Smart Act
Bill: H.R.9279 | Sponsor: Rep. Panetta, Jimmy (D-CA)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Strengthening the Force and Fleet Through Enlisted Education Act or the Smart Act
This bill removes the capacity limit for enlisted members of the Armed Forces to receive graduate-level instruction in a Naval Postgraduate School program. The Department of Defense must brief Congress on the effects of increasing enrollment of enlisted members at the school.

To amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize more enlisted 
  members of the Armed Forces to attend the Naval Postgraduate School.

    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 ``Strengthening the Force and Fleet 
Through Enlisted Education Act'' or the ``Smart Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that:
            (1) The demands of the future operating environment need to 
        be met by the most professional, intelligent, innovative, and 
        capable servicemembers our Nation has ever produced.
            (2) Though officers comprise roughly 18 percent of the 
        Armed Forces, they receive significantly higher investments 
        into their education up to the PhD level than that of their 
        enlisted counterparts.
            (3) Investing in enlisted advanced education will 
        strengthen the lethality of the Armed Forces by producing 
        higher quantities of noncommissioned officers able to operate 
        through the intellectual demands of complex contingencies, 
        producing military leaders at rates higher than is otherwise 
        feasible with the pool of eligible officers.
            (4) Conducting research and analysis on the impact of 
        advanced education on enlisted servicemembers performance, 
        promotion rate, misconduct, and retention is critical to 
        propelling the Department of Defense's initiatives for a 
        modern, state-of-the art approach to education and research to 
        create and sustain an intellectual overmatch in today's 
        warfighting domains.
            (5) The Naval Postgraduate School serves as a converging 
        point for all branches of the United States military while 
        simultaneously offering innovative learning environments that, 
        combined, offers an ideal testing ground to evaluate the 
        potential benefits of expanding enlisted higher education 
        across the Joint Force.

SEC. 3. NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL: ATTENDANCE BY ENLISTED MEMBERS.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (a)(2)(D)(iii) of section 8545 of title 
10, United States Code, is amended by striking ``only on a space-
available basis'' and inserting ``at a rate of acceptance not to be 
conditioned by the number of officer applications''.
    (b) Briefing.--Six years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Defense shall brief the Committees on Armed 
Services of the Senate and House of Representatives on the effects of 
increasing enrollment of enlisted members at the Naval Postgraduate 
School pursuant to the amendment made by subsection (a). Such briefing 
shall include the following elements:
            (1) Any increase to the lethality of the Armed Forces.
            (2) Effects on rates of recruitment, promotion (including 
        compensation to members), and retention.
            (3) Effects on malign behavior by members of the Armed 
        Forces.
                                 <all>