I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4000

To amend title 10, United States Code, to restore the provisions of chapter

76 of that title (relating to missing persons) as in effect before the

amendments made by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal

Year 1997

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 2, 1996

Mr. DORNAN, (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr.

TALENT, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ARCHER, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. BACHUS, Mr.

BAKER of California, Mr. BAKER of Louisiana, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr.

BARR of Georgia, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. BASS, Mr. BATEMAN, Mr. BEREUTER,

Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. BLILEY, Mr. BLUTE, Mr. BOEHLERT,

Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. BONO, Mr. BREWSTER, Mr.

BROWNBACK, Mr. BRYANT of Tennessee, Mr. BUNN of Oregon, Mr.

BUNNING of Kentucky, Mr. BURR, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. BUYER,

MR. CALLAHAN, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. CAMP, Mr. CANADY of Florida, Mr.

CASTLE, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mrs. CHENOWETH, Mr.

CHRISTENSEN, Mr. CHRYSLER, Mr. CLINGER, Mr. COBLE, Mr. COBURN,

Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. COMBEST, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. COOLEY of Oregon, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. COX of California, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr.

CRAMER, Mr. CRANE, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. CREMEANS, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr.

CUNNINGHAM, Mr. DAVIS, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. DELAY, Mr. DIAZBALART, Mr. DICKEY, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. DREIER, Mr. DUNCAN, Ms.

DUNN of Washington, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. EHRLICH, Mr. ENGLISH of

Pennsylvania, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. EWING, Mr. FAWELL, Mr.

FIELDS of Texas, Mr. FLANAGAN, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. FORBES, Mrs. FOWLER, Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. FRANKS

of Connecticut, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. FRISA, Mr. FUNDERBURK,

Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. GANSKE, Mr. GEKAS, Mr. PETE GEREN of Texas,

Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. GOODLING, Mr.

GOSS, Mr. GRAHAM, Ms. GREENE of Utah, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. GUNDERSON, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. HANCOCK, Mr. HANSEN, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. HAYES, Mr.

HAYWORTH, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. HEINEMAN, Mr. HERGER, Mr. HILLEARY,

Mr. HOBSON, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. HOKE, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HORN, Mr.

HOUGHTON, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr.

HYDE, Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina, Mr. ISTOOK, Mrs. JOHNSON OF
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CONNECTICUT, MR. JONES, Mr. KASICH, Mr. KIM, Mr. KING, Mr.

KINGSTON, Mr. KLUG, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. LAHOOD,

Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. LARGENT, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. LAUGHLIN, Mr.

LAZIO of New York, Mr. LEACH, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. LEWIS

of Kentucky, Mr. LIGHTFOOT, Mr. LINDER, Mr. LIVINGSTON, Mr.

LOBIONDO, Mr. LONGLEY, Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma, Mr. MCCOLLUM,

Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. MCDADE, Mr. MCHALE, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr.

MCINNIS, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. MARTINI,

Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. METCALF, Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas, Mr. MICA, Mr.

MILLER of Florida, Mr. MINGE, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. MONTGOMERY, Mr.

MOORHEAD, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. MYERS of Indiana, Mrs. MYRICK Mr.

NETHERCUTT, Mr. NEUMANN, Mr. NEY, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. NUSSLE,

Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. PACKARD, Mr. PARKER, Mr.

PAXON, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. PETRI, Mr. PICKETT, Mr.

POMBO, Mr. PORTER, Mr. PORTMAN, Ms. PRYCE, Mr. QUILLEN, Mr.

QUINN, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. REED, Mr. REGULA, Mr.

RIGGS, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. ROGERS, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Ms. ROSLEHTINEN, Mr. ROTH, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. SALMON, Mr.

SANDERS, Mr. SANFORD, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. SCARBOROUGH, Mr. SCHAEFER, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. SEASTRAND, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr.

SHADEGG, Mr. SHAW, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. SISISKY, Mr.

SKEEN, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. SMITH of Texas,

Mrs. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SMITH of Michigan, Mr. SPENCE, Mr.

SOLOMON, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. STOCKMAN, Mr. STUMP, Mr.

TATE, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi, Mr. TEJEDA, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mrs. THURMAN,

Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. TORKILDSEN, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr.

UPTON, Mrs. VUCANOVICH, Mr. WALKER, Mr. WALSH, Mr. WAMP, Mr.

WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. WELDON, of

Florida, Mr. WELLER, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. WHITE, Mr. WICKER, Mr.

WOLF, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. ZELIFF, and Mr. ZIMMER) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on National Security

A BILL

To amend title 10, United States Code, to restore the provisions of chapter 76 of that title (relating to missing

persons) as in effect before the amendments made by

the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year

1997.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. RESTORATION OF MISSING PERSONS AUTHORI4 TIES APPLICABLE TO DEPARTMENT OF DE5 FENSE AS IN EFFECT BEFORE ENACTMENT

6 OF NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

7 FOR FISCAL YEAR 1997.

8 (a) APPLICABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

9 CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES.—

10 (1) Section 1501 of title 10, United States Code, is

11 amended—

12 (A) by striking out subsection (c) and inserting

13 in lieu thereof the following:

14 ‘‘(c) COVERED PERSONS.—Section 1502 of this title

15 applies in the case of the following persons:

16 ‘‘(1) Any member of the Armed Forces on ac17 tive duty who becomes involuntarily absent as a re18 sult of a hostile action, or under circumstances sug19 gesting that the involuntary absence is a result of a

20 hostile action, and whose status is undetermined or

21 who is unaccounted for.

22 ‘‘(2) Any civilian employee of the Department

23 of Defense, and any employee of a contractor of the

24 Department of Defense, who serves with or accom25 panies the Armed Forces in the field under orders
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1 who becomes involuntarily absent as a result of a

2 hostile action, or under circumstances suggesting

3 that the involuntary absence is a result of a hostile

4 action, and whose status is undetermined or who is

5 unaccounted for.’’; and

6 (B) by adding at the end the following new sub7 section:

8 ‘‘(f) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—In this chapter, the

9 term ‘Secretary concerned’ includes, in the case of a civil10 ian employee of the Department of Defense or contractor

11 of the Department of Defense, the Secretary of the mili12 tary department or head of the element of the Department

13 of Defense employing the employee or contracting with the

14 contractor, as the case may be.’’.

15 (2) Section 1503(c) of such title is amended—

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘one mili17 tary officer’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘one indi18 vidual described in paragraph (2)’’;

19 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as

20 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and

21 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the follow22 ing new paragraph (2):

23 ‘‘(2) An individual referred to in paragraph (1) is the

24 following:
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1 ‘‘(A) A military officer, in the case of an in2 quiry with respect to a member of the Armed

3 Forces.

4 ‘‘(B) A civilian, in the case of an inquiry with

5 respect to a civilian employee of the Department of

6 Defense or of a contractor of the Department of De7 fense.’’.

8 (3) Section 1504(d) of such title is amended—

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘who are’’

10 and all that follows in that paragraph and inserting

11 in lieu thereof ‘‘as follows:

12 ‘‘(A) In the case of a board that will inquire

13 into the whereabouts and status of one or more

14 members of the Armed Forces (and no civilians de15 scribed in subparagraph (B)), the board shall be

16 composed of officers having the grade of major or

17 lieutenant commander or above.

18 ‘‘(B) In the case of a board that will inquire

19 into the whereabouts and status of one or more civil20 ian employees of the Department of Defense or con21 tractors of the Department of Defense (and no

22 members of the Armed Forces), the board shall be

23 composed of—

24 ‘‘(i) not less than three employees of the

25 Department of Defense whose rate of annual
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1 pay is equal to or greater than the rate of an2 nual pay payable for grade GS–13 of the Gen3 eral Schedule under section 5332 of title 5; and

4 ‘‘(ii) such members of the Armed Forces

5 as the Secretary considers advisable.

6 ‘‘(C) In the case of a board that will inquire

7 into the whereabouts and status of both one or more

8 members of the Armed Forces and one or more civil9 ians described in subparagraph (B)—

10 ‘‘(i) the board shall include at least one of11 ficer described in subparagraph (A) and at least

12 one employee of the Department of Defense de13 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i); and

14 ‘‘(ii) the ratio of such officers to such em15 ployees on the board shall be roughly propor16 tional to the ratio of the number of members of

17 the Armed Forces who are subjects of the

18 board’s inquiry to the number of civilians who

19 are subjects of the board’s inquiry.’’; and

20 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking out ‘‘section

21 1503(c)(3)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section

22 1503(c)(4)’’.

23 (4) Paragraph (1) of section 1513 of such title is

24 amended to read as follows:

25 ‘‘(1) The term ‘missing person’ means—
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1 ‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces on

2 active duty who is in a missing status; or

3 ‘‘(B) a civilian employee of the Depart4 ment of Defense or an employee of a contractor

5 of the Department of Defense who serves with

6 or accompanies the Armed Forces in the field

7 under orders and who is in a missing status.’’.

8 (b) REPORT ON PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF STA9 TUS.—(1) Section 1502 of such title is amended—

10 (A) in subsection (a)(2)—

11 (i) by striking out ‘‘10 days’’ and inserting

12 in lieu thereof ‘‘48 hours’’; and

13 (ii) by striking out ‘‘Secretary concerned’’

14 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘theater compo15 nent commander with jurisdiction over the

16 missing person’’;

17 (B) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub18 section (c);

19 (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow20 ing new subsection (b):

21 ‘‘(b) TRANSMISSION THROUGH THEATER COMPO22 NENT COMMANDER.—Upon reviewing a report under sub23 section (a) recommending that a person be placed in a

24 missing status, the theater component commander shall

25 ensure that all necessary actions are being taken, and all
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1 appropriate assets are being used, to resolve the status

2 of the missing person. Not later than 14 days after receiv3 ing the report, the theater component commander shall

4 forward the report to the Secretary of Defense or the Sec5 retary concerned in accordance with procedures prescribed

6 under section 1501(b) of this title. The theater component

7 commander shall include with such report a certification

8 that all necessary actions are being taken, and all appro9 priate assets are being used, to resolve the status of the

10 missing person.’’; and

11 (D) in subsection (c), as redesignated by sub12 paragraph (B), by adding at the end the following

13 new sentence: ‘‘The theater component commander

14 through whom the report with respect to the missing

15 person is transmitted under subsection (b) shall en16 sure that all pertinent information relating to the

17 whereabouts and status of the missing person that

18 results from the preliminary assessment or from ac19 tions taken to locate the person is properly safe20 guarded to avoid loss, damage, or modification.’’.

21 (2) Section 1503(a) of such title is amended by strik22 ing out ‘‘section 1502(a)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

23 ‘‘section 1502(b)’’.

24 (3) Section 1513 of such title is amended by adding

25 at the end the following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(8) The term ‘theater component commander’

2 means, with respect to any of the combatant com3 mands, an officer of any of the Armed Forces who

4 (A) is commander of all forces of that armed force

5 assigned to that combatant command, and (B) is di6 rectly subordinate to the commander of the combat7 ant command.’’.

8 (c) FREQUENCY OF SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS.—Sub9 section (b) of section 1505 of such title is amended to read

10 as follows:

11 ‘‘(b) FREQUENCY OF SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS.—(1)

12 In the case of a missing person who was last known to

13 be alive or who was last suspected of being alive, the Sec14 retary shall appoint a board to conduct an inquiry with

15 respect to a person under this subsection—

16 ‘‘(A) on or about three years after the date of

17 the initial report of the disappearance of the person

18 under section 1502(a) of this title; and

19 ‘‘(B) not later than every three years there20 after.

21 ‘‘(2) In addition to appointment of boards under

22 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall appoint a board to con23 duct an inquiry with respect to a missing person under

24 this subsection upon receipt of information that could re25 sult in a change of status of the missing person. When
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1 the Secretary appoints a board under this paragraph, the

2 time for subsequent appointments of a board under para3 graph (1)(B) shall be determined from the date of the re4 ceipt of such information.

5 ‘‘(3) The Secretary is not required to appoint a board

6 under paragraph (1) with respect to the disappearance of

7 any person—

8 ‘‘(A) more than 30 years after the initial report

9 of the disappearance of the missing person required

10 by section 1502 of this title; or

11 ‘‘(B) if, before the end of such 30-year period,

12 the missing person is accounted for.’’.

13 (d) PENALTIES FOR WRONGFUL WITHHOLDING OF

14 INFORMATION.—Section 1506 of such title is amended—

15 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub16 section (f); and

17 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the follow18 ing new subsection (e):

19 ‘‘(e) WRONGFUL WITHHOLDING.—Except as pro20 vided in subsections (a) through (d), any person who

21 knowingly and willfully withholds from the personnel file

22 of a missing person any information relating to the dis23 appearance or whereabouts and status of a missing person

24 shall be fined as provided in title 18 or imprisoned not

25 more than one year, or both.’’.
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1 (e) INFORMATION TO ACCOMPANY RECOMMENDA2 TION OF STATUS OF DEATH.—Section 1507(b) of such

3 title is amended adding at the end the following new para4 graphs:

5 ‘‘(3) A description of the location of the body,

6 if recovered.

7 ‘‘(4) If the body has been recovered and is not

8 identifiable through visual means, a certification by

9 a practitioner of an appropriate forensic science that

10 the body recovered is that of the missing person.’’.

11 (f) SCOPE OF PREENACTMENT REVIEW.—(1) Section

12 1509 of such title is amended—

13 (A) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub14 section (d); and

15 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow16 ing new subsection (c):

17 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR PERSONS CLASSIFIED AS

18 ‘KIA/BNR’.—In the case of a person described in sub19 section (b) who was classified as ‘killed in action/body not

20 recovered’, the case of that person may be reviewed under

21 this section only if the new information referred to in sub22 section (a) is compelling.’’.

23 (2)(A) The heading of such section is amended by

24 inserting ‘‘, special interest’’ after

25 ‘‘Preenactment’’.
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1 (B) The item relating to such section in the table of

2 sections at the beginning of chapter 76 of such title is

3 amended by inserting ‘‘, special interest’’ after

4 ‘‘Preenactment’’.

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