S.Amdt. 1707

SA 1707. Mrs. SHAHEEN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 1390, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2010 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 161, after line 23, insert the following:

SEC. 557. REPORT ON YELLOW RIBBON REINTEGRATION PROGRAM.

(a) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the various reintegration programs being administered in support of National Guard and Reserve members and their families.

(b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include the following:

(1) An evaluation of the initial implementation of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program in fiscal year 2009.

(2) An assessment of the feasibility of incorporating the best practices from the supplementary full deployment services pilot programs of various States into the Yellow Ribbon program.

(3) An assessment of the extent to which Yellow Ribbon funding, although requested in multiple component accounts, supports robust joint programs that provide reintegration and support services to National Guard and Reserve members and their families regardless of military affiliation.

(4) An assessment of the extent to which Yellow Ribbon programs are coordinating closely with the Department of Veterans Affairs and its various veterans' programs.

(5) Plans for further implementation of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program in fiscal year 2010.