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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3449 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3449

   To mandate minimum periods of rest and recuperation for units and 
   members of the regular and reserve components of the Armed Forces 
 between deployments for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring 
                                Freedom.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2009

Ms. Shea-Porter (for herself, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. Walz, Mr. 
 Holt, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Hall of New York, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Honda, 
Mr. McGovern, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. 
  Bordallo, Mr. Carnahan, Ms. Giffords, Ms. Harman, Mr. Loebsack, Ms. 
Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Jones, 
 Mr. Hare, Ms. Tsongas, Ms. Pingree of Maine, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
  and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To mandate minimum periods of rest and recuperation for units and 
   members of the regular and reserve components of the Armed Forces 
 between deployments for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring 
                                Freedom.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring Military Readiness Through 
Stability and Predictability Deployment Policy Act''.

SEC. 2. MINIMUM PERIODS OF REST AND RECUPERATION FOR UNITS OF THE ARMED 
              FORCES BETWEEN DEPLOYMENTS.

    (a) Regular Components.--
            (1) In general.--No unit of the Armed Forces specified in 
        paragraph (3) may be deployed in support of a covered military 
        operation unless the period between the most recent previous 
        deployment of the unit and a subsequent deployment of the unit 
        is equal to or longer than the period of such most recent 
        previous deployment.
            (2) Sense of congress on optimal minimum period between 
        deployments.--It is the sense of Congress that the optimal 
        minimum period between the most recent previous deployment of a 
        unit of the Armed Forces specified in paragraph (3) and a 
        subsequent deployment of the unit in support of a covered 
        military operation should be equal to or longer than twice the 
        period of such most recent previous deployment.
            (3) Covered units.--Subject to subsection (c), the units of 
        the Armed Forces specified in this paragraph are as follows:
                    (A) Units of the regular Army and members assigned 
                to those units.
                    (B) Units of the regular Marine Corps and members 
                assigned to those units.
                    (C) Units of the regular Navy and members assigned 
                to those units.
                    (D) Units of the regular Air Force and members 
                assigned to those units.
    (b) Reserve Components.--
            (1) In general.--No unit of the Armed Forces specified in 
        paragraph (3) may be deployed in support of a covered military 
        operation unless the period between the most recent previous 
        deployment of the unit and a subsequent deployment of the unit 
        is at least three times longer than the period of such most 
        recent previous deployment.
            (2) Sense of congress on mobilization and optimal minimum 
        period between deployments.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the units of the reserve components of the Armed Forces should 
        not be mobilized continuously for more than one year, and the 
        optimal minimum period between the previous deployment of a 
        unit of the Armed Forces specified in paragraph (3) and a 
        subsequent deployment of the unit in support of a covered 
        military operation should be five years.
            (3) Covered units.--The units of the Armed Forces specified 
        in this paragraph are as follows:
                    (A) Units of the Army Reserve and members assigned 
                to those units.
                    (B) Units of the Army National Guard and members 
                assigned to those units.
                    (C) Units of the Marine Corps Reserve and members 
                assigned to those units.
                    (D) Units of the Navy Reserve and members assigned 
                to those units.
                    (E) Units of the Air Force Reserve and members 
                assigned to those units.
                    (F) Units of the Air National Guard and members 
                assigned to those units.
    (c) Exemptions.--The limitations in subsections (a) and (b) do not 
apply--
            (1) to special operations forces as identified pursuant to 
        section 167(i) of title 10, United States Code; and
            (2) to units of the Armed Forces needed, as determined by 
        the Secretary of Defense, to assist in the redeployment of 
        members of the Armed Forces from a covered military operation 
        to another operational requirement or back to their home 
        stations.
    (d) Waiver by the President.--The President may waive the 
limitation in subsection (a) or (b) with respect to the deployment of a 
unit of the Armed Forces to meet a threat to the national security 
interests of the United States if the President certifies to Congress 
within 30 days that the deployment of the unit is necessary for such 
purposes.
    (e) Waiver by Military Chief of Staff or Commandant for Voluntary 
Mobilizations.--
            (1) Army.--With respect to the deployment of a member of 
        the Army who has voluntarily requested mobilization, the 
        limitation in subsection (a) or (b) may be waived by the Chief 
        of Staff of the Army.
            (2) Navy.--With respect to the deployment of a member of 
        the Navy who has voluntarily requested mobilization, the 
        limitation in subsection (a) or (b) may be waived by the Chief 
        of Naval Operations.
            (3) Marine corps.--With respect to the deployment of a 
        member of the Marine Corps who has voluntarily requested 
        mobilization, the limitation in subsection (a) or (b) may be 
        waived by the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
            (4) Air force.--With respect to the deployment of a member 
        of the Air Force who has voluntarily requested mobilization, 
        the limitation in subsection (a) or (b) may be waived by the 
        Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
    (f) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Covered military operation.--The term ``covered 
        military operation'' means--
                    (A) Operation Iraqi Freedom; and
                    (B) Operation Enduring Freedom, including 
                participation in the NATO International Security 
                Assistance Force (Afghanistan).
            (2) Deployment.--The term ``deployment'' or ``deployed'' 
        means the relocation of forces and materiel to desired areas of 
        operations and encompasses all activities from origin or home 
        station through destination, including staging, holding, and 
        movement in and through the United States and all theaters of 
        operation.
            (3) Unit.--The term ``unit'' means a unit that is 
        deployable and is commanded by a commissioned officer of the 
        Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps serving in the grade of 
        major or, in the case of the Navy, lieutenant commander, or a 
        higher grade.
    (g) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>
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