[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3966 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. R. 3966
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 31, 2004
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the ability of the
Department of Defense to establish and maintain Senior Reserve Officer
Training Corps units at institutions of higher education, to improve
the ability of students to participate in Senior ROTC programs, and to
ensure that institutions of higher education provide military
recruiters entry to campuses and access to students that is at least
equal in quality and scope to that provided to any other employer.
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 ``ROTC and Military Recruiter Equal
Access to Campus Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program is
the most common path for undergraduates to become United States
military officers.
(2) The inclusion of both public and private undergraduate
institutions in the ROTC program insures a more racially,
ethnically, and socially diverse pool for leadership in the
higher ranks of the Armed Forces.
(3) The majority of both minority officers and female
officers in the Armed Forces are acquired through undergraduate
ROTC programs.
(4) The presence of ROTC programs on college campuses
benefits even those students who are not enrolled by making
them aware of the presence and role of the United States
military.
(5) Land-grant colleges received land from the United
States on the condition that they offer some military
instruction in addition to their regular curriculum, forming
the basis for the Nation's tradition of college and university
acceptance of responsibility to contribute to the Nation's
readiness.
(6) The Armed Forces face a constant challenge in
recruiting top-quality personnel that ROTC programs are ideally
suited to meet.
(7) Military recruiters should have access to college
campuses and to college students equal in quality and scope to
that provided all other employers.
(8) If any college or university discriminates against ROTC
programs or military recruiters, then under current law that
college or university becomes ineligible for certain Federal
taxpayer support, especially funding for many military and
defense programs.
(9) The personnel and programs of the Department of
Homeland Security and the Department of Energy are mutually
dependent upon a high caliber of well-educated, professional
leadership in the Armed Forces in order to protect the people
and territory of the United States.
(10) In order to more fully promote the ability of the
Nation's Armed Forces to recruit on college campuses and to
facilitate the ability of students to participate in ROTC
programs on campus, the laws to prevent discrimination against
ROTC and military recruiters should be updated.
SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH ROTC ACCESS PROVISIONS.
Subsection (a) of section 983 of title 10, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``No funds'';
(2) by striking ``prevents--'' and inserting ``prevents,
either (or both) of the following:'';
(3) by striking ``(1) the'' and inserting ``(A) The'';
(4) by striking ``; or'' and inserting a period;
(5) by striking ``(2) a'' and inserting ``(B) A''; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
``(2)(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
the ROTC and Military Recruiter Equal Access to Campus Act of 2004 and
annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall request from each
institution of higher education that has students participating in a
Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps program during the then-current
academic year of that institution a certification that such
institution, during the next academic year of the institution, will--
``(i) permit the Secretary of each military department to
maintain a unit of the Senior Officer Training Corps (in
accordance with subsection (a)) at that institution (or any
subelement of that institution), should such Secretary elect to
maintain such a unit; and
``(ii) if the Secretary of the military department
concerned elects not to establish or maintain a unit of the
Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps at that institution,
permit a student of that institution (or any subelement of that
institution) to enroll in a unit of the Senior Reserve Officer
Training Corps at another institution of higher education.
``(B) Any certification under subparagraph (A) shall be made by the
president of the institution (or equivalent highest ranking
administrative official) and shall be submitted to the Secretary of
Defense no later than 90 days after receipt of the request from the
Secretary.
``(C) In the case of any institution from which a certification is
requested under subparagraph (A), if the Secretary of Defense does not
receive a certification in accordance with subparagraph (B), or if the
certification does not state that the university will comply with both
clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) during its next academic year,
the Secretary shall make a determination under paragraph (1) as to
whether the institution has a policy or practice described in that
paragraph.''.
SEC. 4. EQUAL TREATMENT OF MILITARY RECRUITERS WITH OTHER RECRUITERS.
Subsection (b)(1) of section 983 of title 10, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) by striking ``entry to campuses'' and inserting
``access to campuses''; and
(2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end the
following: ``in a manner that is at least equal in quality and
scope to the degree of access to campuses and to students that
is provided to any other employer''.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF FUNDING FOR POST-SECONDARY SCHOOLS THAT PREVENT
ROTC ACCESS OR MILITARY RECRUITING.
(a) Covered Funds.--Subsection (d) of section 983 of title 10,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``limitation established in
subsection (a) applies'' and inserting ``limitations
established in subsections (a) and (b) apply'';
(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``for any
department or agency for which regular appropriations
are made'' after ``made available''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraphs:
``(C) Any funds made available for the Department of
Homeland Security.
``(D) Any funds made available for the National Nuclear
Security Administration of the Department of Energy.
``(E) Any funds made available for the Department of
Transportation.
``(F) Any funds made available for the Central Intelligence
Agency.''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (2).
(b) Conforming Amendments.--(1) Subsection (b) of such section is
amended by striking ``subsection (d)(2)'' and inserting ``subsection
(d)(1)''.
(2) Subsection (e) of such section is amended by inserting ``, to
the head of each other department and agency the funds of which are
subject to the determination,'' after ``Secretary of Education''.
SEC. 6. EXCLUSION OF AMOUNTS TO COVER INDIVIDUAL PAYMENTS.
(a) Codification and Extension of Exclusion.--Subsection (d) of
section 983 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section
5(a), is further amended--
(1) by striking ``The'' after ``(1)'' and inserting
``Except as provided in paragraph (2), the''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(2) Any Federal funding specified in paragraph (1) that is
provided to an institution of higher education, or to an individual, to
be available solely for student financial assistance, related
administrative costs, or costs associated with attendance, may be used
for the purpose for which the funding is provided.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Subsections (a) and (b) of such section
are amended by striking ``(including a grant of funds to be available
for student aid)''.
(c) Conforming Repeal of Codified Provision.--Section 8120 of the
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000 (Public Law 106-79; 10
U.S.C. 983 note), is repealed.
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to funds
appropriated for fiscal year 2005 and thereafter.
Passed the House of Representatives March 30, 2004.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.