S.Amdt. 1955

SA 1955. Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr. Blunt) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed to amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to
the bill H.R. 1735, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and

[[Page S3966]]

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:

At the end of subtitle B of title VII, add the following:

SEC. 721. PILOT PROGRAM ON INTEGRATION OF CERTAIN NON-MEDICAL
REPORTS AND RECORDS INTO THE MEDICAL RECORD OF
MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall
commence the conduct of a pilot program to assess the
feasibility and advisability of integrating into the medical
record of a member of the Armed Forces non-medical reports
and records of the Department of Defense relating to the
member that are relevant to the medical condition of the
member.
(b) Participation in Pilot Program.--
(1) Unit basis.--Members of the Armed Forces shall
participate in the pilot program on a unit basis.
(2) Participation by each armed force.--The units
participating in the pilot program shall include not less
than one unit of the regular component, and of each reserve
component, of each Armed Force selected by the Secretary of
Defense for purposes of the pilot program.
(c) Reports and Records Used.--The non-medical reports and
records to be integrated by the Secretary under the pilot
program shall include the following:
(1) Unit combat action or significant action reports.
(2) Reports or records relating to accident, injury, or
mortality investigations.
(3) Reports or records relating to sexual assault
investigations conducted by military criminal investigation
services.
(4) Such other reports or records as the Secretary of
Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs jointly
consider appropriate for purposes of the pilot program.
(d) Exception.--If the Secretary of Defense determines that
carrying out the pilot program with respect to a particular
unit is no longer feasible or advisable because of the
operational necessity of the Department of Defense or because
it would create an unreasonable burden on the Department, the
Secretary--
(1) shall notify the appropriate committees of Congress;
and
(2) may, not earlier than 30 days after such notification,
terminate carrying out the pilot program with respect to such
unit.
(e) Protection of Certain Information.--The Secretary of
Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, shall ensure that any sensitive, classified, or
personally identifiable information included in a report or
record integrated by the Secretary of Defense under the pilot
program is protected from disclosure in accordance with all
laws applicable to such information.
(f) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the
date that is one year after the commencement of the pilot
program under subsection (a).
(g) Reports.--
(1) Initial report.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report on--
(A) the units selected for participation in the pilot
program;
(B) the guidance provided to such units in carrying out the
pilot program; and
(C) the methods to be used by the Secretary of Defense in
carrying out the pilot program.
(2) Final report.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the
termination of the pilot program under subsection (f), the
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall jointly submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report on the pilot program.
(B) Elements.--The report required by subparagraph (A)
shall include the following:
(i) An assessment of the feasibility and advisability of
integrating into the medical record of a member of the Armed
Forces non-medical reports and records of the Department of
Defense relating to the member that are relevant to the
medical condition of the member.
(ii) The number and types of non-medical reports and
records that were integrated into the medical records of
members of the Armed Forces under the pilot program.
(iii) A summary of the activities of the units during the
period in which the pilot program was carried out.
(iv) Such other information and metrics relating to the
pilot program as the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs jointly consider appropriate.
(h) Funding.--Such sums as may be necessary to carry out
the pilot program shall be derived from amounts appropriated
to the Department of Defense for purposes of honoring members
of the Armed Forces at sporting events.
(i) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress''
means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.
______