Title: Combating Bias in Military Promotions Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Combating Bias in Military Promotions Act
This bill requires that certain personal information be withheld from military promotion selection boards for commissioned officers of the Armed Forces. Specifically, the information provided to a promotion selection board may not include an officer's name, sex, age, race, or photograph.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4765 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4765

 To amend title 10, United States Code, to eliminate the inclusion of 
    certain personally identifying information from the information 
 furnished to promotion selection boards for commissioned officers of 
               the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 30 (legislative day, September 29), 2020

Mr. Young (for himself and Mrs. Shaheen) 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 eliminate the inclusion of 
    certain personally identifying information from the information 
 furnished to promotion selection boards for commissioned officers of 
               the Armed Forces, 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 ``Combating Bias in Military 
Promotions Act''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF INCLUSION OF CERTAIN PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING 
              INFORMATION FROM INFORMATION FURNISHED TO PROMOTION 
              SELECTION BOARDS FOR COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE ARMED 
              FORCES.

    (a) Regular Officers.--Section 615 of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``The Secretary of the military 
                department concerned'' and inserting ``Subject to 
                subsection (c), the Secretary of the military 
                department concerned'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``the names'' and 
                inserting ``the identifiers'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``whose name'' 
                and inserting ``whose identifier''; and
                    (D) in paragraph (5), by striking ``subsection 
                (c)'' and inserting ``subsection (d)'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as 
        subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection (c):
    ``(c)(1) Information on an officer furnished to a selection board 
under this section may not include any information that indicates the 
sex, age, or race of the officer, or a photograph of the officer.
    ``(2) In any information so furnished, an officer shall be 
identified through a unique identifier employed by the Secretary of the 
military department concerned for that purpose, rather than by the use 
of, or explicit reference to, the officer's name.''.
    (b) Reserve Officers.--Section 14107 of title 10, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``The Secretary of the military 
                department concerned'' and inserting ``Subject to 
                subsection (c), the Secretary of the military 
                department concerned'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``The name'' and 
                inserting ``The identifier''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ``the name'' and 
                inserting ``the identifier''; and
            (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
        subsection (c):
    ``(c) Omission of Certain Personally Identifying Information.--(1) 
Information on an officer furnished to a selection board under this 
section may not include any information that indicates the sex, age, or 
race of the officer, or a photograph of the officer.
    ``(2) In any information so furnished, an officer shall be 
identified through a unique identifier employed by the Secretary of the 
military department concerned for that purpose, rather than by the use 
of, or explicit reference to, the officer's name.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date that is two years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, and shall apply with respect to activities of promotion 
selection boards convened under section 611(a) or 14101(a) of title 10, 
United States Code, on or after that date.
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