I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3517 
To direct the Secretary of Defense to review the discharge characterization 
of former members of the Armed Forces who were discharged by reason 
of the sexual orientation of the member, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 26, 2019 
Mr. POCAN (for himself, Ms. HILL of California, Mr. BEYER, Mr. PAPPAS, 
Ms. LEE of California, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. TITUS, 
Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. PAL-
LONE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. 
HIMES, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. WATSON 
COLEMAN, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. WELCH, Mr. SOTO, 
Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. MOORE, Ms. 
DELBENE, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. FRANKEL, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, 
Mr. PANETTA, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. RUSH, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. 
SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. GALLEGO, 
Ms. NORTON, Ms. MENG, Mr. KIND, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. KILMER, Mr. 
SWALWELL of California, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. BLUNT 
ROCHESTER, Mr. RYAN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. 
KHANNA, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. CAROLYN 
B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 
Mr. TAKANO, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. LAWSON 
of Florida, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, 
Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. CASE, Mr. HECK, Ms. JACK-
SON LEE, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. 
SCHIFF, Ms. WILD, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. 
COX of California, Ms. OMAR, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. CRIST, Ms. ESCOBAR, 
Mr. VEASEY, Ms. BASS, Ms. PORTER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. PRESSLEY, 
Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. ROSE of New York, Ms. CASTOR of 
Florida, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. 
SLOTKIN, Mr. SARBANES, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. STANTON, and 
Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
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A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Defense to review the discharge 
characterization of former members of the Armed Forces 
who were discharged by reason of the sexual orientation 
of the member, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restore Honor to Serv-
ice Members Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REVIEW OF DISCHARGE CHARACTERIZATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this section, 
the appropriate discharge boards— 
(1) shall review the discharge characterization 
of covered members at the request of the covered 
member; and 
(2) if such characterization is any characteriza-
tion except honorable, may change such character-
ization to honorable. 
(b) CRITERIA.—In changing the discharge character-
ization of a covered member to honorable under subsection 
(a)(2), the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that such 
changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across 
the military departments using the following criteria: 
(1) The original discharge must be based on 
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (in this Act referred to as 
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‘‘DADT’’) or a similar policy in place prior to the 
enactment of DADT. 
(2) Such discharge characterization shall be so 
changed if, with respect to the original discharge, 
there were no aggravating circumstances, such as 
misconduct, that would have independently led to a 
discharge characterization that was any character-
ization except honorable. For purposes of this para-
graph, such aggravating circumstances may not in-
clude— 
(A) an offense under section 925 of title 
10, United States Code (article 125 of the Uni-
form Code of Military Justice), committed by a 
covered member against a person of the same 
sex with the consent of such person; or 
(B) statements, consensual sexual conduct, 
or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation 
or identity, or the disclosure of such state-
ments, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at 
the time of discharge but after the date of such 
discharge became permitted. 
(3) When requesting a review, a covered mem-
ber, or the member’s representative, shall be re-
quired to provide either— 
(A) documents consisting of— 
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(i) a copy of the DD–214 form of the 
member; 
(ii) a personal affidavit of the cir-
cumstances surrounding the discharge; and 
(iii) any relevant records pertaining to 
the discharge; or 
(B) an affidavit certifying that the mem-
ber, or the member’s representative, does not 
have the documents specified in subparagraph 
(A). 
(4) If a covered member provides an affidavit 
described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3)— 
(A) the appropriate discharge board shall 
make every effort to locate the documents speci-
fied in subparagraph (A) of such paragraph 
within the records of the Department of De-
fense; and 
(B) the absence of such documents may 
not be considered a reason to deny a change of 
the discharge characterization under subsection 
(a)(2). 
(c) REQUEST FOR REVIEW.—The appropriate dis-
charge board shall ensure the mechanism by which covered 
members, or their representative, may request to have the 
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discharge characterization of the covered member reviewed 
under this section is simple and straightforward. 
(d) REVIEW.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—After a request has been 
made under subsection (c), the appropriate dis-
charge board shall review all relevant laws, records 
of oral testimony previously taken, service records, 
or any other relevant information regarding the dis-
charge characterization of the covered member. 
(2) ADDITIONAL
MATERIALS.—If additional 
materials are necessary for the review, the appro-
priate discharge board— 
(A) may request additional information 
from the covered member or the member’s rep-
resentative, in writing, and specifically detailing 
what is being requested; and 
(B) shall be responsible for obtaining a 
copy of the necessary files of the covered mem-
ber from the member, or when applicable, from 
the Department of Defense. 
(e) CHANGE OF CHARACTERIZATION.—The appro-
priate discharge board shall change the discharge charac-
terization of a covered member to honorable if such change 
is determined to be appropriate after a review is conducted 
under subsection (d) pursuant to the criteria under sub-
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section (b). A covered member, or the member’s represent-
ative, may appeal a decision by the appropriate discharge 
board to not change the discharge characterization by 
using the regular appeals process of the board. 
(f) CHANGE OF RECORDS.—For each covered mem-
ber whose discharge characterization is changed under 
subsection (e), or for each covered member who was hon-
orably discharged but whose DD–214 form reflects the 
sexual orientation of the member, the Secretary of Defense 
shall reissue to the member or the member’s representa-
tive a revised DD–214 form that reflects the following: 
(1) For each covered member discharged, the 
Separation Code, Reentry Code, Narrative Code, and 
Separation Authority shall not reflect the sexual ori-
entation of the member and shall be placed under 
secretarial authority. Any other similar indication of 
the sexual orientation or reason for discharge shall 
be removed or changed accordingly to be consistent 
with this paragraph. 
(2) For each covered member whose discharge 
occurred prior to the creation of general secretarial 
authority, the sections of the DD–214 form referred 
to paragraph (1) shall be changed to similarly reflect 
a universal authority with codes, authorities, and 
language applicable at the time of discharge. 
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(g) STATUS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each covered member whose 
discharge characterization is changed under sub-
section (e) shall be treated without regard to the 
original discharge characterization of the member, 
including for purposes of— 
(A) benefits provided by the Federal Gov-
ernment to an individual by reason of service in 
the Armed Forces; and 
(B) all recognitions and honors that the 
Secretary of Defense provides to members of 
the Armed Forces. 
(2) REINSTATEMENT.—In carrying out para-
graph (1)(B), the Secretary shall reinstate all rec-
ognitions and honors of a covered member whose 
discharge characterization is changed under sub-
section (e) that the Secretary withheld because of 
the original discharge characterization of the mem-
ber. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE OF CHANGE OF CHARAC-
TERIZATION FOR VETERANS BENEFITS.—For pur-
poses of the provision of benefits to which veterans 
are entitled under the laws administered by the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs to a covered member 
whose discharge characterization is changed under 
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subsection (e), the date of discharge of the member 
from the Armed Forces shall be deemed to be the 
effective date of the change of discharge character-
ization under that subsection. 
(4) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub-
section shall be construed to authorize any benefit to 
a covered member in connection with the change of 
discharge characterization of the member under sub-
section (e) for any period before the effective date of 
the change of discharge characterization. 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘appropriate discharge board’’ 
means the boards for correction of military records 
under section 1552 of title 10, United States Code, 
or the discharge review boards under section 1553 
of such title, as the case may be. 
(2) The term ‘‘covered member’’ means any 
former member of the Armed Forces who was dis-
charged from the Armed Forces because of the sex-
ual orientation of the member. 
(3) The term ‘‘discharge characterization’’ 
means the characterization under which a member 
of the Armed Forces is discharged or released, in-
cluding ‘‘dishonorable’’, ‘‘general’’, ‘‘other than hon-
orable’’, and ‘‘honorable’’. 
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(4) The term ‘‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’’ means 
section 654 of title 10, United States Code, as in ef-
fect before such section was repealed pursuant to the 
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (Public 
Law 111–321). 
(5) The term ‘‘representative’’ means the sur-
viving spouse, next of kin, or legal representative of 
a covered member. 
SEC. 3. TIGER TEAM FOR OUTREACH TO FORMER MEM-
BERS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the mission of the Department of Defense 
is to provide the military forces needed to deter war 
and to protect the security of the United States; 
(2) expanding outreach to veterans impacted by 
DADT or a similar policy prior to the enactment of 
DADT is important to closing a period of history 
harmful to the creed of integrity, respect, and honor 
of the military; 
(3) the Department is responsible for providing 
for the review of a veteran’s military record before 
the appropriate discharge review board or, when 
more than 15 years has passed, board of correction 
for military or naval records; and 
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(4) the Secretary of Defense should, wherever 
possible, coordinate and conduct outreach to im-
pacted veterans through the veterans community 
and networks, including through the Department of 
Veterans Affairs and veterans service organizations, 
to ensure that veterans understand the review proc-
esses that are available to them for upgrading mili-
tary records. 
(b) TIGER TEAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Defense shall establish a team (commonly known 
as a ‘‘tiger team’’ and referred to in this section as 
the ‘‘Tiger Team’’) responsible for conducting out-
reach to build awareness among former members of 
the Armed Forces of the process established pursu-
ant to section 2 for the review of discharge charac-
terizations by appropriate discharge boards. The 
Tiger Team shall consist of appropriate personnel of 
the Department of Defense assigned to the Tiger 
Team by the Secretary for purposes of this section. 
(2) TIGER TEAM LEADER.—One of the persons 
assigned to the Tiger Team under paragraph (1) 
shall be a senior-level officer or employee of the De-
partment who shall serve as the lead official of the 
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Tiger Team (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Tiger 
Team Leader’’) and who shall be accountable for the 
activities of the Tiger Team under this section. 
(3) REPORT ON COMPOSITION.—Not later than 
60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report set-
ting forth the names of the personnel of the Depart-
ment assigned to the Tiger Team pursuant to this 
subsection, including the positions to which assigned. 
The report shall specify the name of the individual 
assigned as Tiger Team Leader. 
(c) DUTIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Tiger Team shall con-
duct outreach to build awareness among veterans of 
the process established pursuant to section 2 for the 
review of discharge characterizations by appropriate 
discharge boards. 
(2) COLLABORATION.—In conducting activities 
under this subsection, the Tiger Team Leader shall 
identify appropriate external stakeholders with 
whom the Tiger Team shall work to carry out such 
activities. Such stakeholders shall include the fol-
lowing: 
(A) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 
(B) The Archivist of the United States. 
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(C) Representatives of veterans service or-
ganizations. 
(D) Such other stakeholders as the Tiger 
Team Leader considers appropriate. 
(3) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Defense shall submit to Congress the fol-
lowing: 
(A) A plan setting forth the following: 
(i) A description of the manner in 
which the Secretary, working through the 
Tiger Team and in collaboration with ex-
ternal stakeholders described in paragraph 
(2), shall identify individuals who meet the 
criteria in section 2(b) for review of dis-
charge characterization. 
(ii) A description of the manner in 
which the Secretary, working through the 
Tiger Team and in collaboration with the 
external stakeholders, shall improve out-
reach to individuals who meet the criteria 
in section 2(b) for review of discharge 
characterization, including through— 
(I) obtaining contact information 
on such individuals; and 
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(II) contacting such individuals 
on the process established pursuant to 
section 2 for the review of discharge 
characterizations. 
(B) A description of the manner in which 
the work described in clauses (i) and (ii) of sub-
paragraph (A) will be carried out, including an 
allocation of the work among the Tiger Team 
and the external stakeholders. 
(C) A schedule for the implementation, 
carrying out, and completion of the plan re-
quired under subparagraph (A). 
(D) A description of the additional fund-
ing, personnel, or other resources of the De-
partment required to carry out the plan re-
quired under subparagraph (A), including any 
modification of applicable statutory or adminis-
trative authorities. 
(4) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall im-
plement and carry out the plan submitted under 
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) in accord-
ance with the schedule submitted under sub-
paragraph (C) of that paragraph. 
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(B) UPDATES.—Not less frequently than 
once every 90 days after the submittal of the 
report under paragraph (3), the Tiger Team 
shall submit to Congress an update on the car-
rying out of the plan submitted under subpara-
graph (A) of that paragraph. 
(5) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Tiger Team shall submit to the appropriate commit-
tees of Congress a final report on the activities of 
the Tiger Team under this subsection. The report 
shall set forth the following: 
(A) The number of individuals discharged 
under DADT or a similar policy prior to the en-
actment of DADT. 
(B) The number of individuals described in 
subparagraph (A) who availed themselves of a 
review of discharge characterization (whether 
through discharge review or correction of mili-
tary records) through a process established 
prior to the enactment of this Act. 
(C) The number of individuals contacted 
through outreach conducted pursuant to this 
section. 
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(D) The number of individuals described in 
subparagraph (A) who availed themselves of a 
review of discharge characterization through the 
process established pursuant to section 2. 
(E) The number of individuals described in 
subparagraph (D) whose review of discharge 
characterization resulted in a change of charac-
terization to honorable discharge. 
(F) The total number of individuals de-
scribed in subparagraph (A), including individ-
uals also covered by subparagraph (E), whose 
review of discharge characterization since Sep-
tember 20, 2011 (the date of repeal of DADT), 
resulted in a change of characterization to hon-
orable discharge. 
(6) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS 
DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appro-
priate committees of Congress’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Armed Services of 
the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Armed Services of 
the House of Representatives. 
(d) TERMINATION.—On the date that is 60 days after 
the date on which the final report required by paragraph 
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(5) is submitted, the Secretary shall terminate the Tiger 
Team. 
SEC. 4. REPORTS. 
(a) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Defense shall con-
duct a review of the consistency and uniformity of the re-
views conducted under section 2. 
(b) REPORTS.—Not later than 270 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter 
for a four-year period, the Secretary shall submit to Con-
gress a report on the reviews under subsection (a). Such 
reports shall include any comments or recommendations 
for continued actions. 
SEC. 5. HISTORICAL REVIEW. 
The Secretary of each military department shall en-
sure that oral historians of the department— 
(1) review the facts and circumstances sur-
rounding the estimated 100,000 members of the 
Armed Forces discharged from the Armed Forces 
between World War II and September 2011 because 
of the sexual orientation of the member; and 
(2) receive oral testimony of individuals who 
personally experienced discrimination and discharge 
because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation 
of the individual so that such testimony may serve 
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as an official record of these discriminatory policies 
and their impact on American lives. 
Æ 
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