S.Amdt. 4544

SA 4544. Mr. BOOKER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2017 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:
At the end of subtitle C of title V, add the following:

SEC. 538. ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THE WEARING OF ARTICLES OF FAITH
ALONG WITH THE UNIFORM FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED
FORCES.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that,
in order to increase the efficiency of the process by which
the Armed Forces address religious accommodation requests,
the Department of Defense should--
(1) expeditiously and clearly define and publish a list of
religious apparel considered ``neat and conservative'' for
purposes of section 774 of title 10, United States Code,
which list should include uniform standards for articles of
faith such as those worn by observant Sikhs, orthodox Jews,
and Muslims;
(2) modify the process for addressing religious
accommodation requests in order to provide that decisions on
such requests of current members of the Armed Forces are
issued not later than 30 calendar days after the filing of
the requests;
(3) for individuals accessing into the Armed Forces,
provide that decisions on religious accommodation requests
are made not later than the earlier of--
(A) 30 calendar days after of the filing of the requests;
or
(B) the date on which such individuals access into the
Armed Forces;
(4) provide that--
(A) any approval of a religious accommodation request of a
member applies to the member throughout the member's service
in the Armed Forces; and
(B) a new religious accommodation request be required of a
member only if there is a significant change in the member's
duties that raises issues of health and welfare;
(5) provide that members not be required to violate their
religious beliefs while a religious accommodation request is
pending in a manner such that--
(A) while a request is pending, the member concerned be
permitted to wear articles of faith consistent with the
member's beliefs; and
(B) individuals accessing into the Armed Forces be
permitted to observe religious requirements, including
requirements for religious apparel, grooming, and appearance,
during the pendency of their requests;
(6) provide that religious accommodation requests be
approved at the lowest level possible of command and, as
appropriate, forwarded to the Secretary of the military
department; and
(7) not require any unnecessary testing in connection with
resolving religious accommodation requests.
(b) Annual Reports on Religious Accommodation Processes of
the Armed Forces.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the
next seven years, the

[[Page S3595]]

Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed
Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a
report setting forth the following:
(1) A description of the current process of each Armed
Force for addressing religious accommodation requests.
(2) The number of religious accommodation requests
submitted to each Armed Force during the one-year period
ending on the date of such report.
(3) The average processing time of each Armed Force for
religious accommodation requests during such period.
(4) A comparison of the number and nature of religious
accommodation requests approved during such period with the
number and description of grooming standard exemptions
approved during such period, set forth by Armed Force.
(5) A description of the impact, if any, on members of the
need for renewed religious accommodation requests in
connection with promotion, new duties, or transition through
commands during such period, set forth by Armed Force.
(c) Religious Accommodation Request Defined.--In this
section, the term ``religious accommodation request'' means
the request of a member of the Armed Forces to wear articles
of faith consistent with the member's beliefs along with the
uniform.
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