II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 842 

To require reports by the Comptroller General on Department of Defense 

military spouse employment programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 14, 2011 

Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To require reports by the Comptroller General on Department of Defense military spouse employment programs, 

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 ‘‘Military Spouse Em5 ployment Programs Evaluation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS ON DEPART7 MENT OF DEFENSE MILITARY SPOUSE EM8 PLOYMENT PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) ANNUAL REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Comptroller 

10 General of the United States shall carry out each year a 


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1 review of all current Department of Defense military 

2 spouse employment programs. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—Each review required by subsection 

4 (a) shall, address, at a minimum, the following: 

5 (1) The efficacy and effectiveness of Depart6 ment of Defense military spouse employment pro7 grams. 

8 (2) All current Department programs to sup9 port military spouses or dependents for the purposes 

10 of employment assistance. 

11 (3) The types of military spouse employment 

12 programs that have been considered or used in the 

13 past by the Department. 

14 (4) The ways in which military spouse employ15 ment programs have changed in recent years. 

16 (5) The benefits or programs that are specifi17 cally available to provide employment assistance to 

18 spouses of members of the Armed Forces serving in 

19 Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Free20 dom, or Operation New Dawn, or any other contin21 gency operation being conducted by the Armed 

22 Forces as of the date of such review. 

23 (6) Existing mechanisms available to military 

24 spouses to express their views on the effectiveness 

25 and future direction of Department programs and 


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1 policies on employment assistance for military 

2 spouses. 

3 (7) The oversight provided by the Office of Per4 sonnel and Management regarding preferences for 

5 military spouses in Federal employment. 

6 (c) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS.—Not later 

7 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

8 and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General shall 

9 submit to the congressional defense committees a report 

10 on the review carried out under subsection (a) during the 

11 year in which such review is carried out. Each report shall 

12 set forth the following: 

13 (1) The results of the review concerned. 

14 (2) In the first report submitted under this sub15 section, such clear and concrete metrics as the 

16 Comptroller General considers appropriate for the 

17 current and future evaluation and assessment of the 

18 efficacy and effectiveness of Department of Defense 

19 military spouse employment programs. 

20 (3) A description of the assumptions utilized in 

21 the review, and an assessment of the validity and 

22 completeness of such assumptions. 

23 (4) Such recommendations as the Comptroller 

24 General considers appropriate for improving DepartVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:25 Apr 16, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S842.IS S842

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1 ment of Defense military spouse employment pro2 grams. 

3 (d) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE REPORTS.—Not 

4 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

5 this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense 

6 shall submit to the congressional defense committees a re7 port setting forth the number (or a reasonable estimate 

8 if a precise number is not available) of military spouses 

9 who have obtained employment following participation in 

10 Department of Defense military spouse employment pro11 grams. The report shall set forth such number (or esti12 mate) for the Department of Defense military spouse em13 ployment programs as a whole and for each such military 

14 spouse employment program. 

Æ 


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