I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7789 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize military judges and 

military magistrates to issue military court protective orders, and to 

direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a military-civilian task force 

on domestic violence and related information collection activities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2020 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself and Mr. CONNOLLY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize military 

judges and military magistrates to issue military court 

protective orders, and to direct the Secretary of Defense 

to establish a military-civilian task force on domestic 

violence and related information collection activities. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. AUTHORITY OF MILITARY JUDGES AND MILI2 TARY MAGISTRATES TO ISSUE MILITARY 

3 COURT PROTECTIVE ORDERS. 

4 (a) JUDGE-ISSUED MILITARY COURT PROTECTIVE

5 ORDERS.—Chapter 80 of title 10, United States Code, is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following new section. 

7 ‘‘§ 1567b. Authority of military judges and military 

8 magistrates to issue military court pro9 tective orders 

10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE MILITARY COURT PRO11 TECTIVE ORDERS.—The President shall prescribe regula12 tions authorizing military judges and military magistrates 

13 to issue protective orders in accordance with this section. 

14 A protective order issued in accordance with this section 

15 shall be known as a ‘military court protective order’. 

16 Under the regulations prescribed by the President, mili17 tary judges and military magistrates shall have exclusive 

18 jurisdiction over the issuance, appeal, renewal, and termi19 nation of military court protective orders and such orders 

20 may not be issued, appealed, renewed, or terminated by 

21 State, local, territorial, or tribal courts. 

22 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT BY CIVILIAN AUTHORITIES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In prescribing regulations 

24 for military court protective orders, the President 

25 shall seek to ensure that the protective orders are 

26 issued in a form and manner that is enforceable by 


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1 State, local, territorial, and tribal civilian law en2 forcement authorities. 

3 ‘‘(2) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—Any military 

4 court protective order, should be accorded full faith 

5 and credit by the court of a State, local, territorial, 

6 or tribal jurisdiction (the enforcing jurisdiction) and 

7 enforced by the court and law enforcement personnel 

8 of that jurisdiction as if it were the order of the en9 forcing jurisdiction. 

10 ‘‘(3) RECIPROCITY AGREEMENTS.—Consistent 

11 with paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary of De12 fense shall seek to enter into reciprocity agreements 

13 with State, local, territorial, and tribal civilian law 

14 enforcement authorities under which— 

15 ‘‘(A) such authorities agree to enforce mili16 tary court protective orders; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the Secretary agrees to enforce pro18 tective orders issued by such authorities that 

19 are consistent with section 2265(b) of title 18. 

20 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE AND FORM OF ISSUANCE.—A military 

21 court protective order may be issued for the purpose of 

22 protecting a victim of an alleged sex or domestic violence 

23 offense, or a family member or associate of the victim, 

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1 form Code of Military Justice) who is alleged to have com2 mitted such an offense. 

3 ‘‘(d) TIMING AND MANNER OF ISSUANCE.—A mili4 tary court protective order may be issued— 

5 ‘‘(1) by a military magistrate, before referral of 

6 charges and specifications to court-martial for trial, 

7 at the request of— 

8 ‘‘(A) a victim of an alleged sex or domestic 

9 violence offense; or 

10 ‘‘(B) a Special Victims’ Counsel or other 

11 qualified counsel acting on behalf of the victim; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(2) by a military judge, after referral of 

14 charges and specifications to court-martial for trial, 

15 at the request of qualified counsel, which may in16 clude a Special Victims’ Counsel acting on behalf of 

17 the victim or trial counsel acting on behalf of the 

18 prosecution. 

19 ‘‘(e) DURATION AND RENEWAL OF PROTECTIVE

20 ORDER.— 

21 ‘‘(1) DURATION.—A military court protective 

22 order shall be issued for an initial period of thirty 

23 days and may be reissued for one or more additional 

24 periods of thirty days in accordance with paragraph 

25 (2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXPIRATION AND RENEWAL.—Before the 

2 expiration of any 30-day period during which a mili3 tary court protective order is in effect, a military 

4 judge or military magistrate shall review the order 

5 to determine whether the order will terminate at the 

6 expiration of such period or be reissued for an addi7 tional period of 30 days. 

8 ‘‘(3) NOTICE TO PROTECTED PERSONS.—If a 

9 military judge or military magistrate determines 

10 under paragraph (2) that a military court protective 

11 order will terminate, the judge or magistrate con12 cerned shall provide to each person protected by the 

13 order reasonable, timely, and accurate notification of 

14 the termination. 

15 ‘‘(f) REVIEW OF MAGISTRATE-ISSUED ORDERS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) REVIEW.—A military judge, at the request 

17 of the person subject to a military court protective 

18 order that was issued by a military magistrate, may 

19 review the order to determine if the order was prop20 erly issued by the magistrate. 

21 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS OF REVIEW.—A military 

22 judge who reviews an order under paragraph (1) 

23 shall terminate the order if the judge determines 

24 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the military magistrate’s decision to 

2 issue the order was an abuse of discretion, and 

3 there is not sufficient information presented to 

4 the military judge to justify the order; or 

5 ‘‘(B) information not presented to the mili6 tary magistrate establishes that the military 

7 court protective order should be terminated. 

8 ‘‘(g) DUE PROCESS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PROTECTION OF DUE PROCESS.—Except 

10 as provided in paragraph (2), a protective order au11 thorized under subsection (a) may be issued only 

12 after reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard, 

13 directly or through counsel, is given to the person 

14 against whom the order is sought sufficient to pro15 tect that person’s right to due process. 

16 ‘‘(2) EMERGENCY ORDERS.—A protective order 

17 on an emergency basis may be issued on an ex parte 

18 basis under such rules and limitations as the Presi19 dent shall prescribe. In the case of ex parte orders, 

20 notice and opportunity to be heard must be provided 

21 within a reasonable time after the order is issued, 

22 sufficient to protect the respondent’s due process 

23 rights. 

24 ‘‘(h) RIGHTS OF VICTIM.—The victim of an alleged 

25 sex or domestic violence offense who seeks a military court 


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1 protective order has, in addition to any rights provided 

2 under section 806b (article 6b), the following rights with 

3 respect to any proceeding involving the protective order: 

4 ‘‘(1) The right to reasonable, accurate, and 

5 timely notice of the proceeding and of any change in 

6 the status of the protective order resulting from the 

7 proceeding. 

8 ‘‘(2) The right to be reasonably heard at the 

9 proceeding. 

10 ‘‘(3) The right to appear in person, with or 

11 without counsel, at the proceeding. 

12 ‘‘(4) The right be represented by qualified 

13 counsel in connection with the proceeding, which 

14 may include a Special Victims’ Counsel. 

15 ‘‘(5) The reasonable right to confer with a rep16 resentative of the command of the accused and 

17 counsel representing the government at the pro18 ceeding, as applicable. 

19 ‘‘(6) The right to submit a written statement, 

20 directly or through counsel, for consideration by the 

21 military judge or military magistrate presiding over 

22 the proceeding. 

23 ‘‘(i) RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS TO FIREARMS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

25 provision of law— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a military court protective order 

2 issued on an ex parte basis shall restrain a per3 son from possessing, receiving, or otherwise ac4 cessing a firearm; and 

5 ‘‘(B) a military court protective order 

6 issued after the person to be subject to the 

7 order has received notice and opportunity to be 

8 heard on the order, shall restrain such person 

9 from possessing, receiving, or otherwise access10 ing a firearm in accordance with section 922 of 

11 title 18. 

12 ‘‘(2) NOTICE TO ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Not 

13 later than 72 hours after the issuance of an order 

14 described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense 

15 shall submit to the Attorney General a record of the 

16 order. 

17 ‘‘(j) TREATMENT AS LAWFUL ORDER.—A military 

18 court protective order shall be treated as a lawful order 

19 for purposes of the application of section 892 (article 92) 

20 and a violation of such an order shall be punishable under 

21 such section (article). 

22 ‘‘(k) COMMAND MATTERS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) INCLUSION IN PERSONNEL FILE.—Any 

24 military court protective order against a member 


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1 shall be placed and retained in the military per2 sonnel file of the member. 

3 ‘‘(2) NOTICE TO CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT

4 OF ISSUANCE.—Any military court protective order 

5 against a member shall be treated as a military pro6 tective order for purposes of section 1567a including 

7 for purposes of mandatory notification of issuance to 

8 civilian law enforcement as required by that section. 

9 ‘‘(l) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 

10 Nothing in this section may be construed as prohibiting— 

11 ‘‘(1) a commanding officer from issuing or en12 forcing any otherwise lawful order in the nature of 

13 a protective order to or against members of the offi14 cer’s command; 

15 ‘‘(2) pretrial restraint in accordance with Rule 

16 for Courts-Martial 304 (as set forth in the Manual 

17 for Courts-Martial, 2019 edition, or any successor 

18 rule); or 

19 ‘‘(3) pretrial confinement in accordance with 

20 Rule for Courts-Martial 305 (as set forth in the 

21 Manual for Courts-Martial, 2019 edition, or any suc22 cessor rule). 

23 ‘‘(m) DELIVERY TO CERTAIN PERSONS.—A physical 

24 and electronic copy of any military court protective order 


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1 shall be provided, as soon as practicable after issuance, 

2 to the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) The person or persons protected by the 

4 protective order or to the guardian of such a person 

5 if such person is under the age of 18 years. 

6 ‘‘(2) The person subject to the protective order. 

7 ‘‘(3) To such commanding officer in the chain 

8 of command of the person subject to the protective 

9 order as the President shall prescribe for purposes 

10 of this section. 

11 ‘‘(n) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) CONTACT.—The term ‘contact’ includes 

13 contact in person or through a third party, or 

14 through gifts. 

15 ‘‘(2) COMMUNICATION.—The term ‘communica16 tion’ includes communication in person or through a 

17 third party, and by telephone or in writing by letter, 

18 data fax, or other electronic means. 

19 ‘‘(3) COVERED SEX OR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

20 OFFENSE.—The term ‘covered sex or domestic vio21 lence offense’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) an alleged sex-related offense (as de23 fined in section 1044e(h)); or 

24 ‘‘(B) an alleged offense of domestic vio25 lence under section 928b of this title (article 


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1 128b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) 

2 or an attempt to commit such an offense that 

3 is punishable under section 880 of this title (ar4 ticle 80 of the Uniform Code of Military Jus5 tice). 

6 ‘‘(4) MILITARY JUDGE AND MILITARY MAG7 ISTRATE.—The terms ‘military judge’ and ‘military 

8 magistrate’ mean a commissioned officer of the 

9 armed forces who is a member of the bar of a Fed10 eral court or a member of the bar of the highest 

11 court of a State and who is certified to be qualified, 

12 by reason of education, training, experience, and ju13 dicial temperament, for duty as a military judge or 

14 magistrate by the Judge Advocate General of the 

15 armed force of which the officer is a member. 

16 ‘‘(5) PROTECTIVE ORDER.—The term ‘protec17 tive order’ means an order that— 

18 ‘‘(A) restrains a person from harassing, 

19 stalking, threatening, or otherwise contacting or 

20 communicating with a victim of an alleged sex 

21 or domestic violence offense, or a family mem22 ber or associate of the victim, or engaging in 

23 other conduct that would place such other per24 son in reasonable fear of bodily injury to any 

25 such other person; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) by its terms, explicitly prohibits— 

2 ‘‘(i) the use, attempted use, or threat3 ened use of physical force by the person 

4 against a victim of an alleged sex or do5 mestic violence offense, or a family mem6 ber or associate of the victim, that would 

7 reasonably be expected to cause bodily in8 jury; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the initiation by the person re10 strained of any contact or communication 

11 with such other person; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) actions described by both clauses 

13 (i) and (ii). 

14 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL VICTIMS’ COUNSEL.—The term 

15 ‘Special Victims Counsel’ means a Special Victims’ 

16 Counsel described in section 1044e and includes a 

17 Victims’ Legal Counsel of the Navy.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

19 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘1567b. Authority of military judges and military magistrates to issue military 

court protective orders.’’. 

21 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President shall pre22 scribe regulations implementing section 1567b of title 10, 

23 United States Code, not later than one year after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 2. MILITARY-CIVILIAN TASK FORCE ON DOMESTIC VI2 OLENCE AND RELATED INFORMATION COL3 LECTION ACTIVITIES. 

4 (a) MILITARY-CIVILIAN TASK FORCE ON DOMESTIC

5 VIOLENCE.— 

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of De7 fense shall establish a military-civilian task force on 

8 domestic violence (in this section, referred to as the 

9 ‘‘Task Force’’). 

10 (2) DUTIES.—The duties of the Task Force 

11 shall be to analyze and develop recommendations, 

12 for implementation by the Secretary, with respect to 

13 each of the following: 

14 (A) The risk of domestic violence at var15 ious stages of military service, including identi16 fication of— 

17 (i) stages at which there is a higher 

18 than average risk of domestic violence; and 

19 (ii) stages at which the implementa20 tion of domestic violence prevention strate21 gies may have the greatest preventive ef22 fect. 

23 (B) The use and dissemination of domestic 

24 violence prevention resources throughout the 

25 stages of military service including providing 


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1 new servicemembers with training in domestic 

2 violence prevention. 

3 (C) How to best target prevention re4 sources to address those with a higher risk of 

5 domestic violence. 

6 (D) The implementation of strategies to 

7 prevent domestic violence by training, edu8 cating, and assigning prevention-related respon9 sibilities to— 

10 (i) commanders; 

11 (ii) medical, behavioral, and mental 

12 health service providers; 

13 (iii) family advocacy representatives; 

14 (iv) Military Family Life Consultants; 

15 and 

16 (v) other individuals and entities with 

17 responsibilities that may be relevant to ad18 dressing domestic violence. 

19 (E) The efficacy of providing survivors of 

20 domestic violence with the option to request ex21 pedited transfers, and the effects of such trans22 fers. 

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1 tional Crime Information Center and the effi2 cacy of such procedures. 

3 (G) The effects of domestic violence on— 

4 (i) housing for military families; 

5 (ii) the education of military depend6 ent children; 

7 (iii) servicemember work assignments 

8 and careers; and 

9 (iv) the health of servicemembers and 

10 their families, including short-term and 

11 long-term health effects and effects on 

12 mental health. 

13 (H) Age-appropriate training and edu14 cation programs for students attending schools 

15 operated by the Department of Defense Edu16 cation Activity that are designed to assist such 

17 students in learning positive relationship behav18 iors in families and with intimate partners. 

19 (I) The potential effects of requiring mili20 tary protective orders to be issued by a military 

21 judge and whether such a requirement would 

22 increase the enforcement of military protective 

23 orders by civilian law enforcement agencies out24 side the boundaries of military installations. 


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1 (J) Whether prevention of domestic vio2 lence would be enhanced by raising the disposi3 tion authority for offenses of domestic violence 

4 to an officer who is— 

5 (i) in the grade of 0–6 or above; 

6 (ii) in the chain of command of the 

7 accused; and 

8 (iii) authorized by chapter 47 of title 

9 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code 

10 of Military Justice) to convene special 

11 courts-martial. 

12 (K) Consideration of any other matters 

13 that the Task Force determines to be relevant 

14 to— 

15 (i) decreasing the frequency of domes16 tic violence committed by or upon members 

17 of the covered Armed Forces and their de18 pendents; and 

19 (ii) reducing the severity of such vio20 lence. 

21 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be 

22 composed of the following members: 

23 (A) One or more representatives of family 

24 advocacy programs of the Department of De25 fense. 


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1 (B) One or more representatives of the De2 fense Advisory Committee on Women in the 

3 Services. 

4 (C) One or more medical personnel of the 

5 Department of Defense. 

6 (D) One or more Judge Advocates Gen7 eral. 

8 (E) One or more military police or other 

9 law enforcement personnel of the covered 

10 Armed Forces. 

11 (F) One or more military commanders. 

12 (G) One or more individuals whose duties 

13 include planning, executing, and evaluating 

14 training of the covered Armed Forces. 

15 (H) Civilians who are experts on domestic 

16 violence or who provide services relating to do17 mestic violence, including— 

18 (i) not fewer than two representatives 

19 from the national domestic violence re20 source center and the special issue re21 source centers referred to in section 310 of 

22 the Family Violence Prevention and Serv23 ices Act (42 U.S.C. 10410); 


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1 (ii) not fewer than two representatives 

2 from national domestic violence organiza3 tions; 

4 (iii) not fewer than two representa5 tives from State domestic violence and sex6 ual assault coalitions; and 

7 (iv) not fewer than two domestic vio8 lence service providers who provide services 

9 in communities located near military in10 stallations. 

11 (I) One or more representatives who are 

12 subject matter experts on— 

13 (i) scientific and other research relat14 ing to domestic violence; and 

15 (ii) science-based strategies for the 

16 prevention, intervention, and response to 

17 domestic violence. 

18 (J) Civilian law enforcement personnel. 

19 (K) One or more representatives from the 

20 Office on Violence Against Women of the De21 partment of Justice. 

22 (L) One or more representatives of the 

23 Family Violence Prevention and Services Pro24 gram of the Department of Health and Human 

25 Services. 


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1 (M) One or more representatives from the 

2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

3 (4) APPOINTMENT BY SECRETARY OF DE4 FENSE.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of De6 fense shall appoint the members of the Task 

7 Force specified in subparagraphs (A) through 

8 (M) of paragraph (3). 

9 (B) CONSULTATION.— 

10 (i) CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY

11 GENERAL.—In appointing members under 

12 subparagraph (K) of paragraph 3, the Sec13 retary of Defense shall consult with the At14 torney General. 

15 (ii) CONSULTATION WITH SECRETARY

16 OF HHS.—In appointing members under 

17 subparagraphs (L) and (M) of such para18 graph, the Secretary shall consult with the 

19 Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

20 (C) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN PER21 SONNEL.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 

22 members appointed by the Secretary under this 

23 subparagraph include— 

24 (i) representatives of the Office of the 

25 Secretary of Defense; 


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1 (ii) general and flag officers; 

2 (iii) noncommissioned officers; and 

3 (iv) other enlisted personnel of the 

4 covered Armed Forces. 

5 (5) TOTAL NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—The total 

6 number of members appointed to the Task Force 

7 shall be not more than 25. 

8 (6) CHAIRPERSON.— 

9 (A) NOMINEE LIST.—On an annual basis, 

10 the Task Force shall submit to the Secretary a 

11 list of members of the Task Force who may be 

12 considered for the position of chairperson of the 

13 Task Force. 

14 (B) SELECTION.—From the list submitted 

15 to the Secretary under subparagraph (A) for 

16 each year, the Secretary of Defense shall des17 ignate one member of the Task Force to serve 

18 as the chairperson of the Task Force. 

19 (C) TERM.—The chairperson designated 

20 by the Secretary under subparagraph (B) shall 

21 serve for a term of one year and may serve for 

22 additional terms of one year if redesignated as 

23 the chairperson by the Secretary under such 

24 subparagraph. 


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1 (7) MEETINGS.—The first meeting of the Task 

2 Force shall convene not later than 180 days after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. Thereafter, 

4 the task Force shall meet in plenary session not less 

5 frequently than once annually. 

6 (8) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

7 Each member of the Task Force shall serve without 

8 compensation (other than the compensation to which 

9 such member may be entitled as a member of the 

10 covered Armed Forces or an officer or employee of 

11 the United States, as the case may be), but shall be 

12 allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

13 subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of 

14 agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

15 United States Code, while away from the member’s 

16 home or regular places of business in the perform17 ance of services for the Task Force. 

18 (9) SITE VISITS.—In the carrying out the du19 ties described in paragraph (2), members of the 

20 Task Force shall— 

21 (A) on an annual basis, visit one or more 

22 military installations outside the United States; 

23 and 


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1 (B) on a semiannual basis, visit one or 

2 more military installations within the United 

3 States. 

4 (10) OVERSIGHT AND ADMINISTRATION.—The 

5 Secretary of Defense shall designate an appropriate 

6 organization within the Office of the Secretary of 

7 Defense to— 

8 (A) provide oversight of the Task Force; 

9 (B) provide the Task Force with the per10 sonnel, facilities, and other administrative sup11 port that is necessary for the performance of 

12 the Task Force’s duties; and 

13 (C) on a rotating basis, direct the Sec14 retary of each military department to— 

15 (i) coordinate visits of the Task Force 

16 to military installations; and 

17 (ii) provide administrative, logistical, 

18 and other support for the meetings of the 

19 Task Force. 

20 (11) REPORTS.— 

21 (A) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.— 

22 (i) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 

23 one year after the date on which the mem24 bers of the Task Force are appointed 

25 under paragraph (3), the Task Force shall 


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1 submit to the Secretary of Defense rec2 ommendations with respect to each matter 

3 described in paragraph (2). 

4 (ii) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—After 

5 submitting the initial report under sub6 paragraph (A), the Task Force shall, from 

7 time to time, submit to the Secretary of 

8 Defense such analyses and recommenda9 tions as the Task Force considers appro10 priate to improve the effectiveness of the 

11 covered Armed Forces in responding to 

12 and preventing domestic violence. 

13 (B) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—On an an14 nual basis until the date on which the Task 

15 Force terminates under paragraph (12), the 

16 Task Force shall submit to Congress a report 

17 that includes— 

18 (i) a description of any improvements 

19 in the response of the covered Armed 

20 Forces to domestic violence over the pre21 ceding year; 

22 (ii) an explanation of any pending re23 search on domestic violence that may be 

24 relevant to domestic violence involving 


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1 members of the covered Armed Forces; 

2 and 

3 (iii) such analyses and recommenda4 tions as the Task Force considers appro5 priate to improve the effectiveness of the 

6 covered Armed Forces in responding to 

7 and preventing domestic violence. 

8 (12) TERMINATION.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (B), the Task Force shall termi11 nate on the date that is five years after the 

12 date of the first meeting of the Task Force. 

13 (B) CONTINUATION.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

15 (ii), the Secretary of Defense may continue 

16 the Task Force for a period of up to two 

17 years after the termination date applicable 

18 under subparagraph (A) if the Secretary 

19 determines that continuation of the Task 

20 Force is advisable and appropriate. 

21 (ii) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—If the 

22 Secretary determines to continue the Task 

23 Force under clause (i), not later than 90 

24 days before the termination date applicable 

25 under subparagraph (A) and annually 


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1 thereafter until the new date of the termi2 nation of the Task Force, the Secretary 

3 shall submit to the Committees on Armed 

4 Services of the Senate and the House of 

5 Representatives a notice describing the 

6 reasons for the continuation and con7 firming the new termination date. 

8 (13) IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDA9 TIONS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

11 subparagraph (B), not later than 180 days 

12 after the date on which the Secretary of De13 fense receives the initial report of the Task 

14 Force under paragraph (11)(A)(i), the Sec15 retary shall, in consultation with the Task 

16 Force, implement the recommendations of the 

17 Task Force with respect to each matter de18 scribed in paragraph (2). 

19 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Defense 

20 may waive the requirement under subparagraph 

21 (A) with respect to a recommendation of the 

22 Task force by submitting to the Committees on 

23 Armed Services of the Senate and the House of 

24 Representatives a written notification setting 


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1 forth the reasons for the Secretary’s decision 

2 not to implement the recommendation. 

3 (b) INFORMATION COLLECTION AND REPORTING.— 

4 (1) INFORMATION COLLECTION.— 

5 (A) REGULAR INFORMATION COLLEC6 TION.—Using the mechanism developed under 

7 subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Defense 

8 shall regularly collect information to measure 

9 the prevalence of domestic violence involving 

10 members of the covered Armed Forces, their in11 timate partners, and immediate family mem12 bers. 

13 (B) MECHANISM TO MEASURE DOMESTIC

14 VIOLENCE.—The Secretary of Defense, in co15 ordination with the Centers for Disease Control 

16 and civilian organizations with expertise in con17 ducting informational surveys, shall develop a 

18 mechanism to carry out the information collec19 tion required under subparagraph (A). 

20 (2) ANNUAL REPORT ON DOMESTIC VIO21 LENCE.— 

22 (A) REPORT REQUIRED.—On an annual 

23 basis, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to 

24 the congressional defense committees a report 


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•HR 7789 IH

1 on domestic violence in the covered Armed 

2 Forces. 

3 (B) ELEMENTS.—The report required 

4 under subparagraph (A) shall include, with re5 spect to the year covered by the report, the fol6 lowing: 

7 (i) Based on the information collected 

8 under paragraph (1), an assessment of the 

9 prevalence of domestic violence involving 

10 members of the covered Armed Forces, 

11 their intimate partners, and immediate 

12 family members. 

13 (ii) The number of convictions under 

14 section 928b of title 10, United States 

15 Code (article 128b of the Uniform Code of 

16 Military Justice). 

17 (iii) The recidivism rate for members 

18 of the covered Armed Forces convicted of 

19 domestic violence offenses. 

20 (iv) The number of instances in which 

21 a member of the covered Armed Forces re22 ceived an administrative discharge as a re23 sult of the member’s involvement in a do24 mestic violence incident. 


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•HR 7789 IH

1 (v) The number of instances in which 

2 a member of the covered Armed Forces 

3 was prohibited from possessing firearms as 

4 a result of the member’s conviction for a 

5 domestic violence offense. 

6 (vi) Of the incidents described in 

7 clause (v), the number of instances in 

8 which the member received a waiver of 

9 such prohibition or was otherwise allowed 

10 to access firearms for duty purposes. 

11 (vii) An explanation of the status of 

12 data sharing between the Department of 

13 Defense and civilian law enforcement agen14 cies on matters relating to domestic vio15 lence. 

16 (c) COVERED ARMED FORCES DEFINED.—In this 

17 section, the term ‘‘covered Armed Forces’’ means the 

18 Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marine Corps. 

Æ 


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