II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2702 

To require the Secretary of Defense to carry out a program on the provision 

of assistance to certain military families. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 3, 2006 

Mr. ALLARD (for himself and Mr. JOHNSON) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Defense to carry out a program 

on the provision of assistance to certain military families. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Family Assist5 ance Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROGRAM ON ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN MILITARY 

7 FAMILIES. 

8 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Defense 

9 shall carry out a program utilizing non-Federal eligible en10 tities to provide assistance to the families of members of 


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1 the Armed Forces who live more than 180 miles from a 

2 military installation where members of the Armed Forces 

3 on active duty are stationed. 

4 (b) GRANTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under the program, the Sec6 retary shall award grants to eligible entities de7 scribed in subsection (c) for the provision of assist8 ance to military families as described in subsection 

9 (a). 

10 (2) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of 

11 any grant awarded under this section may not ex12 ceed $25,000. 

13 (3) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF GRANTS.—An eligi14 ble entity may not be awarded more than three 

15 grants this section. 

16 (4) APPLICATIONS.—An entity seeking a grant 

17 under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 

18 application therefor containing such information as 

19 the Secretary shall require for purposes of this sec20 tion. 

21 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 

23 an eligible entity is any nonprofit organization ex24 empt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the 

25 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that has the capacity 


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1 to provide assistance to military families as de2 scribed in subsection (a) in a manner that the Sec3 retary considers appropriate for purposes of the pro4 gram. 

5 (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—An application 

6 may not be treated as valid for purposes of this sec7 tion unless the eligible entity submitting the applica8 tion commits to contribute to activities funded by 

9 the grant awarded to the organization under this 

10 section an amount equal to the grant amount which 

11 is derived from non-Federal sources. 

12 (d) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

14 for the review and approval of applications for 

15 grants under this section through a board of review 

16 consisting of five individuals selected by the Sec17 retary from among individuals having the qualifica18 tions described in paragraph (2). 

19 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual selected 

20 for the board of review under paragraph (1) shall 

21 have at least five years of experience in two of the 

22 following areas: 

23 (A) Grant writing. 

24 (B) The operation of nonprofit organiza25 tions identical or similar to eligible entities. 


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1 (C) Military family support assistance pro2 grams. 

3 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining whether 

4 to approve an application for a grant under this sec5 tion, the board of review shall address the following: 

6 (A) Whether the assistance to be provided 

7 to military families using the grant amount is 

8 appropriate for purposes of the program under 

9 this section. 

10 (B) The nature of the commitment under 

11 subsection (c)(2) of the organization submitting 

12 the application. 

13 (e) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving a 

15 grant under this section shall use the grant amount, 

16 and any amounts committed by the eligible entity 

17 under subsection (c)(2), to provide assistance to 

18 military families as described in subsection (a) in the 

19 manner specified in the application for the grant 

20 under this section. 

21 (2) LIMITATION.—Amounts under a grant 

22 under this section may not be used to purchase, 

23 rent, renovate, or construct any facilities. 

24 (f) REPORT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the obligation of any portion of the amount au3 thorized to be appropriated by subsection (i), the 

4 Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense 

5 committees a report on the program under this sec6 tion. 

7 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report shall include the 

8 following: 

9 (A) A description of the procedures imple10 mented by the Secretary for purposes of the 

11 program. 

12 (B) A description of the applications sub13 mitted under the program, including a descrip14 tion of the various types of assistance for mili15 tary families proposed to be provided under 

16 such applications. 

17 (C) A description, current as of the date of 

18 the report, of the activities to be funded by 

19 grants under the program. 

20 (D) A review of the effectiveness of the 

21 board of review under subsection (d). 

22 (E) An assessment, current as of the date 

23 of the report, of the advisability of extending 

24 the program or making it permanent. 


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1 (g) SUNSET.—The program required by this section 

2 shall cease upon the earlier of the following: 

3 (1) The date of the declaration by the President 

4 of the cessation of Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

5 (2) The date that is three years after the first 

6 obligation of funds for the program under this sec7 tion. 

8 (h) CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES DE9 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘congressional defense 

10 committees’’ means— 

11 (1) the Committees on Armed Services and Ap12 propriations of the Senate; and 

13 (2) the Committees on Armed Services and Ap14 propriations of the House of Representatives. 

15 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Department 

17 of Defense for fiscal year 2007, $10,000,000 for the pur18 pose of carrying out the program under this section. 

Æ 


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