Discharge Review Board Accountability Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1975 To require a GAO study on the compliance of discharge review boards with statutory provisions and directives related to liberal consideration of certain conditions, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 14, 2023 Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. KING, and Mr. TILLIS) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To require a GAO study on the compliance of discharge review boards with statutory provisions and directives related to liberal consideration of certain conditions, 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 ‘‘Discharge Review 4 Board Accountability Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:52 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1975.IS S1975 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1975 IS SEC. 2. STUDY ON DISCHARGE REVIEW BOARD COMPLI- 1 ANCE WITH LIBERAL CONSIDERATION RE- 2 QUIREMENT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 4 United States shall conduct a study on the implementation 5 by discharge review boards established under section 1553 6 of title 10, United States Code, of the concept of liberal 7 consideration as required under subsection (d)(3) of such 8 section and under the Kurta memorandum. 9 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study required under sub- 10 section (a) shall include the following elements: 11 (1) An assessment of the implementation of the 12 requirements of section 1553(d)(3) of title 10, 13 United States Code, by discharge review boards, and 14 how the Department of Defense ensures compliance 15 with the requirements. 16 (2) An assessment of the implementation of the 17 guidance outlined in the Kurta memorandum by dis- 18 charge review boards. 19 (3) An assessment of the availability of data on 20 cases considered pursuant to section 1553 of title 21 10, United States Code, where the decision explicitly 22 references liberal consideration, the Hagel memo- 23 randum, or the Kurta memorandum. 24 (4) An assessment of the availability of data on 25 cases considered pursuant to section 1553 of title 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:52 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1975.IS S1975 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1975 IS 10, United States Code, where the decision explicitly 1 references the four-part framework outlined in the 2 Kurta memorandum. 3 (5) An analysis of how the Department of De- 4 fense ensures liberal consideration, as defined in the 5 Kurta memorandum, is actually being employed in 6 cases considered pursuant to section 1553 of title 7 10, United States Code. 8 (6) A description of any barriers, whether or 9 not referenced explicitly in discharge review board 10 decisions, that may prevent discharge review boards 11 from employing liberal consideration. 12 (7) Recommendations for reforms that could 13 enable discharge review boards to better implement 14 liberal consideration. 15 (c) RESULTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 17 shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on 18 any preliminary findings of the study, with a report to 19 follow at a mutually agreed upon date. 20 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 21 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 22 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 23 mittees’’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:52 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1975.IS S1975 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1975 IS (A) the Committee on Armed Services and 1 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen- 2 ate; and 3 (B) the Committee on Armed Services and 4 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 5 House of Representatives. 6 (2) HAGEL MEMORANDUM.—The term ‘‘Hagel 7 memorandum’’ means the September 3, 2014, 8 memorandum from the Secretary of Defense to the 9 Secretaries of the military departments entitled, 10 ‘‘Supplemental Guidance to Military Boards for Cor- 11 rection of Military/Naval Records Considering Dis- 12 charge Upgrade Requests by Veterans Claiming Post 13 Traumatic Stress Disorder’’. 14 (3) KURTA MEMORANDUM.—The term ‘‘Kurta 15 memorandum’’ means the August 25, 2017, memo- 16 randum from the Office of the Under Secretary of 17 Defense for Personnel and Readiness to the Secre- 18 taries of the military departments entitled, ‘‘Clari- 19 fying Guidance to Military Discharge Review Boards 20 and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records 21 Considering Requests by Veterans for Modification 22 of their Discharge Due to Mental Health Conditions, 23 Sexual Assault, or Sexual Harassment’’. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:52 Jul 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1975.IS S1975 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB