Military FATIGUES Act of 2021
Bill: S.3016 | Sponsor: Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood (D-NH)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Military Forces Assuring that Treatment of Items by Gender are Uniform and Equal across the Services Act of 2021 or the Military FATIGUES Act of 2021
This bill requires the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness within the Department of Defense to establish consistent criteria for determining which uniform or clothing items across the military departments are considered uniquely military for purposes of calculating the standard cash clothing replacement allowance for members of the armed forces.
The office must review the established criteria every five years and recommend adjustments to enlisted clothing allowances if they are insufficient to pay for uniquely military items.
Additionally, the office must periodically review

To address out-of-pocket inequities related to military service 
                   uniforms, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Military Forces Assuring that 
Treatment of Items by Gender are Uniform and Equal across the Services 
Act of 2021'' or the ``Military FATIGUES Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO MILITARY SERVICE UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS AND 
              PROCEDURES.

    (a) Establishment of Consistent Criteria.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, acting 
        through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and 
        Readiness and in coordination with the Secretaries concerned 
        with respect to the Armed Forces under their jurisdiction, 
        shall establish consistent criteria for determining which 
        uniform or clothing items across the services are considered 
        uniquely military for purposes of calculating the standard cash 
        clothing replacement allowances, in part to reduce differences 
        in out-of-pocket costs incurred by enlisted members of the 
        Armed Forces across the military services and by gender within 
        a military service.
            (2) Review.--The Under Secretary shall review the criteria 
        established under paragraph (1) every 5 years thereafter and 
        recommend adjustments to enlisted clothing allowances if they 
        are insufficient to pay for uniquely military items.
    (b) Additional Reviews.--The Secretary of Defense, acting through 
the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and in 
coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall--
            (1) periodically review all uniform clothing plans of the 
        military services to identify data and requirements needed to 
        facilitate cost discussions and to recommend adjustments as 
        appropriate;
            (2) periodically review items in the military services' 
        calculations of the enlisted standard cash clothing replacement 
        allowances, at a minimum, every 5 years and develop a standard 
        by which to identify significant cost differences that warrant 
        being addressed;
            (3) periodically review all plans of the military services 
        for changing uniform items to determine if the planned changes 
        will result in significant out-of-pocket cost differences among 
        the services or among genders; and
            (4) periodically review initial officer clothing 
        allowances, at a minimum, every 10 years and identify 
        requirements needed to facilitate cost discussions and 
        adjustment recommendations as appropriate.
    (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the cost 
of like items between genders should be the same for members of the 
Armed Forces.
    (d) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2022, the Department of 
Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military 
departments, shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the estimated 
production and average retail prices of military clothing items for 
members of each Armed Force, including both officer and enlisted 
uniforms, and a comparison of costs for both male and female military 
clothing items for members of each of the respective services.
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