heads of 15 all other elements of the Department with regard to 16 matters for which the Chief Diversity Officer has re- 17 sponsibility under this section; 18 ‘‘(3) shall establish training in diversity dynam- 19 ics and training in practices for leading diverse 20 groups effectively; 21 ‘‘(4) shall conduct regular, rigorous evaluations 22 and assessments of diversity within the Department; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8099 IH ‘‘(5) shall perform such additional duties and 1 exercise such powers as the Secretary of the Army 2 may prescribe.’’. 3 (2) PRECEDENCE IN OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF 4 THE ARMY.—Section 7014(b) of such title is amend- 5 ed— 6 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 7 through (8) as paragraphs (3) through (9), re- 8 spectively; and 9 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 10 following new paragraph (2): 11 ‘‘(2) The Chief Diversity Officer of the Depart- 12 ment of the Army.’’. 13 (3) DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AMONG RE- 14 SPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF THE 15 ARMY.—Section 7014(c)(1) of such title is amended 16 by adding at the end the following new subpara- 17 graph: 18 ‘‘(H) Diversity and inclusion.’’. 19 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 20 tions at the beginning of chapter 703 of such title 21 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 22 section 7015 the following new item: 23 ‘‘7015a. Chief Diversity Officer.’’. (c) DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8099 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 803 of title 10, 1 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 2 section 8015 the following new section: 3 ‘‘§ 8015a. Chief Diversity Officer 4 ‘‘(a) CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER.—(1) There is a 5 Chief Diversity Officer of the Department of the Navy, 6 appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with 7 the advice and consent of the Senate. 8 ‘‘(2) The Chief Diversity Officer shall be appointed 9 from among persons who have an extensive management 10 or business background and experience with diversity and 11 inclusion. 12 ‘‘(b) POWERS AND DUTIES.—The Chief Diversity Of- 13 ficer— 14 ‘‘(1) is responsible for policy, oversight, guid- 15 ance, and coordination for all matters of the Depart- 16 ment of the Navy related to diversity and inclusion, 17 including matters in connection with the Navy and 18 the Marine Corps and members of the Navy and the 19 Marine Corps and the civilian employees of the De- 20 partment; 21 ‘‘(2) exercises authority to direct the heads of 22 all other elements of the Department with regard to 23 matters for which the Chief Diversity Officer has re- 24 sponsibility under this section; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8099 IH ‘‘(3) shall establish training in diversity dynam- 1 ics and training in practices for leading diverse 2 groups effectively; 3 ‘‘(4) shall conduct regular, rigorous evaluations 4 and assessments of diversity within the Department; 5 and 6 ‘‘(5) shall perform such additional duties and 7 exercise such powers as the Secretary of the Navy 8 may prescribe.’’. 9 (2) PRECEDENCE IN OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF 10 THE NAVY.—Section 8014(b) of such title is amend- 11 ed— 12 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 13 through (8) as paragraphs (3) through (9), re- 14 spectively; and 15 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 16 following new paragraph (2): 17 ‘‘(2) The Chief Diversity Officer of the Depart- 18 ment of the Navy.’’. 19 (3) DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AMONG RE- 20 SPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF THE 21 NAVY.—Section 8014(c)(1) of such title is amended 22 by adding at the end the following new subpara- 23 graph: 24 ‘‘(H) Diversity and inclusion.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8099 IH (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 1 tions at the beginning of chapter 803 of such title 2 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 3 section 8015 the following new item: 4 ‘‘8015a. Chief Diversity Officer.’’. (d) DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 903 of title 10, 6 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 7 section 9015 the following new section: 8 ‘‘§ 9015a. Chief Diversity Officer 9 ‘‘(a) CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER.—(1) There is a 10 Chief Diversity Officer of the Department of the Air 11 Force, appointed from civilian life by the President, by 12 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 13 ‘‘(2) The Chief Diversity Officer shall be appointed 14 from among persons who have an extensive management 15 or business background and experience with diversity and 16 inclusion. 17 ‘‘(b) POWERS AND DUTIES.—The Chief Diversity Of- 18 ficer— 19 ‘‘(1) is responsible for policy, oversight, guid- 20 ance, and coordination for all matters of the Depart- 21 ment of the Air Force related to diversity and inclu- 22 sion, including matters in connection with the Air 23 Force and the Space Force and members of the Air 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:40 Sep 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8099.IH H8099 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8099 IH Force and the Space Force and the civilian employ- 1 ees of the Department; 2 ‘‘(2) exercises authority to direct the heads of 3 all other elements of the Department with regard to 4 matters for which the Chief Diversity Officer has re- 5 sponsibility under this section; 6 ‘‘(3) shall establish training in diversity dynam- 7 ics and training in practices for leading diverse 8 groups effectively; 9 ‘‘(4) shall conduct regular, rigorous evaluations 10 and assessments of diversity within the Department; 11 and 12 ‘‘(5) shall perform such additional duties and 13 exercise such powers as the Secretary of the Air 14 Force may prescribe.’’. 15 (2) PRECEDENCE IN OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF 16 THE AIR FORCE.—Section 9014(b) of such title is 17 amended— 18 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 19 through (7) as paragraphs (3) through (8), re- 20 spectively; and 21 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 22 following new paragraph (2): 23 ‘‘( [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]