I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3159 
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 Free-
dom. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 24, 2007 
Mrs. TAUSCHER (for herself, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. 
LOEBSACK, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. HARE, 
Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. GIFFORDS, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. 
JONES of North Carolina, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. ORTIZ, Ms. 
LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. 
SMITH of Washington, Mr. ANDREWS, and Mr. REYES) 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 compo-
nents of the Armed Forces between deployments for Op-
eration Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. MINIMUM PERIODS OF REST AND RECUPER-
ATION FOR UNITS AND MEMBERS OF THE 
ARMED FORCES BETWEEN DEPLOYMENTS. 
(a) REGULAR COMPONENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—No unit or member of the 
Armed Forces specified in paragraph (3) may be de-
ployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation 
Enduring Freedom (including participation in the 
NATO International Security Assistance Force (Af-
ghanistan)) unless the period between the deploy-
ment of the unit or member is equal to or longer 
than the period of such previous deployment. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON OPTIMAL MINIMUM 
PERIOD BETWEEN DEPLOYMENTS.—It is the sense 
of Congress that the optimal minimum period be-
tween the previous deployment of a unit or member 
of the Armed Forces specified in paragraph (3) to 
Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring 
Freedom and a subsequent deployment of the unit 
or member to Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation 
Enduring Freedom should be equal to or longer than 
twice the period of such previous deployment. 
(3) COVERED
UNITS
AND
MEMBERS.—The 
units and members of the Armed Forces specified in 
this paragraph are as follows: 
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(A) Units and members of the regular 
Army. 
(B) Units and members of the regular Ma-
rine Corps. 
(C) Units and members of the regular 
Navy. 
(D) Units and members of the regular Air 
Force. 
(E) Units and members of the regular 
Coast Guard. 
(b) RESERVE COMPONENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—No unit or member of the 
Armed Forces specified in paragraph (3) may be de-
ployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation 
Enduring Freedom (including participation in the 
NATO International Security Assistance Force (Af-
ghanistan)) if the unit or member has been deployed 
at any time within the three years preceding the 
date of the deployment covered by this subsection. 
(2) SENSE
OF
CONGRESS
ON
MOBILIZATION 
AND OPTIMAL MINIMUM PERIOD BETWEEN DEPLOY-
MENTS.—It is the sense of Congress that the units 
and members of the reserve components of the 
Armed Forces should not be mobilized continuously 
for more than one year; and the optimal minimum 
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period between the previous deployment of a unit or 
member of the Armed Forces specified in paragraph 
(3) to Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Endur-
ing Freedom and a subsequent deployment of the 
unit or member to Operation Iraqi Freedom or Op-
eration Enduring Freedom should be five years. 
(3) COVERED
UNITS
AND
MEMBERS.—The 
units and members of the Armed Forces specified in 
this paragraph are as follows: 
(A) Units and members of the Army Re-
serve. 
(B) Units and members of the Army Na-
tional Guard. 
(C) Units and members of the Marine 
Corps Reserve. 
(D) Units and members of the Navy Re-
serve. 
(E) Units and members of the Air Force 
Reserve. 
(F) Units and members of the Air Na-
tional Guard. 
(G) Units and members of the Coast 
Guard Reserve. 
(c) WAIVER
BY
THE PRESIDENT.—The President 
may waive the limitation in subsection (a) or (b) with re-
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spect to the deployment of a unit or member of the Armed 
Forces if the President certifies to Congress that the de-
ployment of the unit or member is necessary to meet an 
operational emergency posing a threat to vital national se-
curity interests of the United States. 
(d) WAIVER BY MILITARY CHIEF OF STAFF OR COM-
MANDANT FOR VOLUNTARY MOBILIZATIONS.— 
(1) ARMY.—With respect to the deployment of 
a member of the Army who has voluntarily re-
quested 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 de-
ployment of a member of the Marine Corps who has 
voluntarily requested mobilization, the limitation in 
subsection (a) or (b) may be waived by the Com-
mandant of the Marine Corps. 
(4) AIR FORCE.—With respect to the deploy-
ment of a member of the Air Force who has volun-
tarily requested mobilization, the limitation in sub-
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section (a) or (b) may be waived by the Chief of 
Staff of the Air Force. 
(5) COAST GUARD.—With respect to the deploy-
ment of a member of the Coast Guard who has vol-
untarily requested mobilization, the limitation in 
subsection (a) or (b) may be waived by the Com-
mandant of the Coast Guard. 
Æ 
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