Title: Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act
This bill establishes a punitive article in the Uniform Code of Military Justice on domestic violence and aggravated domestic violence against an intimate partner. "Aggravated domestic violence" involves the use of a weapon, or force in a manner likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm.
Military departments must submit to the Department of Justice the identity of each member of the Armed Forces who has been convicted of a domestic violence offense for inclusion in the national instant criminal background check system.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2129 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2129

To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a punitive article 
 in the Uniform Code of Military Justice on domestic violence, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 15, 2017

Ms. Hirono (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cortez 
Masto, Mr. Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Harris, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Kaine, 
 Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Markey, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Peters, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. 
Shaheen, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a punitive article 
 in the Uniform Code of Military Justice on domestic violence, 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 Domestic Violence Reporting 
Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. PUNITIVE ARTICLE IN THE UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE ON 
              DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

    (a) Punitive Article.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter X of chapter 47 of title 10, 
        United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is 
        amended by inserting after the item relating to section 928 
        (article 128) the following new section (article):
``Sec. 928a. Art. 128a. Domestic violence
    ``(a) Domestic Violence.--Any person subject to this chapter who, 
unlawfully and with force or violence, attempts, offers to, or does 
intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, 
coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound another person of whom 
the person is an intimate partner is guilty of domestic violence and 
shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
    ``(b) Aggravated Domestic Violence.--Any person subject to this 
chapter who, in committing domestic violence, uses a weapon, means, or 
force in a manner likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm is 
guilty of aggravated domestic violence and shall be punished as a 
court-martial may direct.
    ``(c) Intimate Partner Defined.--In this section, the term 
`intimate partner', in the case of a person, means another person--
            ``(1) who is the spouse or former spouse of the person;
            ``(2) who shares a child in common with the person;
            ``(3) who cohabits or has cohabited with the person;
            ``(4) who is a dating partner of the person; or
            ``(5) of whom the person is situated as a parent or 
        guardian or is similarly situated.''.
            (2) Clerical amendments.--
                    (A) In general.--The table of sections at the 
                beginning of subchapter X of chapter 47 of such title 
                is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
                section 928 (article 128) the following new item:

``928a. 128a. Domestic violence.''.
                    (B) Coordination with ucmj reform.--Effective as of 
                the effective date of the amendments made by the 
                Military Justice Act of 2016 (division E of Public Law 
                114-328; 10 U.S.C. 101 note), as provided in section 
                5542(a) of that Act (130 Stat. 2967; 10 U.S.C. 801 
                note), the table of sections at the beginning of 
                subchapter X of chapter 47 of such title, as amended by 
                section 5452 of that Act (130 Stat. 2958), is further 
                amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
                928 (article 928) the following new item:

``928a. 128a. Domestic violence.''.
                    (C) Coordination of amendments.--If the date of the 
                enactment of this Act occurs after the effective date 
                of the amendments made by the Military Justice Act of 
                2016, as provided in section 5542(a) of that Act, 
                subparagraph (A) and the amendment made by that 
                subparagraph shall not go into effect.
    (b) Coordination With Prohibitions on Sale, Transit, or Possession 
of Firearms or Ammunition by Persons Convicted of Domestic Violence.--
Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)(9), by inserting before the period at 
        the end the following: ``, or has been convicted by general or 
        special court-martial of an offense of domestic violence under 
        section 928a of title 10 (article 128a of the Uniform Code of 
        Military Justice)''; and
            (2) in subsection (g)(9), by inserting before the comma at 
        the end the following: ``, or who has been convicted by general 
        or special court-martial of an offense of domestic violence 
        under section 928a of title 10 (article 128a of the Uniform 
        Code of Military Justice)''.
    (c) Prompt Reporting of Convictions.--
            (1) In general.--Under regulations and procedures 
        prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, each Secretary 
        concerned shall submit to the Attorney General for inclusion in 
        the national instant criminal background check system and other 
        appropriate systems or databases the name and other appropriate 
        information on each member of the Armed Forces under the 
        jurisdiction of such Secretary who has been convicted of an 
        offense under section 928a title 10, United States Code 
        (article 128a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as 
        added by subsection (a).
            (2) Deadline for reporting.--The name and other information 
        on a member required to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) 
        shall be submitted not later than three days after the date of 
        entry of judgment with respect to the member for the offense 
        concerned.
            (3) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    (A) The term ``national instant criminal background 
                check system'' means the system established under 
                section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention 
                Act (34 U.S.C. 40901).
                    (B) The term ``Secretary concerned'' has the 
                meaning given that term in section 101(a)(9) of title 
                10, United States Code.
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