IB 

Union Calendar No. 257

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3966

[Report No. 108–443, Part I] 

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 

MARCH 23, 2004

Additional sponsors: Mr. BLUNT, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. ROGERS

of Michigan, Mr. GINGREY, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. MCHUGH, Mrs. 

JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. MCKEON, Mrs. MILLER of 

Michigan, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, and Mr. BACHUS

MARCH 23, 2004

Reported from the Committee on Armed Services with amendments 
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[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

MARCH 23, 2004

Referral to the Committee on Education and the Workforce extended for a 

period ending not later than March 23, 2004

MARCH 23, 2004

Committee on Education and the Workforce discharged; committed to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered 

to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 12, 2004] 

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 recruiters 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: 
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1 (1) The Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) 

2 program is the most common path for undergraduates 

3 to become United States military officers. 

4 (2) The inclusion of both public and private un5 dergraduate institutions in the ROTC program in6 sures a more racially, ethnically, and socially diverse 

7 pool for leadership in the higher ranks of the Armed 

8 Forces. 

9 (3) The majority of both minority officers and 

10 female officers in the Armed Forces are acquired 

11 through undergraduate ROTC programs. 

12 (4) The presence of ROTC programs on college 

13 campuses benefits even those students who are not en14 rolled by making them aware of the presence and role 

15 of the United States military. 

16 (5) Land-grant colleges received land from the 

17 United States on the condition that they offer some 

18 military instruction in addition to their regular cur19 riculum, forming the basis for the Nation’s tradition 

20 of college and university acceptance of responsibility 

21 to contribute to the Nation’s readiness. 

22 (6) The Armed Forces face a constant challenge 

23 in recruiting top-quality personnel that ROTC pro24 grams are ideally suited to meet. 
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1 (7) Military recruiters should have access to col2 lege campuses and to college students equal in quality 

3 and scope to that provided all other employers. 

4 (8) If any college or university discriminates 

5 against ROTC programs or military recruiters, then 

6 under current law that college or university becomes 

7 ineligible for certain Federal taxpayer support, espe8 cially funding for many military and defense pro9 grams. 

10 (9) The personnel and programs of the Depart11 ment of Homeland Security and the Department of 

12 Energy are mutually dependent upon a high caliber 

13 of well-educated, professional leadership in the Armed 

14 Forces in order to protect the people and territory of 

15 the United States. 

16 (10) In order to more fully promote the ability 

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

18 campuses and to facilitate the ability of students to 

19 participate in ROTC programs on campus, the laws 

20 to prevent discrimination against ROTC and mili21 tary recruiters should be updated. 

22 SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH ROTC AC23 CESS PROVISIONS. 

24 Subsection (a) of section 983 of title 10, United States 

25 Code, is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘No funds’’; 

2 (2) by striking ‘‘prevents—’’ and inserting ‘‘pre3 vents, either (or both) of the following:’’; 

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

5 The’’; 

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

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

8 and 

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

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

11 enactment of the ROTC and Military Recruiter Equal Ac12 cess to Campus Act of 2004 and annually thereafter, the

13 Secretary of Defense shall request from each institution of 

14 higher education that has students participating in a Sen15 ior Reserve Officer Training Corps program during the 

16 then-current academic year of that institution a certifi17 cation that such institution, during the next academic year 

18 of the institution, will—

19 ‘‘(i) permit the Secretary of each military de20 partment to maintain a unit of the Senior Officer 

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

22 at that institution (or any subelement of that institu23 tion), should such Secretary elect to maintain such a 

24 unit; and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) if the Secretary of the military department 

2 concerned elects not to establish or maintain a unit 

3 of the Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps at that 

4 institution, permit a student of that institution (or 

5 any subelement of that institution) to enroll in a unit 

6 of the Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps at an7 other institution of higher education. 

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

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

10 highest ranking administrative official) and shall be sub11 mitted to the Secretary of Defense no later than 90 days 

12 after receipt of the request from the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(C) In the case of any institution from which a cer14 tification is requested under subparagraph (A), if the Sec15 retary of Defense does not receive a certification in accord16 ance with subparagraph (B), or if the certification does not 

17 state that the university will comply with both clauses (i) 

18 and (ii) of subparagraph (A) during its next academic 

19 year, the Secretary shall make a determination under para20 graph (1) as to whether the institution has a policy or prac21 tice described in that paragraph.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. EQUAL TREATMENT OF MILITARY RECRUITERS 

23 WITH OTHER RECRUITERS. 

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

25 States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘entry to campuses’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘access to campuses’’; and 

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

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

5 quality and scope to the degree of access to campuses 

6 and to students that is provided to any other em7 ployer’’. 

8 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF FUNDING FOR POST-SECONDARY 

9 SCHOOLS THAT PREVENT ROTC ACCESS OR 

10 MILITARY RECRUITING. 

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

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

13 (1) in paragraph (1)—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘limitation established in 

15 subsection (a) applies’’ and inserting ‘‘limita16 tions established in subsections (a) and (b) 

17 apply’’; 

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

19 any department or agency for which regular ap20 propriations are made’’ after ‘‘made available’’; 

21 and 

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

23 subparagraphs: 

24 ‘‘(C) Any funds made available for the Depart25 ment of Homeland Security. 
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1 ‘‘(D) Any funds made available for the National 

2 Nuclear Security Administration of the Department 

3 of Energy. 

4 ‘‘(E) Any funds made available for the Depart5 ment of Transportation. 

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

7 Intelligence Agency.’’; and 

8 (2) by striking paragraph (2). 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Subsection (b) of 

10 such section is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (d)(2)’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘subsection (d)(1)’’. 

12 (2) Subsection (e) of such section is amended by insert13 ing ‘‘, to the head of each other department and agency the 

14 funds of which are subject to the determination,’’ after ‘‘Sec15 retary of Education’’. 

16 SEC. 6. EXCLUSION OF AMOUNTS TO COVER INDIVIDUAL 

17 PAYMENTS. 

18 (a) CODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF EXCLUSION.—

19 Subsection (d) of section 983 of title 10, United States Code, 

20 as amended by section 5(a), is further amended—

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

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

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new para24 graph: 
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1 ‘‘(2) Any Federal funding specified in paragraph (1) 

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

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

4 assistance, related administrative costs, or costs associated 

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

6 funding is provided.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subsections (a) and 

8 (b) of such section are amended by striking ‘‘(including a 

9 grant of funds to be available for student aid)’’. 

10 (c) CONFORMING REPEAL OF CODIFIED PROVISION.—

11 Section 8120 of the Department of Defense Appropriations 

12 Act, 2000 (Public Law 106–79; 10 U.S.C. 983 note), is re13 pealed. 

14 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

15 The amendments made by this Act shall apply with 

16 respect to funds appropriated for fiscal year 2005 and 

17 thereafter.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend title 

10, United States Code, 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.’’.
Union Calendar No. 257

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3966

[Report No. 108–443, Part I] 

A BILL

To amend title 10, United States Code, and the 

provided to any other employer. that is at least equal in quality and scope to that cruiters entry to campuses and access to students tutions of higher education provide military reSenior ROTC programs, and to ensure that instiimprove the ability of students to participate in Corps units at institutions of higher education, to and maintain Senior Reserve Officer Training ability of the Department of Defense to establish Homeland Security Act of 2002 to improve the 

MARCH 23, 2004

Reported from the Committee on Armed Services with 

amendments 

Referral to the Committee on Education and the WorkMarch 23, 2004 force extended for a period ending not later than Committee on Education and the Workforce discharged; 

the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed committed to the Committee of the Whole House on