I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3966

To amend title 10, United States Code, and the Homeland Security Act 

of 2002 to improve the ability of the Department of Defense to establish 

and maintain Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps units at institutions 

of higher education, to improve the ability of students to participate 

in Senior ROTC programs, and to ensure that institutions of higher 

education provide military recruiters entry to campuses and access to 

students that is at least equal in quality and scope to that provided 

to any other employer. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 12, 2004

Mr. ROGERS of Alabama (for himself, Mr. COX, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. BOEHNER, 

Mr. PICKERING, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, 

Mr. SOUDER, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. AKIN, Mr. KOLBE, 

Mr. PEARCE, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. TOOMEY, and Ms. HARRIS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 

Services, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL

To amend title 10, United States Code, and the Homeland 

Security Act of 2002 to improve the ability of the Department of Defense to establish and maintain Senior 

Reserve Officer Training Corps units at institutions of 

higher education, to improve the ability of students to 

participate in Senior ROTC programs, and to ensure 

that institutions of higher education provide military re-
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cruiters entry to campuses and access to students that 

is at least equal in quality and scope to that provided 

to any other employer.

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 ‘‘ROTC and Military 

5 Recruiter Equal Access to Campus Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The Reserve Officers Training Corps 

9 (ROTC) program is the most common path for un10 dergraduates to become United States military offi11 cers. 

12 (2) The inclusion of both public and private un13 dergraduate institutions in the ROTC program in14 sures a more racially, ethnically, and socially diverse 

15 pool for leadership in the higher ranks of the Armed 

16 Forces. 

17 (3) The majority of both minority officers and 

18 female officers in the Armed Forces are acquired 

19 through undergraduate ROTC programs. 

20 (4) The presence of ROTC programs on college 

21 campuses benefits even those students who are not 

22 enrolled by making them aware of the presence and 

23 role of the United States military. 
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1 (5) Land-grant colleges received land from the 

2 United States on the condition that they offer some 

3 military instruction in addition to their regular cur4 riculum, forming the basis for the Nation’s tradition 

5 of college and university acceptance of responsibility 

6 to contribute to the Nation’s readiness. 

7 (6) The Armed Forces face a constant challenge 

8 in recruiting top-quality personnel that ROTC pro9 grams are ideally suited to meet. 

10 (7) Military recruiters should have access to 

11 college campuses and to college students equal in 

12 quality and scope to that provided all other employ13 ers. 

14 (8) If any college or university discriminates 

15 against ROTC programs or military recruiters, then 

16 under current law that college or university becomes 

17 ineligible for certain Federal taxpayer support, espe18 cially funding for many military and defense pro19 grams. 

20 (9) The personnel and programs of the Depart21 ment of Homeland Security and the Department of 

22 Energy are mutually dependent upon a high caliber 

23 of well-educated, professional leadership in the 

24 Armed Forces in order to protect the people and ter25 ritory of the United States. 
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1 (10) In order to more fully promote the ability 

2 of the Nation’s Armed Forces to recruit on college 

3 campuses and to facilitate the ability of students to 

4 participate in ROTC programs on campus, the laws 

5 to prevent discrimination against ROTC and mili6 tary recruiters should be updated. 

7 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF HOMELAND SECU8 RITY-RELATED FUNDING TO POST-SEC9 ONDARY SCHOOLS THAT PREVENT ROTC AC10 CESS OR MILITARY RECRUITING ON CAMPUS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Homeland Security Act of 

12 2002 (Public Law 107–296; 6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following new title: 

14 ‘‘TITLE XVIII—ADDITIONAL 

15 PROVISIONS 

16 ‘‘SEC. 1801. PROHIBITION OF FUNDS BEING PROVIDED TO 

17 INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION THAT 

18 PREVENT ROTC ACCESS OR MILITARY RE19 CRUITING ON CAMPUS. 

20 ‘‘No funds made available for the Department may 

21 be provided by contract or by grant to an institution of 

22 higher education (including any subelement of such insti23 tution) that, by reason of a determination by the Secretary 

24 of Defense under subsection (a) or (b) of section 983 of 

25 title 10, United States Code, is ineligible for the receipt 
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1 of a contract or grant from funds specified in subsection 

2 (d) of that section.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following new items:

‘‘TITLE XVIII—ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS 

‘‘1801. Prohibition of funds being provided to institutions of higher education 

that prevent ROTC access or military recruiting on campus.’’.

6 SEC. 4. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH ROTC AC7 CESS PROVISIONS. 

8 Subsection (a) of section 983 of title 10, United 

9 States Code, is amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘No funds’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘prevents—’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘prevents, either (or both) of the following:’’; 

13 (3) by striking ‘‘(1) the’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) 

14 The’’; 

15 (4) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a period; 

16 (5) by striking ‘‘(2) a’’ and inserting ‘‘(B) A’’; 

17 and 

18 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of 

20 the enactment of the ROTC and Military Recruiter Equal 

21 Access to Campus Act of 2004 and annually thereafter, 

22 the Secretary of Defense shall request from each institu23 tion of higher education that has students participating 
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1 in a Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps program dur2 ing the then-current academic year of that institution a 

3 certification that such institution, during the next aca4 demic year of the institution, will—

5 ‘‘(i) permit the Secretary of each military de6 partment to maintain a unit of the Senior Officer 

7 Training Corps (in accordance with subsection (a)) 

8 at that institution (or any subelement of that insti9 tution), should such Secretary elect to maintain such 

10 a unit; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) if the Secretary of the military department 

12 concerned elects not to establish or maintain a unit 

13 of the Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps at that 

14 institution, permit a student of that institution (or 

15 any subelement of that institution) to enroll in a 

16 unit of the Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps at 

17 another institution of higher education. 

18 ‘‘(B) Any certification under subparagraph (A) shall 

19 be made by the president of the institution (or equivalent 

20 highest ranking administrative official) and shall be sub21 mitted to the Secretary of Defense no later than 90 days 

22 after receipt of the request from the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(C) In the case of any institution from which a cer24 tification is requested under subparagraph (A), if the Sec25 retary of Defense does not receive a certification in accord-
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1 ance with subparagraph (B), or if the certification does 

2 not state that the university will comply with both clauses 

3 (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) during its next academic 

4 year, the Secretary shall make a determination under 

5 paragraph (1) as to whether the institution has a policy 

6 or practice described in that paragraph.’’. 

7 SEC. 5. EQUAL TREATMENT OF MILITARY RECRUITERS 

8 WITH OTHER RECRUITERS. 

9 Subsection (b)(1) of section 983 of title 10, United 

10 States Code, is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘entry to campuses’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘access to campuses’’; and 

13 (2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end 

14 the following: ‘‘in a manner that is at least equal in 

15 quality and scope to the degree of access to cam16 puses and to students that is provided to any other 

17 employer’’. 

18 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF FUNDING FOR POST-SECONDARY 

19 SCHOOLS THAT PREVENT ROTC ACCESS OR 

20 MILITARY RECRUITING. 

21 (a) COVERED FUNDS.—Subsection (d) of section 983 

22 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (1)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘limitation established in 

25 subsection (a) applies’’ and inserting ‘‘limita-
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1 tions established in subsections (a) and (b) 

2 apply’’; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘for 

4 any department or agency for which regular ap5 propriations are made’’ after ‘‘made available’’; 

6 and 

7 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

8 subparagraphs: 

9 ‘‘(C) Any funds made available for the Depart10 ment of Homeland Security. 

11 ‘‘(D) Any funds made available for the National 

12 Nuclear Security Administration of the Department 

13 of Energy. 

14 ‘‘(E) Any funds made available for the Depart15 ment of Transportation. 

16 ‘‘(F) Any funds made available for the Central 

17 Intelligence Agency.’’; and 

18 (2) by striking paragraph (2). 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Subsection (b) 

20 of such section is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (d)(2)’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘subsection (d)(1)’’. 

22 (2) Subsection (e) of such section is amended by in23 serting ‘‘, to the head of each other department and agen24 cy the funds of which are subject to the determination,’’ 

25 after ‘‘Secretary of Education’’. 
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1 SEC. 7. EXCLUSION OF AMOUNTS TO COVER INDIVIDUAL 

2 PAYMENTS. 

3 (a) CODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF EXCLU4 SION.—Subsection (d) of section 983 of title 10, United 

5 States Code, as amended by section 6(a), is further 

6 amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘The’’ after ‘‘(1)’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2), the’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(2) Any Federal funding specified in paragraph (1) 

12 that is provided to an institution of higher education, or 

13 to an individual, to be available solely for student financial 

14 assistance, related administrative costs, or costs associated 

15 with attendance, may be used for the purpose for which 

16 the funding is provided.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subsections (a) 

18 and (b) of such section are amended by striking ‘‘(includ19 ing a grant of funds to be available for student aid)’’. 

20 (c) CONFORMING REPEAL OF CODIFIED PROVI21 SION.—Section 8120 of the Department of Defense Ap22 propriations Act, 2000 (Public Law 106–79; 10 U.S.C. 

23 983 note), is repealed 
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1 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 The amendments made by this Act shall apply with 

3 respect to funds appropriated for fiscal year 2005 and 

4 thereafter.

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