104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4000
AN ACT
To amend title 10, United States Code, to restore the provi-
sions 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. RESTORATION OF MISSING PERSONS AUTHORI-
TIES APPLICABLE TO DEPARTMENT OF DE-
FENSE AS IN EFFECT BEFORE ENACTMENT
OF NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT
FOR FISCAL YEAR 1997.
(a) APPLICABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES.—
(1) Section 1501 of title 10, United States Code, is
amended—
(A) by striking out subsection (c) and inserting
in lieu thereof the following:
‘‘(c) COVERED PERSONS.—Section 1502 of this title
applies in the case of the following persons:
‘‘(1) Any member of the armed forces on active
duty who becomes involuntarily absent as a result of
a hostile action, or under circumstances suggesting
that the involuntary absence is a result of a hostile
action, and whose status is undetermined or who is
unaccounted for.
‘‘(2) Any civilian employee of the Department
of Defense, and any employee of a contractor of the
Department of Defense, who serves with or accom-
panies the armed forces in the field under orders
who becomes involuntarily absent as a result of a
hostile action, or under circumstances suggesting
that the involuntary absence is a result of a hostile
action, and whose status is undetermined or who is
unaccounted for.’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(f) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—In this chapter, the
term ‘Secretary concerned’ includes, in the case of a civil-
ian employee of the Department of Defense or contractor
of the Department of Defense, the Secretary of the mili-
tary department or head of the element of the Department
of Defense employing the employee or contracting with the
contractor, as the case may be.’’.
(2) Section 1503(c) of such title is amended—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘one mili-
tary officer’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘one indi-
vidual described in paragraph (2)’’;
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as
paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the follow-
ing new paragraph (2):
‘‘(2) An individual referred to in paragraph (1) is the
following:
‘‘(A) A military officer, in the case of an in-
quiry with respect to a member of the armed forces.
‘‘(B) A civilian, in the case of an inquiry with
respect to a civilian employee of the Department of
Defense or of a contractor of the Department of De-
fense.’’.
(3) Section 1504(d) of such title is amended—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘who are’’
and all that follows in that paragraph and inserting
in lieu thereof ‘‘as follows:
‘‘(A) In the case of a board that will inquire
into the whereabouts and status of one or more
members of the armed forces (and no civilians de-
scribed in subparagraph (B)), the board shall be
composed of officers having the grade of major or
lieutenant commander or above.
‘‘(B) In the case of a board that will inquire
into the whereabouts and status of one or more civil-
ian employees of the Department of Defense or con-
tractors of the Department of Defense (and no
members of the armed forces), the board shall be
composed of—
‘‘(i) not less than three employees of the
Department of Defense whose rate of annual
pay is equal to or greater than the rate of an-
nual pay payable for grade GS–13 of the Gen-
eral Schedule under section 5332 of title 5; and
‘‘(ii) such members of the armed forces as
the Secretary considers advisable.
‘‘(C) In the case of a board that will inquire
into the whereabouts and status of both one or more
members of the armed forces and one or more civil-
ians described in subparagraph (B)—
‘‘(i) the board shall include at least one of-
ficer described in subparagraph (A) and at least
one employee of the Department of Defense de-
scribed in subparagraph (B)(i); and
‘‘(ii) the ratio of such officers to such em-
ployees on the board shall be roughly propor-
tional to the ratio of the number of members of
the armed forces who are subjects of the
board’s inquiry to the number of civilians who
are subjects of the board’s inquiry.’’; and
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking out ‘‘section
1503(c)(3)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section
1503(c)(4)’’.
(4) Paragraph (1) of section 1513 of such title is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(1) The term ‘missing person’ means—
‘‘(A) a member of the armed forces on ac-
tive duty who is in a missing status; or
‘‘(B) a civilian employee of the Depart-
ment of Defense or an employee of a contractor
of the Department of Defense who serves with
or accompanies the armed forces in the field
under orders and who is in a missing status.’’.
(b) REPORT ON PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF STA-
TUS.—(1) Section 1502 of such title is amended—
(A) in subsection (a)(2)—
(i) by striking out ‘‘10 days’’ and inserting
in lieu thereof ‘‘48 hours’’; and
(ii) by striking out ‘‘Secretary concerned’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘theater compo-
nent commander with jurisdiction over the
missing person’’;
(B) in subsection (a), as amended by subpara-
graph (A)—
(i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and
(2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
(ii) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘COM-
MANDER.—’’; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) However, if the commander determines that
operational conditions resulting from hostile action or
combat constitute an emergency that prevents timely re-
porting under paragraph (1)(B), the initial report should
be made as soon as possible, but in no case later than
ten days after the date on which the commander receives
such information under paragraph (1).’’;
(C) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-
section (c);
(D) by inserting after subsection (a), as amend-
ed by subparagraphs (A) and (B), the following new
subsection (b):
‘‘(b) TRANSMISSION THROUGH THEATER COMPO-
NENT COMMANDER.—Upon reviewing a report under sub-
section (a) recommending that a person be placed in a
missing status, the theater component commander shall
ensure that all necessary actions are being taken, and all
appropriate assets are being used, to resolve the status
of the missing person. Not later than 14 days after receiv-
ing the report, the theater component commander shall
forward the report to the Secretary of Defense or the Sec-
retary concerned in accordance with procedures prescribed
under section 1501(b) of this title. The theater component
commander shall include with such report a certification
that all necessary actions are being taken, and all appro-
priate assets are being used, to resolve the status of the
missing person.’’; and
(E) in subsection (c), as redesignated by sub-
paragraph (C), by adding at the end the following
new sentence: ‘‘The theater component commander
through whom the report with respect to the missing
person is transmitted under subsection (b) shall en-
sure that all pertinent information relating to the
whereabouts and status of the missing person that
results from the preliminary assessment or from ac-
tions taken to locate the person is properly safe-
guarded to avoid loss, damage, or modification.’’.
(2) Section 1503(a) of such title is amended by strik-
ing out ‘‘section 1502(a)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘section 1502(b)’’.
(3) Section 1504 of such title is amended by striking
out ‘‘section 1502(a)(2)’’ in subsections (a), (b), and
(e)(1) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 1502(a)’’.
(4) Section 1513 of such title is amended by adding
at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(8) The term ‘theater component commander’
means, with respect to any of the combatant com-
mands, an officer of any of the armed forces who
(A) is commander of all forces of that armed force
assigned to that combatant command, and (B) is di-
rectly subordinate to the commander of the combat-
ant command.’’.
(c) FREQUENCY OF SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS.—Sub-
section (b) of section 1505 of such title is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘(b) FREQUENCY OF SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS.—(1)
In the case of a missing person who was last known to
be alive or who was last suspected of being alive, the Sec-
retary shall appoint a board to conduct an inquiry with
respect to a person under this subsection—
‘‘(A) on or about three years after the date of
the initial report of the disappearance of the person
under section 1502(a) of this title; and
‘‘(B) not later than every three years there-
after.
‘‘(2) In addition to appointment of boards under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall appoint a board to con-
duct an inquiry with respect to a missing person under
this subsection upon receipt of information that could re-
sult in a change of status of the missing person. When
the Secretary appoints a board under this paragraph, the
time for subsequent appointments of a board under para-
graph (1)(B) shall be determined from the date of the re-
ceipt of such information.
‘‘(3) The Secretary is not required to appoint a board
under paragraph (1) with respect to the disappearance of
any person—
‘‘(A) more than 30 years after the initial report
of the disappearance of the missing person required
by section 1502(a) of this title; or
‘‘(B) if, before the end of such 30-year period,
the missing person is accounted for.’’.
(d) PENALTIES FOR WRONGFUL WITHHOLDING OF
INFORMATION.—Section 1506 of such title is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (f); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the follow-
ing new subsection (e):
‘‘(e) WRONGFUL WITHHOLDING.—Except as pro-
vided in subsections (a) through (d), any person who
knowingly and willfully withholds from the personnel file
of a missing person any information relating to the dis-
appearance or whereabouts and status of a missing person
shall be fined as provided in title 18 or imprisoned not
more than one year, or both.’’.
(e) INFORMATION TO ACCOMPANY RECOMMENDA-
TION OF STATUS OF DEATH.—Section 1507(b) of such
title is amended adding at the end the following new para-
graphs:
‘‘(3) A description of the location of the body,
if recovered.
‘‘(4) If the body has been recovered and is not
identifiable through visual means, a certification by
a practitioner of an appropriate forensic science that
the body recovered is that of the missing person.’’.
(f) SCOPE OF PREENACTMENT REVIEW.—(1) Section
1509 of such title is amended—
(A) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (d); and
(B) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow-
ing new subsection (c):
‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR PERSONS CLASSIFIED AS
‘KIA/BNR’.—In the case of a person described in sub-
section (b) who was classified as ‘killed in action/body not
recovered’, the case of that person may be reviewed under
this section only if the new information referred to in sub-
section (a) is compelling.’’.
(2)(A) The heading of such section is amended by
inserting 
‘‘, 
special 
interest’’ 
after
‘‘Preenactment’’.
(B) The item relating to such section in the table of
sections at the beginning of chapter 76 of such title is
amended 
by 
inserting 
‘‘, 
special 
interest’’ 
after
‘‘Preenactment’’.
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect immediately after the enact-
ment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 1997.
Passed the House of Representatives September 27,
1996.
Attest:
Clerk.