I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8270 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the responses of the 

Department of Defense to sex-related offenses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. CARTER of 

Texas, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. OLSON, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. 

CROW, Mr. HURD of Texas, Mr. KIM, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. 

PRESSLEY, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. VELA, 

Ms. NORTON, Mr. BEYER, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mrs. HAYES, 

Ms. GABBARD, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. HAALAND, Mrs. CAROLYN B. 

MALONEY of New York, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. SHERRILL, 

Mr. RASKIN, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. 

ESHOO, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. SIRES, Mrs. 

WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. 

ROSE of New York, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, 

Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. WELCH, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. CORREA, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. O’HALLERAN, 

Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs. LESKO, 

Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. 

COURTNEY, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Ms. 

FRANKEL, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. COOPER, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, 

Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. MOORE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. HECK, Ms. MENG, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. 

WILD, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TLAIB, 

Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. EVANS, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. 

TRONE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. COX of California, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. BUSTOS, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. HIGGINS of New 

York, Mr. CRIST, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. TED LIEU of California, and Mr. BRINDISI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 


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A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the 

responses of the Department of Defense to sex-related 

offenses, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘I am Vanessa Guille ́n 

5 Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY TO DETERMINE TO 

7 PROCEED TO TRIAL BY COURT-MARTIAL ON 

8 CHARGES INVOLVING SEX-RELATED OF9 FENSES. 

10 (a) ROLE OF OFFICE OF THE CHIEF PROSECUTOR

11 IN DETERMINATION TO PROCEED TO TRIAL ON CHARGE

12 INVOLVING SEX-RELATED OFFENSE.— 

13 (1) REFERRAL AND DETERMINATIONS BY OF14 FICE OF THE CHIEF PROSECUTOR.—Section 834 of 

15 title 10, United States Code (article 34 of the Uni16 form Code of Military Justice) is amended— 

17 (A) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub18 section (e); and 

19 (B) by inserting after the subsection (c) 

20 the following new subsection (d): 


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1 ‘‘(d) REFERRAL TO OFFICE OF THE CHIEF PROS2 ECUTOR.—(1) In the case of a charge relating to a sex3 related offense, in addition to referring the charge to the 

4 staff judge advocate under subsection (a), the convening 

5 authority shall refer, as soon as reasonably practicable, the 

6 charge to the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of the armed 

7 force of which the accused is a member to make the deter8 mination required by paragraph (3). The actions of the 

9 Office of the Chief Prosecutor under this subsection 

10 whether or not to try charges by court-martial shall be 

11 free of unlawful or unauthorized influence or coercion. 

12 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘sex13 related offense’ means any of the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) An offense covered by section 920, 920a, 

15 920b, 920c, or 920d of this title (article 120, 120a, 

16 120b, 120c, or 120d). 

17 ‘‘(B) A conspiracy to commit an offense speci18 fied in subparagraph (A) as punishable under sec19 tion 881 of this title (article 81). 

20 ‘‘(C) A solicitation to commit an offense speci21 fied in subparagraph (A) as punishable under sec22 tion 882 of this title (article 82). 

23 ‘‘(D) An attempt to commit an offense specified 

24 in subparagraphs (A) through (C) as punishable 

25 under section 880 of this title (article 80). 


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1 ‘‘(3) The Office of the Chief Prosecutor shall make 

2 a determination regarding whether a charge relating to a 

3 sex-related offense should be referred to trial. If the Office 

4 of the Chief Prosecutor makes a determination to try the 

5 charge by court-martial, the Office of the Chief Prosecutor 

6 also shall determine whether to try the charge by a general 

7 court-martial convened under section 822 of this title (ar8 ticle 22) or a special court-martial convened under section 

9 823 of this title (article 23). 

10 ‘‘(4) A determination under paragraph (3) to try a 

11 charge relating to a sex-related offense by court-martial 

12 shall include a determination to try all known offenses, 

13 including lesser included offenses. 

14 ‘‘(5) The determination to try a charge relating to 

15 a sex-related offense by court-martial under paragraph 

16 (3), and by type of court-martial, shall be binding on any 

17 applicable convening authority for a trial by court-martial 

18 on the charge. 

19 ‘‘(6) A determination under paragraph (3) not to pro20 ceed to trial on a charge relating to a sex-related offense 

21 by general or special court-martial shall not operate to ter22 minate or otherwise alter the authority of commanding of23 ficers to refer such charge for trial by summary court24 martial convened under section 824 of this title (article 

25 24), or to impose non-judicial punishment in connection 


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1 with the conduct covered by the charge as authorized by 

2 section 815 of this title (article 15). 

3 ‘‘(7) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 

4 alter or affect the disposition of charges under this chapter 

5 (the Uniform Code of Military Justice) that allege an of6 fense triable by court-martial under this chapter for which 

7 the maximum punishment authorized under this chapter 

8 includes confinement for one year or less. 

9 ‘‘(8) This subsection does not apply to the Coast 

10 Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Depart11 ment of the Navy.’’. 

12 (2) APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF PROSECUTOR.— 

13 For any Armed Force (other than the Coast Guard) 

14 for which the position of Chief Prosecutor does not 

15 exist as of the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

16 Judge Advocate General of that Armed Force shall 

17 establish the position of Chief Prosecutor and ap18 point as the Chief Prosecutor a commissioned officer 

19 in the grade of O–6 or above who has significant ex20 perience prosecuting sexual assault trials by court21 martial. 

22 (b) CHIEF PROSECUTOR AUTHORITY TO CONVENE

23 ARTICLE 32 PRELIMINARY HEARINGS.—Section 832(a) of 

24 title 10, United States Code (article 32(a) of the Uniform 


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1 Code of Military Justice), is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(3) The Office of the Chief Prosecutor of an armed 

4 force may order a preliminary hearing under this section 

5 in the event of an allegation of a sex-related offense (as 

6 defined in section 834(d)(2) of this title (article 34(d)(2))) 

7 involving a member of that armed force. This paragraph 

8 does not apply to the Coast Guard when it is not operating 

9 as a service in the Department of the Navy.’’. 

10 (c) MODIFICATION OF OFFICERS AUTHORIZED TO

11 CONVENE GENERAL AND SPECIAL COURTS-MARTIAL.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 822(a) of title 10, 

13 United States Code (article 22(a) of the Uniform 

14 Code of Military Justice) is amended— 

15 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and 

16 (9) as paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; 

17 and 

18 (B) by inserting after paragraph (7) the 

19 following new paragraph (8): 

20 ‘‘(8) the officers in the offices established pur21 suant to section 546(c)(3) of the National Defense 

22 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 or officers in 

23 the grade of O–6 or higher who are assigned such 

24 responsibility by the Chief of Staff of the Army, the 

25 Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the 


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1 Air Force, or the Commandant of the Marine Corps, 

2 but only with respect to a sex-related offense (as de3 fined in section 834(d)(2) of this title (article 

4 34(d)(2)));’’. 

5 (2) NO EXERCISE BY OFFICERS IN CHAIN OF

6 COMMAND OF ACCUSED OR VICTIM.—Section 822 of 

7 title 10, United States Code (article 22 of the Uni8 form Code of Military Justice) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(c) An officer specified in subsection (a)(8) may not 

11 convene a court-martial under this section if the officer 

12 is in the chain of command of the accused or the victim.’’. 

13 (3) OFFICES OF CHIEFS OF STAFF ON COURTS14 MARTIAL.— 

15 (A) OFFICES REQUIRED.—The Chief of 

16 Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Oper17 ations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, or 

18 the Commandant of the Marine Corps shall es19 tablish an office to do the following: 

20 (i) To convene general and special 

21 courts-martial under sections 822 and 823 

22 of title 10, United States Code (articles 22 

23 and 23 of the Uniform Code of Military 

24 Justice), pursuant to paragraph (8) of sec25 tion 822(a) of title 10, United States Code 


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1 (article 22(a) of the Uniform Code of Mili2 tary Justice), as amended by paragraph 

3 (1), with respect to a sex-related offense 

4 (as defined in section 834(d)(2) of title 10, 

5 United States Code (article 34(d)(2) of the 

6 Uniform Code of Military Justice)). 

7 (ii) To detail under section 825 of 

8 title 10, United States Code (article 25 of 

9 the Uniform Code of Military Justice), 

10 members of courts-martial convened as de11 scribed in clause (i). 

12 (B) PERSONNEL.—The personnel of each 

13 office established under subparagraph (A) shall 

14 consist of such members of the Armed Forces 

15 and civilian personnel of the Department of De16 fense as may be detailed or assigned to the of17 fice by the Chief of Staff or Commandant con18 cerned. The members and personnel so detailed 

19 or assigned, as the case may be, shall be de20 tailed or assigned from personnel billets in ex21 istence on the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act. 

23 (d) IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

24 (1) FUNDING SOURCE.—The Secretaries of the 

25 military departments shall carry out subsections (a), 


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1 (b), and (c) (and the amendments made by such 

2 subsections) using funds appropriated after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act and otherwise available to 

4 the Secretary of the military department concerned. 

5 (2) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the 

7 military departments shall revise policies and 

8 procedures as necessary to comply with this sec9 tion. 

10 (B) UNIFORMITY.—The General Counsel 

11 of the Department of Defense shall review the 

12 policies and procedures revised under this para13 graph in order to ensure that any lack of uni14 formity in policies and procedures, as so re15 vised, among the military departments does not 

16 render unconstitutional any policy or procedure, 

17 as so revised. 

18 (3) MANUAL FOR COURTS-MARTIAL.—The Sec19 retary of Defense shall recommend such changes to 

20 the Manual for Courts-Martial as are necessary to 

21 ensure compliance with this section. 

22 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY.— 

23 The amendments made by this section shall take ef24 fect on the first day of the first month beginning 

25 after the 2-year period following the date of the enVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Sep 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8270.IH H8270

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1 actment of this Act, and shall apply with respect to 

2 charges preferred under section 830 of title 10, 

3 United States Code (article 30 of the Uniform Code 

4 of Military Justice), on or after such effective date. 

5 SEC. 3. PUNITIVE ARTICLE ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND 

6 RELATED INVESTIGATION MATTERS. 

7 (a) PUNITIVE ARTICLE ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter X of chapter 47, 

9 United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military 

10 Justice), is amended by inserting after section 920c 

11 (article 120c) the following new section (article): 

12 ‘‘§ 920d. Art. 120d. Sexual harassment 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any person subject to this chap14 ter who commits sexual harassment against another per15 son shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. 

16 ‘‘(b) SEXUAL HARASSMENT DEFINED.— 

17 ‘‘(1) In this section term ‘sexual harassment’ 

18 means conduct that takes place in a circumstance 

19 described in paragraph (2) that takes the form of— 

20 ‘‘(A) a sexual advance; 

21 ‘‘(B) a request for sexual favors; or 

22 ‘‘(C) any other conduct of a sexual nature. 

23 ‘‘(2) A circumstance described in this para24 graph is a situation in which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) submission to the conduct involved is 

2 made either explicitly or implicitly a term or 

3 condition of employment; 

4 ‘‘(B) submission to or rejection of such 

5 conduct is used as the basis for an employment 

6 decision affecting an individual’s employment; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(C) such conduct unreasonably alters an 

9 individual’s terms, conditions, or privileges of 

10 employment, including by creating an intimi11 dating hostile, or offensive work environment, 

12 as determined in accordance with paragraph 

13 (3). 

14 ‘‘(3) In determining, for purposes of paragraph 

15 (2)(C), whether conduct constitutes sexual harass16 ment because the conduct unreasonably alters an in17 dividual’s terms, conditions, or privileges of employ18 ment, including by creating an intimidating, hostile, 

19 or offensive work environment, the following rules 

20 shall apply: 

21 ‘‘(A) The determination shall be made on 

22 the basis of the record as a whole, according to 

23 the totality of the circumstances. A single inci24 dent may constitute sexual harassment. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Incidents that may be sexual harass2 ment shall be considered in the aggregate, 

3 with— 

4 ‘‘(i) conduct of varying types (such as 

5 expressions of sex-based hostility, requests 

6 for sexual favors, and denial of employ7 ment opportunities due to sexual orienta8 tion) viewed in totality, rather than in iso9 lation; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) conduct based on multiple pro11 tected characteristics (such as sex and 

12 race) viewed in totality, rather than in iso13 lation. 

14 ‘‘(C) The factors specified in this subpara15 graph are among the factors to be considered in 

16 determining whether conduct constitutes sexual 

17 harassment and are not meant to be exhaustive. 

18 No one of those factors shall be considered to 

19 be determinative in establishing whether con20 duct constitutes sexual harassment. Such fac21 tors are each of the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) The frequency of the conduct. 

23 ‘‘(ii) The duration of the conduct. 

24 ‘‘(iii) The location where the conduct 

25 occurred. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The number of individuals en2 gaged in the conduct. 

3 ‘‘(v) The nature of the conduct, which 

4 may include physical, verbal, pictorial, or 

5 visual conduct, and conduct that occurs in 

6 person or is transmitted, such as electroni7 cally. 

8 ‘‘(vi) Whether the conduct is threat9 ening. 

10 ‘‘(vii) Any power differential between 

11 the alleged harasser and the person alleg12 edly harassed. 

13 ‘‘(viii) Any use of epithets, slurs, or 

14 other conduct that is humiliating or de15 grading. 

16 ‘‘(ix) Whether the conduct reflects 

17 stereotypes about individuals in the pro18 tected class involved.’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec20 tions at the beginning of such subchapter is amend21 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 

22 920c (article 120c) the following new item: 

‘‘920d. 120d. Sexual harassment.’’. 

23 (b) INVESTIGATIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1561 of title 10, 

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


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1 ‘‘§ 1561. Complaints of sexual harassment: inde2 pendent investigation 

3 ‘‘(a) ACTION ON COMPLAINTS ALLEGING SEXUAL

4 HARASSMENT.—A commanding officer or officer in charge 

5 of a unit, vessel, facility, or area of an armed force under 

6 the jurisdiction of the Secretary of a military department, 

7 who receives, from a member of the command or a mem8 ber under the supervision of the officer, a formal com9 plaint alleging sexual harassment by a member of the 

10 armed forces shall, as soon as practicable after such re11 ceipt, forward the complaint to an independent investi12 gator. 

13 ‘‘(b) COMMENCEMENT OF INVESTIGATION.—To the 

14 extent practicable, an independent investigator shall com15 mence an investigation of a formal complaint of sexual 

16 harassment not later than 72 hours after— 

17 ‘‘(1) receiving a formal complaint of sexual har18 assment forwarded by a commanding officer or offi19 cer in charge under subsection (a); or 

20 ‘‘(2) receiving a formal complaint of sexual har21 assment directly from a member of the armed forces. 

22 ‘‘(c) DURATION OF INVESTIGATION.—To the extent 

23 practicable, an investigation under subsection (b) shall be 

24 completed not later than 14 days after the date on which 

25 the investigation commences. 


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1 ‘‘(d) REPORT ON COMMAND INVESTIGATION.—To the 

2 extent practicable, an independent investigator who com3 mences an investigation under subsection (b) shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) submit a final report on the results of the 

5 investigation, including any action taken as a result 

6 of the investigation, to the officer described in sub7 section (a) not later than 20 days after the date on 

8 which the investigation commenced; or 

9 ‘‘(2) submit a report on the progress made in 

10 completing the investigation to the officer described 

11 in subsection (a) not later than 20 days after the 

12 date on which the investigation commenced and 

13 every 14 days thereafter until the investigation is 

14 completed and, upon completion of the investigation, 

15 then submit a final report on the results of the in16 vestigation, including any action taken as a result of 

17 the investigation, to that officer. 

18 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) The term ‘formal complaint’ means a com20 plaint that an individual files in writing and attests 

21 to the accuracy of the information contained in the 

22 complaint. 

23 ‘‘(2) The term ‘independent investigator’ means 

24 a member of the armed forces or employee of the 

25 Department of Defense— 


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1 ‘‘(A) who is outside the chain of command 

2 of the complainant; and 

3 ‘‘(B) whom the Secretary concerned deter4 mines is trained in the investigation of sexual 

5 harassment. 

6 ‘‘(3) The term ‘sexual harassment’ has the 

7 meaning given that term in section 920d(b) of this 

8 title (article 120d of the Uniform Code of Military 

9 Justice).’’. 

10 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec11 tions at the beginning of chapter 80 of title 10, 

12 United States Code, is amended by striking the item 

13 relating to section 1561 and inserting the following 

14 new item: 

‘‘1561. Complaints of sexual harassment: independent investigation.’’. 

15 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment to sec16 tion 1561 of such title made by this subsection 

17 shall— 

18 (A) take effect on the day that is two years 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act; and 

20 (B) apply to any investigation of a formal 

21 complaint of sexual harassment (as those terms 

22 are defined in such section, as amended) made 

23 on or after that date. 

24 (4) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

25 than nine months after the date of the enactment of 


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1 this Act, each Secretary of a military department 

2 shall submit to Congress a report on preparation of 

3 that Secretary to implement the amendment to sec4 tion 1561 of such title made by this subsection. 

5 SEC. 4. CONFIDENTIAL REPORTING OF SEXUAL HARASS6 MENT. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 80 of title 10, 

8 United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 

9 1561a the following new section: 

10 ‘‘§ 1561b. Confidential reporting of sexual harassment 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Notwithstanding section 

12 1561 of this title, the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe 

13 regulations establishing a process by which a member of 

14 an armed force under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 

15 a military department may confidentially allege a com16 plaint of sexual harassment to an individual outside the 

17 immediate chain of command of that member. 

18 ‘‘(b) RECEIPT OF COMPLAINT.—An individual des19 ignated to receive complaints under subsection (a)— 

20 ‘‘(1) shall maintain the confidentiality of the 

21 member alleging the complaint; 

22 ‘‘(2) shall provide to the member alleging the 

23 complaint the option— 

24 ‘‘(A) to file a formal or informal report of 

25 sexual harassment; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) to include reports related to such 

2 complaint in the Catch a Serial Offender Pro3 gram; and 

4 ‘‘(3) shall provide to the commander of the 

5 complainant a report— 

6 ‘‘(A) regarding the complaint; and 

7 ‘‘(B) that does not contain any personally 

8 identifiable information regarding the complain9 ant. 

10 ‘‘(c) EDUCATION; TRACKING.—The Secretary of De11 fense shall educate members under the jurisdiction of the 

12 Secretary of a military department regarding the process 

13 established under this section and track complaints alleged 

14 pursuant to such process. 

15 ‘‘(d) REPORTING.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

16 submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Sen17 ate and House of Representatives an annual report con18 taining data (that does not contain any personally identifi19 able information) relating to complaints alleged pursuant 

20 to the process established under this section.’’. 

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

22 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

23 after the item relating to section 1561b the following new 

24 item: 

‘‘1561b. Confidential reporting of sexual harassment.’’. 


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1 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall carry 

2 out section 1561b of title 10, United States Code, as 

3 added by subsection (a), not later than one year after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF CLAIMS BY MEMBERS OF THE 

6 ARMED FORCES AGAINST THE UNITED 

7 STATES THAT ARISE FROM SEX-RELATED OF8 FENSES. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 163 of title 10, 

11 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

12 section 2733a the following new section: 

13 ‘‘§ 2733b. Claims arising from sex-related offenses 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with this section and 

15 under such regulations as the Secretary of Defense shall 

16 prescribe under subsection (d), the Secretary may allow, 

17 settle, and pay a claim against the United States for per18 sonal injury or death of a claimant arising from— 

19 ‘‘(1) a sex-related offense committed by a cov20 ered individual; 

21 ‘‘(2) the negligent failure to prevent a sex-re22 lated offense committed by a covered individual; or 

23 ‘‘(3) the negligent failure to investigate a sex24 related offense committed by a covered individual. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT FOR CLAIMS.—A claim may be 

2 allowed, settled, and paid under subsection (a) only if— 

3 ‘‘(1) the claim is filed by the claimant who is 

4 the victim of the sex-related offense, or by an au5 thorized representative on behalf of such claimant 

6 who is deceased or otherwise unable to file the claim 

7 due to incapacitation; 

8 ‘‘(2) the claimant was a member of an armed 

9 force under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of a 

10 military department at the time of the sex-related 

11 offense; 

12 ‘‘(3) the claim is presented to the Department 

13 in writing within two years after the claim accrues; 

14 ‘‘(4) the claim is not allowed to be settled and 

15 paid under any other provision of law; and 

16 ‘‘(5) the claim is substantiated as prescribed in 

17 regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense 

18 under subsection (d). 

19 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.—(1) If the Secretary of 

20 Defense determines, pursuant to regulations prescribed by 

21 the Secretary under subsection (d), that a claim under this 

22 section in excess of $100,000 is meritorious, and the claim 

23 is otherwise payable under this section, the Secretary may 

24 pay the claimant $100,000 and report any meritorious 


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1 amount in excess of $100,000 to the Secretary of the 

2 Treasury for payment under section 1304 of title 31. 

3 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), no claim 

4 may be paid under this section unless the amount tendered 

5 is accepted by the claimant in full satisfaction. 

6 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—(1) The Secretary of Defense 

7 shall prescribe regulations to implement this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) Regulations prescribed by the Secretary under 

9 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) Policies and procedures to ensure the 

11 timely, efficient, and effective processing and admin12 istration of claims under this section, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) the filing, receipt, investigation, and 

14 evaluation of a claim; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the negotiation, settlement, and pay16 ment of a claim; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) such other matters relating to the 

18 processing and administration of a claim, in19 cluding an administrative appeals process, as 

20 the Secretary considers appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(B) Uniform standards consistent with gen22 erally accepted standards used in a majority of 

23 States in adjudicating claims under chapter 171 of 

24 title 28 (commonly known as the ‘Federal Tort 

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1 ment, and payment of claims under this section 

2 without regard to the place of occurrence of the sex3 related offense giving rise to the claim or the mili4 tary department of the covered individual, and with5 out regard to foreign law in the case of claims aris6 ing in foreign countries, including uniform standards 

7 to be applied to determinations with respect to— 

8 ‘‘(i) whether an act or omission by a cov9 ered individual was negligent or wrongful, con10 sidering the specific facts and circumstances; 

11 ‘‘(ii) whether the personal injury or death 

12 of the claimant was caused by a negligent or 

13 wrongful act or omission of a covered indi14 vidual; 

15 ‘‘(iii) requirements relating to proof of 

16 duty, breach of duty, and causation resulting in 

17 compensable injury or loss, subject to such ex18 clusions as may be established by the Secretary 

19 of Defense; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) calculation of damages. 

21 ‘‘(C) Such other matters as the Secretary con22 siders appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(3) In order to implement expeditiously the provi24 sions of this section, the Secretary may prescribe the regu25 lations under this subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(A) by prescribing an interim final rule; and 

2 ‘‘(B) not later than one year after prescribing 

3 such interim final rule and considering public com4 ments with respect to such interim final rule, by pre5 scribing a final rule. 

6 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS ON ATTORNEY FEES.—(1) No at7 torney shall charge, demand, receive, or collect for services 

8 rendered, fees in excess of 20 percent of any claim paid 

9 pursuant to this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) Any attorney who charges, demands, receives, 

11 or collects for services rendered in connection with a claim 

12 under this section any amount in excess of the amount 

13 allowed under paragraph (1), if recovery be had, shall be 

14 fined not more than $2,000, imprisoned not more than 

15 one year, or both. 

16 ‘‘(3) The United States shall not be liable for any 

17 attorney fees of a claimant under this section. 

18 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not less frequently than an19 nually until 2026, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 

20 to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and 

21 the House of Representatives a report— 

22 ‘‘(1) indicating the number of claims processed 

23 under this section; 

24 ‘‘(2) indicating the resolution of each such 

25 claim; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) describing any other information that may 

2 enhance the effectiveness of the claims process under 

3 this section. 

4 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means a 

6 member of the armed forces or an employee of the 

7 Department of Defense. 

8 ‘‘(2) The term ‘sex-related offense’ has the 

9 meaning given that term in section 834 of this 

10 title.’’. 

11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec12 tions at the beginning of chapter 163 of such title 

13 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

14 section 2733 the following new item: 

‘‘2733b. Claims arising from sex-related offenses.’’. 

15 (b) INTERIM BRIEFING ON DEVELOPMENT OF REGU16 LATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall pro18 vide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate 

19 and the House of Representatives a briefing on the devel20 opment of regulations under section 2733b(d) of title 10, 

21 United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1). 

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) Section 2735 of such title is amended by in24 serting ‘‘2733b,’’ after ‘‘2733a,’’. 


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1 (2) Section 1304(a)(3)(D) of title 31, United 

2 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘2733b,’’ after 

3 ‘‘2733a,’’. 

4 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE AND TRANSITION PROVI5 SION.— 

6 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

7 by this section shall apply to any claim filed under 

8 section 2733b of such title, as added by subsection 

9 (a)(1), on or after January 1, 2021. 

10 (2) TRANSITION.—Any claim filed in calendar 

11 year 2020 shall be deemed to be filed within the 

12 time period specified in section 2733b(b)(2) of such 

13 title, as so added, if it is filed within three years 

14 after it accrues. 

15 SEC. 6. REPORTS ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT/ASSAULT RE16 SPONSE PROGRAMS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

17 (a) SECRETARY OF DEFENSE REPORT.— 

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

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report 

21 on the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response Pro22 grams of each military department. 

23 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para24 graph (1) shall include the following: 


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1 (A) A description and assessment of the 

2 Sexual Harassment/Assault Response Program 

3 of each military department including the fund4 ing for such program, the manner in which 

5 such funding is allocated, and the elements of 

6 such program that receive funding. 

7 (B) A comparative assessment of the feasi8 bility and advisability of carrying out the Sex9 ual Harassment/Assault Response Programs 

10 through each structure as follows: 

11 (i) The current structure. 

12 (ii) A structure involving discharge 

13 through civilian personnel. 

14 (iii) A structure involving discharge 

15 though substantial numbers of contractors. 

16 (iv) A structure involving the estab17 lishment of a military occupational spe18 cialty to permit members of the Armed 

19 Forces to extend their time in a Sexual 

20 Harassment/Assault Response Program 

21 and professionalize their services (including 

22 proper education and training as well as 

23 continuing education). 

24 (v) Any other structure the Secretary 

25 considers appropriate. 


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1 (b) COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED

2 STATES REPORT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

5 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub6 mit to Congress a report on the Sexual Harassment/ 

7 Assault Response Programs of the military depart8 ments. 

9 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para10 graph (1) shall include the following: 

11 (A) An assessment by the Comptroller 

12 General of the efficacy and impacts of the Sex13 ual Harassment/Assault Response Programs of 

14 the military departments. 

15 (B) Such recommendations as the Comp16 troller General considers appropriate for im17 provements to the Sexual Harassment/Assault 

18 Response Programs. 

19 SEC. 7. GAO STUDY OF MEMBERS ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE 

20 OR ON UNAUTHORIZED ABSENCE. 

21 (a) STUDY; REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 

22 2021, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

23 submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Sen24 ate and House of Representatives a report containing the 

25 results of a study regarding how the Secretaries of the 


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1 military departments handle cases of members of the 

2 Armed Forces under their respective jurisdictions who are 

3 absent without leave or on unauthorized absence. 

4 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study under this section shall 

5 include the following: 

6 (1) The procedures and guidelines established 

7 by each military department for the investigation of 

8 such a case. 

9 (2) The guidelines for distinguishing between— 

10 (A) common cases; 

11 (B) cases that may involve foul play or ac12 cident; and 

13 (C) cases wherein the member may be in 

14 danger. 

15 (3) The current guidelines for cooperation and 

16 coordination between military investigative agencies 

17 and— 

18 (A) local law enforcement agencies; 

19 (B) Tribal law enforcement agencies; and 

20 (C) Federal law enforcement agencies. 

21 (4) The current guidelines for use of traditional 

22 and social media in conjunction with such cases. 

23 (5) Military resources available for such cases 

24 and any apparent shortfalls in such resources. 


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1 (6) How the procedures for such cases vary be2 tween military departments. 

3 (7) How the procedures described in paragraph 

4 (6) vary from procedures used by local and Federal 

5 law enforcement. 

6 (8) Best practices for responding to and inves7 tigating such cases. 

8 (9) Any other matter the Comptroller General 

9 determines appropriate. 

Æ 


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