II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 32 

To enhance the benefits and protections for members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces who are called or ordered to extended active 

duty, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24, 2005 

Mr. DAYTON (for himself, Mr. REID, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. CORZINE, and Mr. JOHNSON) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To enhance the benefits and protections for members of 

the reserve components of the Armed Forces who are 

called or ordered to extended active duty, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Guard and 

4 Reserve Bill of Rights Act of 2005’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PERIODS OF DEPLOYMENTS OF RESERVES OVER6 SEAS. 

7 (a) UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND DEPLOY8 MENTS.— 
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1 (1) LIMITATION.—During a period when there 

2 is in effect a policy of assigning units or members 

3 of one or more of the active components of the 

4 Armed Forces to duty in the area of responsibility 

5 of the United States Central Command for a speci6 fied period of time of not less than one year, the 

7 Secretary of Defense shall provide that the length of 

8 such an assignment in the case of members of the 

9 reserve components of the Armed Forces may not 

10 exceed the length of such period for the cor11 responding active component reduced by the period 

12 of time between the date of entry of the reserve com13 ponent members onto active duty and the date of the 

14 deployment of such members for such assignment. 

15 (2) TRANSITION.—Paragraph (1) applies to 

16 members of reserve components assigned to duty in 

17 the area of responsibility of the United States Cen18 tral Command on or after the date of the enactment 

19 of this Act and to such members assigned to such 

20 duty before such date who as of the date of the en21 actment of this Act have more than 90 days remain22 ing in such assignment. 

23 (b) COMMUNICATION OF LENGTHS OF DEPLOYMENT

24 PERIODS TO RESERVES IN OPERATION IRAQI FREE25 DOM.— 
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1 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following 

2 findings: 

3 (A) Members of all components of the 

4 Armed Forces, active and reserve, exhibit a re5 markable commitment and willingness to serve 

6 their country in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 

7 other United States military efforts around the 

8 world and, in doing so, frequently face grave 

9 risks and difficulties. 

10 (B) While the members of the Armed 

11 Forces have clearly and consistently dem12 onstrated their dedication to duty, much uncer13 tainty has arisen among them about the lengths 

14 of their deployments and when they will be re15 turned to their loved ones. This confusion im16 pairs our troops’ morale and places undue 

17 strain on their families and their civilian em18 ployers. 

19 (C) Fairness to the men and women of the 

20 Armed Forces deployed overseas requires that 

21 the Department of Defense— 

22 (i) have clear policies regarding 

23 lengths of deployment periods; and 
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1 (ii) communicate these policies and 

2 other deployment-related information to 

3 them and their families. 

4 (D) While many military units were de5 ployed months before Operation Iraqi Freedom 

6 was launched on March 19, 2003, the Depart7 ment of Defense did not announce a policy 

8 about the length of deployments until August 

9 2003. 

10 (E) Even after the Department of Defense 

11 issued its so-called ‘‘one year boots-on-the12 ground’’ policy regarding lengths of deployment 

13 periods, many of the members of units deployed 

14 overseas in Operation Iraqi Freedom learned 

15 shortly before their scheduled return dates that 

16 their deployments would be extended for 

17 months beyond the one-year period provided 

18 under that policy. 

19 (2) REPORT.— 

20 (A) REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT.—Not 

21 later than March 1, 2005, the Secretary of De22 fense shall submit to the Committees on Armed 

23 Services of the Senate and the House of Rep24 resentatives a report on Department of Defense 

25 policies governing the length of deployment pe-
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1 riods applicable to members of reserve compo2 nents of the Armed Forces in connection with 

3 Operation Iraqi Freedom, and on the commu4 nication between the Department of Defense 

5 and reserve component personnel and their 

6 families regarding the length of the deployment 

7 periods. 

8 (B) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—In 

9 preparing the report under this section the Sec10 retary shall consult with the Chairman and 

11 other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 

12 with such other officials as the Secretary con13 siders appropriate. 

14 (C) CONTENT.—The report under this 

15 paragraph shall contain a discussion of the 

16 matters described in subparagraph (A), includ17 ing the following matters: 

18 (i) The process by which the Depart19 ment of Defense determined its policy re20 garding the length of deployment periods. 

21 (ii) The reason that no such policy 

22 was in place before Operation Iraqi Free23 dom began. 

24 (iii) A comparison of the policy during 

25 Operation Iraqi Freedom with Department 
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1 of Defense deployment policies that applied 

2 to previous contingency operations. 

3 (iv) The timeliness of the process for 

4 notifying reserve component units for acti5 vation. 

6 (v) The process for communicating 

7 with activated reserve component members 

8 and their families about demobilization 

9 schedules. 

10 (vi) The family support programs pro11 vided by the National Guard and other re12 serve components for families of activated 

13 Reserves. 

14 (vii) An assessment of lessons learned 

15 about how the increased operations tempo 

16 of the National Guard and other reserve 

17 components can be expected to affect read18 iness, recruitment and retention, civilian 

19 employers of Reserves, and equipment and 

20 supply resources of the National Guard 

21 and the other reserve components. 

22 (D) MATTERS FOR PARTICULAR EMPHA23 SIS.—In the discussion of the matters included 

24 in the report under this subsection, the Sec-
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1 retary of Defense shall place particular empha2 sis on— 

3 (i) lessons learned, including defi4 ciencies identified; and 

5 (ii) near-term and long-term correc6 tive actions to address the identified defi7 ciencies. 

8 (E) FORM OF REPORT.—The report shall 

9 be submitted in unclassified form, but may in10 clude a classified annex. 

11 SEC. 3. MILITARY PAY. 

12 (a) CORRECTION OF PAY PROBLEMS FOR ACTIVATED

13 RESERVE COMPONENT PERSONNEL.— 

14 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR SENIOR LEVEL AC15 TION.—The Secretary of the Army shall designate a 

16 senior level official of the Department of the Army 

17 to implement— 

18 (A) the recommendations for executive ac19 tion set forth in the report of the Comptroller 

20 General of the United States entitled ‘‘Military 

21 Pay, Army National Guard Personnel Mobilized 

22 to Active Duty Experienced Significant Pay 

23 Problems’’, dated November 2003; and 

24 (B) the recommendations for executive ac25 tion set forth in the report of the Comptroller 
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1 General of the United States entitled ‘‘Military 

2 Pay, Army Reserve Soldiers Mobilized to Active 

3 Duty Experienced Significant Pay Problems’’, 

4 dated August 2004. 

5 (2) SUPERVISION BY COMPTROLLER OF DE6 PARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—The official designated 

7 under paragraph (1) shall report directly to, and be 

8 subject to the direction of, the Under Secretary of 

9 Defense (Comptroller) regarding performance of the 

10 duties that the official is designated to carry out 

11 under such paragraph. 

12 (3) TERMINATION OF REQUIREMENT.—The 

13 designation under paragraph (1) shall terminate 

14 upon the certification of the Under Secretary of De15 fense (Comptroller) to Congress that all rec16 ommendations referred to in such paragraph have 

17 been implemented. 

18 (b) REENLISTMENT BONUS FOR SELECTED RE19 SERVE.— 

20 (1) EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY.—Subsection (a)(1) 

21 of section 308b of title 37, United States Code, is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘16 years’’ and inserting ‘‘17 

23 years’’. 

24 (2) INCREASED MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—Sub25 section (b) of such section is amended by striking 
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1 ‘‘(b) BONUS AMOUNT; PAYMENT.—(1) The amount 

2 of a bonus under this section may not exceed—’’ 

3 and all that follows through the end of paragraph 

4 (1) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(b) BONUS AMOUNT.—The amount of a bonus 

6 under this section may not exceed $15,000.’’. 

7 (3) OPTION TO RECEIVE LUMP-SUM PAY8 MENT.—Section 308b of title 37, United States 

9 Code, is further amended— 

10 (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

11 subsection (c); and 

12 (B) in paragraph (2) of subsection (b), by 

13 striking ‘‘(2) Bonus payments’’ and all that fol14 lows through ‘‘If the bonus’’ in the second sen15 tence and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT IN LUMP SUM OR INSTALLMENTS.— 

17 (1) A bonus payable to a member under this section shall 

18 be paid, upon the election of the member, in one lump 

19 sum or in partial payments under paragraph (2). 

20 ‘‘(2) If the bonus’’. 

21 (4) REDESIGNATION OF PROVISIONS.—Such 

22 section is further amended— 

23 (A) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), 

24 and (f), as subsections (e), (f), and (g), respec25 tively; and 
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1 (B) in subsection (c)(3)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘(3) In the case of’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘(d) PERSONNEL IN CER4 TAIN CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS.—In the 

5 case of’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(B) 

7 or’’. 

8 SEC. 4. TRICARE FOR RESERVE COMPONENT PERSONNEL. 

9 (a) EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY OF READY RESERVE

10 MEMBERS UNDER TRICARE PROGRAM.— 

11 (1) UNCONDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY.—Subsection 

12 (a) of section 1076b of title 10, United States Code, 

13 is amended by striking ‘‘is eligible, subject to sub14 section (h), to enroll in TRICARE’’ and all that fol15 lows through ‘‘an employer-sponsored health benefits 

16 plan’’ and inserting ‘‘, except for a member who is 

17 enrolled or is eligible to enroll in a health benefits 

18 plan under chapter 89 of title 5, is eligible to enroll 

19 in TRICARE, subject to subsection (h)’’. 

20 (2) PERMANENT AUTHORITY.—Subsection (l) of 

21 such section is repealed. 

22 (3) CONFORMING REPEAL OF OBSOLETE PROVI23 SIONS.—Such section is further amended— 

24 (A) by striking subsections (i) and (j); and 
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1 (B) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub2 section (i). 

3 (b) CONTINUATION OF NON-TRICARE HEALTH

4 BENEFITS PLAN COVERAGE FOR CERTAIN RESERVES

5 CALLED OR ORDERED TO ACTIVE DUTY AND THEIR DE6 PENDENTS.— 

7 (1) REQUIRED CONTINUATION.— 

8 (A) REQUIREMENT.—Chapter 55 of title 

9 10, United States Code, is amended by insert10 ing after section 1078a the following new sec11 tion: 

12 ‘‘§ 1078b. Continuation of non-TRICARE health bene13 fits plan coverage for dependents of cer14 tain Reserves called or ordered to active 

15 duty 

16 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS.—The Secretary con17 cerned shall pay the applicable premium to continue in 

18 force any qualified health benefits plan coverage for the 

19 members of the family of an eligible reserve component 

20 member for the benefits coverage continuation period if 

21 timely elected by the member in accordance with regula22 tions prescribed under subsection (j). 

23 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE MEMBER; FAMILY MEMBERS.—(1) A 

24 member of a reserve component is eligible for payment of 

25 the applicable premium for continuation of qualified 
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1 health benefits plan coverage under subsection (a) while 

2 serving on active duty pursuant to a call or order issued 

3 under a provision of law referred to in section 

4 101(a)(13)(B) of this title during a war or national emer5 gency declared by the President or Congress. 

6 ‘‘(2) For the purposes of this section, the members 

7 of the family of an eligible reserve component member in8 clude only the member’s dependents described in subpara9 graphs (A), (D), and (I) of section 1072(2) of this title. 

10 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN COV11 ERAGE.—For the purposes of this section, health benefits 

12 plan coverage for the members of the family of a reserve 

13 component member called or ordered to active duty is 

14 qualified health benefits plan coverage if— 

15 ‘‘(1) the coverage was in force on the date on 

16 which the Secretary notified the reserve component 

17 member that issuance of the call or order was pend18 ing or, if no such notification was provided, the date 

19 of the call or order; 

20 ‘‘(2) on such date, the coverage applied to the 

21 reserve component member and members of the fam22 ily of the reserve component member; and 

23 ‘‘(3) the coverage has not lapsed. 

24 ‘‘(d) APPLICABLE PREMIUM.—The applicable pre25 mium payable under this section for continuation of health 
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1 benefits plan coverage for the family members of a reserve 

2 component member is the amount of the premium payable 

3 by the member for the coverage of the family members. 

4 ‘‘(e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The total amount that the 

5 Department of Defense may pay for the applicable pre6 mium of a health benefits plan for the family members 

7 of a reserve component member under this section in a 

8 fiscal year may not exceed the amount determined by mul9 tiplying— 

10 ‘‘(1) the sum of one plus the number of the 

11 family members covered by the health benefits plan, 

12 by 

13 ‘‘(2) the per capita cost of providing TRICARE 

14 coverage and benefits for dependents under this 

15 chapter for such fiscal year, as determined by the 

16 Secretary of Defense. 

17 ‘‘(f) BENEFITS COVERAGE CONTINUATION PE18 RIOD.—The benefits coverage continuation period under 

19 this section for qualified health benefits plan coverage for 

20 the family members of an eligible reserve component mem21 ber called or ordered to active duty is the period that— 

22 ‘‘(1) begins on the date of the call or order; and 

23 ‘‘(2) ends on the earlier of— 

24 ‘‘(A) the date on which the reserve compo25 nent member’s eligibility for transitional health 
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1 care under section 1145(a) of this title termi2 nates under paragraph (3) of such section; or 

3 ‘‘(B) the date on which the reserve compo4 nent member elects to terminate the continued 

5 qualified health benefits plan coverage of the 

6 member’s family members. 

7 ‘‘(g) EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF COBRA COV8 ERAGE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law— 

9 ‘‘(1) any period of coverage under a COBRA 

10 continuation provision (as defined in section 

11 9832(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) 

12 for an eligible reserve component member under this 

13 section shall be deemed to be equal to the benefits 

14 coverage continuation period for such member under 

15 this section; and 

16 ‘‘(2) with respect to the election of any period 

17 of coverage under a COBRA continuation provision 

18 (as so defined), rules similar to the rules under sec19 tion 4980B(f)(5)(C) of such Code shall apply. 

20 ‘‘(h) NONDUPLICATION OF BENEFITS.—A member of 

21 the family of a reserve component member who is eligible 

22 for benefits under qualified health benefits plan coverage 

23 paid on behalf of the reserve component member by the 

24 Secretary concerned under this section is not eligible for 
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1 benefits under the TRICARE program during a period of 

2 the coverage for which so paid. 

3 ‘‘(i) REVOCABILITY OF ELECTION.—A reserve com4 ponent member who makes an election under subsection 

5 (a) may revoke the election. Upon such a revocation, the 

6 member’s family members shall become eligible for bene7 fits under the TRICARE program as provided for under 

8 this chapter. 

9 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

10 prescribe regulations for carrying out this section. The 

11 regulations shall include such requirements for making an 

12 election of payment of applicable premiums as the Sec13 retary considers appropriate.’’. 

14 (B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

15 sections at the beginning of such chapter is 

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to 

17 section 1078a the following new item: 

‘‘1078b. Continuation of non-TRICARE health benefits plan coverage for dependents of certain Reserves called or ordered to active duty.’’. 

18 (2) APPLICABILITY.—Section 1078b of title 10, 

19 United States Code (as added by paragraph (1)), 

20 shall apply with respect to calls or orders of mem21 bers of reserve components of the Armed Forces to 

22 active duty as described in subsection (b) of such 

23 section, that are issued by the Secretary of a mili24 tary department before, on, or after the date of the 
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1 enactment of this Act, but only with respect to quali2 fied health benefits plan coverage (as described in 

3 subsection (c) of such section) that is in effect on or 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 5. CHILD CARE FOR CHILDREN OF MEMBERS OF 

6 ARMED FORCES ON ACTIVE DUTY FOR OPER7 ATION ENDURING FREEDOM OR OPERATION 

8 IRAQI FREEDOM. 

9 (a) CHILD CARE FOR CHILDREN WITHOUT ACCESS

10 TO MILITARY CHILD CARE.— 

11 (1) AUTHORITY.—In any case where the chil12 dren of a covered member of the Armed Forces are 

13 geographically dispersed and do not have practical 

14 access to a military child development center, the 

15 Secretary of Defense may, to the extent funds are 

16 available for such purpose, provide such funds as are 

17 necessary to permit the member’s family to secure 

18 access for such children to State licensed child care 

19 and development programs and activities in the pri20 vate sector that are similar in scope and quality to 

21 the child care and development programs and activi22 ties the Secretary would otherwise provide access to 

23 under subchapter II of chapter 88 of title 10, United 

24 States Code, and other applicable provisions of law. 
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1 (2) PROCEDURES.—Funds may be provided 

2 under paragraph (1) in accordance with the provi3 sions of section 1798 of title 10, United States 

4 Code, or by such other mechanism as the Secretary 

5 considers appropriate. 

6 (3) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

7 in regulations priorities for the allocation of funds 

8 for the provision of access to child care under para9 graph (1) in circumstances where funds are inad10 equate to provide all children described in that para11 graph with access to child care as described in that 

12 paragraph. 

13 (b) PRESERVATION OF SERVICES AND PROGRAMS.— 

14 The Secretary shall provide for the attendance and partici15 pation of children in military child development centers 

16 and child care and development programs and activities 

17 under subsection (a) in a manner that preserves the scope 

18 and quality of child care and development programs and 

19 activities otherwise provided by the Secretary. 

20 (c) FUNDING.—Amounts otherwise available to the 

21 Department of Defense and the military departments 

22 under this Act may be available for purposes of providing 

23 access to child care under subsection (a). 

24 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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1 (1) COVERED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED

2 FORCES.—The term ‘‘covered members of the Armed 

3 Forces’’ means members of the Armed Forces on ac4 tive duty, including members of the Reserves who 

5 are called or ordered to active duty under a provi6 sion of law referred to in section 101(a)(13)(B) of 

7 title 10, United States Code, for Operation Endur8 ing Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

9 (2) MILITARY CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER.— 

10 The term ‘‘military child development center’’ has 

11 the meaning given such term in section 1800(1) of 

12 title 10, United States Code. 

13 SEC. 6. USERRA IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS. 

14 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR REGULATIONS.—Subsections 

15 (a) and (b)(1) of section 4331 of title 38, United States 

16 Code, are amended by striking ‘‘may prescribe’’ and in17 serting ‘‘shall prescribe’’. 

18 (b) CLARIFICATION OF RIGHT TO MERIT PAY IN19 CREASES.—The regulations prescribed for the implemen20 tation of chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, under 

21 section 4331 of such title shall include regulations that 

22 clarify that the entitlement of persons returning to em23 ployment under such chapter to receive pay increases 

24 under merit pay systems of employers may not be denied 

25 on the basis of lack of work performance evaluations for 
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1 periods of absence for active duty in the uniformed serv2 ices. 

3 SEC. 7. IMPROVED EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE BENEFITS 

4 FOR MEMBERS OF THE SELECTED RESERVE. 

5 (a) INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF BASIC EDUCATIONAL

6 ASSISTANCE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 16131(b) of title 10, 

8 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(b) Except as provided in subsections (d) through 

10 (f), each educational assistance program established under 

11 subsection (a) shall provide for payment by the Secretary 

12 concerned, through the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to 

13 each person entitled to educational assistance under this 

14 chapter who is pursuing a program of education of an edu15 cational assistance allowance at the following monthly 

16 rates: 

17 ‘‘(1) For such a program of education pursued 

18 on a full-time basis, at the monthly rate equal to the 

19 applicable percentage (as defined in paragraph (3)) 

20 of the rate that applies for the month under section 

21 3015(a)(1) of title 38. 

22 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), for such 

23 a program of education pursued on less than a full24 time basis, at an appropriately reduced rate, as de-
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1 termined under regulations which the Secretaries 

2 concerned shall prescribe. 

3 ‘‘(B) No payment may be made to a person for 

4 less than half-time pursuit of such a program of 

5 education if tuition assistance is otherwise available 

6 to the person for such pursuit from the military de7 partment concerned. 

8 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘applicable 

9 percentage’ means, with respect to months occurring 

10 during— 

11 ‘‘(A) fiscal year 2005, 33 percent; 

12 ‘‘(B) fiscal year 2006, 37 percent; 

13 ‘‘(C) fiscal year 2007, 41 percent; 

14 ‘‘(D) fiscal year 2008, 45 percent; and 

15 ‘‘(E) fiscal year 2009, and each subsequent 

16 fiscal year, 50 percent.’’. 

17 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

18 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1, 

19 2005, and shall apply with respect to educational as20 sistance allowances under section 16131(b) of such 

21 title paid for months after September 2005. 

22 (b) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR

23 MEMBERS OF THE SELECTED RESERVE HAVING SERVED

24 ON ACTIVE DUTY FOR A PERIOD OF 24 NON-CONSECU-
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1 TIVE MONTHS UNDER CHAPTER 30 OF TITLE 38, 

2 UNITED STATES CODE.— 

3 (1) CREDIT FOR 24 MONTHS OF ACTIVE DUTY

4 SERVICE OVER A PERIOD OF 5 YEARS.—Subsection 

5 3012(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 

6 in paragraphs (1)(A)(i), (1)(B)(i), and (1)(C)(iii)(I) 

7 by striking ‘‘two years of continuous active duty’’ 

8 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘a cumulative 

9 period of 24 months during any 5-year period’’. 

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) 

11 of section 3012 of such title is amended in para12 graph (1) by striking ‘‘during such two years’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘at any time during such 5-year period’’. 

14 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

15 by this subsection shall apply on or after October 1, 

16 2005. 

17 SEC. 8. REDUCTION IN AGE FOR RECEIPT OF MILITARY RE18 TIRED PAY FOR NONREGULAR SERVICE. 

19 (a) REDUCTION IN AGE.—Section 12731(a)(1) of 

20 title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘at 

21 least 60 years of age’’ and inserting ‘‘at least 55 years 

22 of age’’. 

23 (b) APPLICATION TO EXISTING PROVISIONS OF LAW

24 OR POLICY.—With respect to any provision of law, or of 

25 any policy, regulation, or directive of the executive branch, 
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1 that refers to a member or former member of the uni2 formed services as being eligible for, or entitled to, retired 

3 pay under chapter 1223 of title 10, United States Code, 

4 but for the fact that the member or former member is 

5 under 60 years of age, such provision shall be carried out 

6 with respect to that member or former member by sub7 stituting for the reference to being 60 years of age a ref8 erence to the age in effect for qualification for such retired 

9 pay under section 12731(a) of title 10, United States 

10 Code, as amended by subsection (a). 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

12 subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the first 

13 month beginning on or after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act and shall apply to retired pay payable for that 

15 month and subsequent months. 

16 SEC. 9. DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PER17 SONNEL AND READINESS (RESERVE AF18 FAIRS). 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION.— 

20 (1) POSITION AND DUTIES.—Chapter 4 of title 

21 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

22 after section 136a the following new section: 
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1 ‘‘§ 136b. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Per2 sonnel and Readiness (Reserve Affairs) 

3 ‘‘(a) There is a Deputy Under Secretary of Defense 

4 for Personnel and Readiness (Reserve Affairs), appointed 

5 from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice 

6 and consent of the Senate. 

7 ‘‘(b) The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Per8 sonnel and Readiness (Reserve Affairs) shall have as his 

9 principal duty the overall supervision of reserve component 

10 affairs of the Department of Defense.’’. 

11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec12 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

13 by inserting after the item relating to section 136a 

14 the following new item: 

‘‘136b. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (Reserve Affairs).’’. 

15 (b) EXECUTIVE LEVEL IV.—Section 5315 of title 5, 

16 United States Code, is amended by inserting after ‘‘Dep17 uty Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readi18 ness.’’ the following: 

19 ‘‘Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Per20 sonnel and Readiness (Reserve Affairs).’’. 

21 (c) ELIMINATION OF POSITION OF ASSISTANT SEC22 RETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RESERVE AFFAIRS.— 
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1 (1) REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT FOR POSI2 TION.—Subsection (b) of section 138 of title 10, 

3 United States Code, is amended— 

4 (A) by striking paragraph (2); and 

5 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), 

6 and (5), as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), re7 spectively. 

8 (2) REDUCTION IN TOTAL NUMBER OF ASSIST9 ANT SECRETARIES OF DEFENSE.— 

10 (A) AUTHORIZED NUMBER.—Subsection 

11 (a) of such section is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘nine’’ and inserting ‘‘eight’’. 

13 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

14 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘(9)’’ after ‘‘Assistant Secretaries of 

16 Defense’’ and inserting ‘‘(8)’’. 

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 subsection (c) shall take effect on the date on which a 

19 person is first appointed as Deputy Under Secretary of 

20 Defense for Personnel and Readiness (Reserve Affairs). 

Æ