S.Amdt. 492

SA 492. Mr. SCOTT of Florida submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2024 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 E of title V, add the following:

SEC. 560A. MILITARY HISTORY GRADUATE STUDY FELLOWSHIP.

(a) In General.--Part III of title 10, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

``CHAPTER 114--MILITARY HISTORY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

``Sec.
``2200k. Programs; purpose.
``2200l. Scholarship program.
``2200m. Grant program.
``2200n. Use of funds.
``2200o. Regulations.
``2200p. Institution of higher education defined.

``Sec. 2200k. Programs; purpose

``(a) In General.--To encourage the recruitment and
retention of Department of Defense personnel who have the
traditional military history understanding required by the
Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense may carry out
programs in accordance with this chapter to provide financial
support for education in disciplines relevant to those
requirements at institutions of higher education.
``(b) Types of Programs.--The programs authorized under
this chapter are as follows:
``(1) Scholarships for pursuit of programs of education in
traditional military history disciplines at institutions of
higher education.
``(2) Grants to institutions of higher education.
``(c) Name of Program.--The programs authorized under this
chapter shall be known as the `Military History Scholarship
Program'.

``Sec. 2200l. Scholarship program

``(a) Authority.--The Secretary of Defense may, subject to
subsection (f), provide financial assistance in accordance
with this section to a person--
``(1) who is pursuing an advanced degree in a traditional
military history discipline referred to in section 2200k of
this title at an institution of higher education; and
``(2) who enters into an agreement with the Secretary as
described in subsection (b).
``(b) Service Agreement for Scholarship Recipients.--(1) To
receive financial assistance under this section--
``(A) a member of the armed forces shall enter into an
agreement to serve on active duty in the member's armed force
for the period of obligated service determined under
paragraph (2);
``(B) an employee of the Department of Defense shall enter
into an agreement to continue in the employment of the
Department for the period of obligated service determined
under paragraph (2); and
``(C) a person not referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B)
shall enter into an agreement--
``(i) to enlist or accept a commission in one of the armed
forces and to serve on active duty in that armed force for
the period of obligated service determined under paragraph
(2); or
``(ii) to accept and continue employment in the Department
of Defense for the period of obligated service determined
under paragraph (2).
``(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the period of
obligated service for a recipient of financial assistance
under this section shall be the period determined by the
Secretary of Defense as being appropriate to obtain adequate
service in exchange for the financial assistance and
otherwise to achieve the goals set forth in section 2200k of
this title. In no event may the period of service required of
a recipient be less than the period equal to three-fourths of
the total period of pursuit of a degree for which the
Secretary agrees to provide the recipient with financial
assistance under this section. The period of obligated
service is in addition to any other period for which the
recipient is obligated to serve on active duty or in the
civil service, as the case may be.
``(3) An agreement entered into under this section by a
person pursuing an academic degree shall include terms that
provide the following:
``(A) That the period of obligated service begins on a date
after the award of the degree that is determined under the
regulations prescribed under section 2200k of this title.
``(B) That the person will maintain satisfactory academic
progress, as determined in accordance with those regulations,
and that failure to maintain such progress constitutes
grounds for termination of the financial assistance for the
person under this section.
``(C) Any other terms and conditions that the Secretary of
Defense determines appropriate for carrying out this section.
``(c) Amount of Assistance.--The amount of the financial
assistance provided for a person under this section shall be
the amount determined by the Secretary of Defense as being
necessary to pay all educational expenses incurred by that
person, including tuition, fees, cost of books, laboratory
expenses, and expenses of room and board. The expenses paid,
however, shall be limited to those educational expenses
normally incurred by students at the institution of higher
education involved.
``(d) Use of Assistance for Support of Internships.--The
financial assistance for a person under this section may also
be provided to support internship activities of the person at
the Department of Defense in periods between the academic
years leading to the degree for which assistance is provided
the person under this section.
``(e) Repayment for Period of Unserved Obligated Service.--
(1) A member of an armed force who does not complete the
period of active duty specified in the service agreement
under subsection (b) shall be subject to the repayment
provisions of section 303a(e) or 373 of title 37.
``(2) A civilian employee of the Department of Defense who
voluntarily terminates service before the end of the period
of obligated service required under an agreement entered into
under subsection (b) shall be subject to the repayment
provisions of section 303a(e) or 373 of title 37 in the same
manner and to the same extent as if the civilian employee
were a member of the armed forces.
``(f) Allocation of Funding.--Not less than 10 percent of
the amount available for financial assistance under this
section for a fiscal year shall be available only for
providing financial assistance for the pursuit of degrees
referred to in subsection (a) at institutions of higher
education that have established, improved, or are
administering programs of education in traditional military
history disciplines under the grant program established in
section 2200l of this title, as determined by the Secretary
of Defense.
``(g) Employment of Program Participants.--The Secretary of
Defense--
``(1) may, without regard to any provision of title 5
governing appointments in the competitive service, appoint to
a military history position in the Department of Defense in
the excepted service an individual who has successfully
completed an academic program for which a scholarship under
this section was awarded and who, under the terms of the
agreement for such scholarship, at the time of such
appointment owes a service commitment to the Department; and
``(2) may, upon satisfactory completion of two years of
substantially continuous service by an incumbent who was
appointed to an excepted service position under the authority
of paragraph (1), convert the appointment of such individual,
without competition, to a career or career-conditional
appointment.

[[Page S2637]]

``Sec. 2200m. Grant program

``(a) Authority.--The Secretary of Defense may provide
grants of financial assistance to institutions of higher
education to support the establishment, improvement, or
administration of programs of education in military history
disciplines referred to in section 2200k of this title.
``(b) Purposes.--The proceeds of grants under this section
may be used by an institution of higher education for the
following purposes:
``(1) Faculty development.
``(2) Curriculum development.
``(3) Faculty research in military history.

``Sec. 2200n. Use of funds

``(a) In General.--Funds appropriated or otherwise made
available to carry out this chapter may be made available to
sponsor or support research and studies in conflict, wartime
leaders, military battles, wartime strategy and operations,
or other information the Secretary of Defense considers to be
of importance relative to the field of military history.
``(b) Limitations.--Funds appropriated or otherwise made
available to carry out this chapter may not be made available
to sponsor or support research or studies that predominantly
focus on the social sciences of military history.

``Sec. 2200o. Regulations

``The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations for
the administration of this chapter.

``Sec. 2200p. Institution of higher education defined

``In this chapter, the term `institution of higher
education' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The tables of chapters at the
beginning of subtitle A of title 10, United States Code, and
the beginning of part III of such subtitle are amended by
inserting after the item relating to chapter 113 the
following new item:

``114. Military History Scholarship Program................2200k''.....

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