,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bhci ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #be1 #bjac ,mr4 ,pocan 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,rangel1 ,mr4 ,andrews1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,brownley of ,california1 ,mrs4 ,bustos1 ,mrs4 ,capps1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 ,mr4 ,carson of ,indiana1 ,mr4 ,cartwright1 ,ms4 ,castor of ,florida1 ,mrs4 ,christensen1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,ms4 ,clarke1 ,mr4 ,clay1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,mr4 ,connolly1 ,mr4 ,conyers1 ,mr4 ,crowley1 ,mr4 ,cummings1 ,ms4 ,de,lauro1 ,ms4 ,del,bene1 ,mr4 ,deutch1 ,mr4 ,dingell1 ,mr4 ,ellison1 ,mr4 ,engel1 ,ms4 ,esty1 ,mr4 ,farr1 ,mr4 ,fattah1 ,ms4 ,frankel of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,gabbard1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,mr4 ,gutirrez1 ,ms4 ,hahn1 ,mr4 ,hastings of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,higgins1 ,mr4 ,himes1 ,mr4 ,holt1 ,mr4 ,horsford1 ,mr4 ,israel1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,kaptur1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 ,mr4 ,kildee1 ,mr4 ,kilmer1 ,mr4 ,kind1 ,ms4 ,kuster1 ,mr4 ,langevin1 ,mr4 ,larsen of ,washington1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,mr4 ,lewis1 ,ms4 ,lofgren1 ,mr4 ,lowenthal1 ,mrs4 ,lowey1 ,mr4 ,ben ,ray ,lujn of ,new ,mexico1 ,ms4 ,michelle ,lujan ,grisham of ,new ,mexico1 ,mr4 ,maffei1 ,mrs4 ,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,sean ,patrick ,maloney of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,mc,collum1 ,mr4 ,mc,dermott1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mr4 ,michaud1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4 ,murphy of ,florida1 ,mrs4 ,napolitano1 ,mr4 ,nolan1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,o',rourke1 ,mr4 ,pastor of ,arizona1 ,mr4 ,payne1 ,mr4 ,peters of ,california1 ,ms4 ,pingree of ,maine1 ,mr4 ,polis1 ,mr4 ,quigley1 ,ms4 ,ros-,lehtinen1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,ryan of ,ohio1 ,ms4 ,linda ,t4 ,snchez of ,california1 ,mr4 ,sarbanes1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,mr4 ,schneider1 ,ms4 ,schwartz1 ,ms4 ,shea-,porter1 ,ms4 ,sinema1 ,ms4 ,slaughter1 ,ms4 ,speier1 ,mr4 ,takano1 ,ms4 ,titus1 ,mr4 ,tonko1 ,ms4 ,tsongas1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,vargas1 ,mr4 ,veasey1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 ,mr4 ,waxman1 ,mr4 ,welch1 and ,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,defense to review the discharge characterization of former members of the ,armed ,forces who were discharged by reason of the sexual orientation of the member1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,restore ,honor to ,service ,members ,act4 #b4 ,review of discharge characterization 7a7 ,in general ,in accordance with this section1 the appropriate discharge boards-- 7#a7 shall review the discharge characterization of covered members at the request of the covered member2 and 7#b7 if such characterization is any characterization except honorable1 may change such characterization to honorable4 7b7 ,criteria ,in changing the discharge characterization of a covered member to honorable under subsection 7a77#b71 the ,secretary of ,defense shall ensure that such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using the following criteria3 7#a7 ,the original discharge must be based on ,don't ,ask ,don't ,tell 7in this ,act referred to as ,,dadt7 or a similar policy in place prior to the enactment of ,,dadt4 7#b7 ,such discharge characterization shall be so changed if1 with respect to the original discharge1 there were no aggravating circumstances1 such as misconduct1 that would have independently led to a discharge characterization that was any characterization except honorable4 ,for purposes of this paragraph1 such aggravating circumstances may not include-- 7,a7 an offense under section #ibe of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code 7article #abe of the ,uniform ,code of ,military ,justice71 committed by a covered member against a person of the same sex with the consent of such person2 or 7,b7 statements1 consensual sexual conduct1 or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity1 or the disclosure of such statements1 conduct1 or acts1 that were prohibited at the time of discharge but after the date of such discharge became permitted4 7#c7 ,when requesting a review1 a covered member1 or their representative1 shall be required to provide either-- 7,a7 documents consisting of-- 7i7 a copy of the ,,dd-#bad form of the member2 7ii7 a personal affidavit of the circumstances surrounding the discharge2 and 7iii7 any relevant records pertaining to the discharge2 or 7,b7 an affidavit certifying that the member1 or their representative1 does not have the documents specified in subparagraph 7,a74 7#d7 ,if a covered member provides an affidavit described in subparagraph 7,b7 of paragraph 7#c7-- 7,a7 the appropriate discharge board shall make every effort to locate the documents specified in subparagraph 7,a7 of such paragraph within the records of the ,department of ,defense2 and 7,b7 the absence of such documents may not be considered a reason to deny a change of the discharge characterization under subsection 7a77#b74 7c7 ,request for review ,the appropriate discharge board shall ensure the mechanism by which covered members1 or their representative1 may request to have the discharge characterization of the covered member reviewed under this section is simple and straightforward4 7d7 ,review 7#a7 ,in general ,after a request has been made under subsection 7c71 the appropriate discharge board shall review all relevant laws1 records of oral testimony previously taken1 service records1 or any other relevant information regarding the discharge characterization of the covered member4 7#b7 ,additional materials ,if additional materials are necessary for the review1 the appropriate discharge board-- 7,a7 may request additional information from the covered member or their representative1 in writing1 and specifically detailing what is being requested2 and 7,b7 shall be responsible for obtaining a copy of the necessary files of the covered member from the member1 or when applicable1 from the ,department of ,defense4 7e7 ,change of characterization ,the appropriate discharge board shall change the discharge characterization of a covered member to honorable if such change is determined to be appropriate after a review is conducted under subsection 7d7 pursuant to the criteria under subsection 7b74 ,a covered member1 or the representative of the member1 may appeal a decision by the appropriate discharge board to not change the discharge characterization by using the regular appeals process of the board4 7f7 ,change of records ,for each covered member whose discharge characterization is changed under subsection 7e71 or for each covered member who was honorably discharged but whose ,,dd-#bad form reflects the sexual orientation of the member1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall reissue to the member or their representative a revised ,,dd-#bad form that reflects the following3 7#a7 ,for each covered member discharged1 the ,separation ,code1 ,reentry ,code1 ,narrative ,code1 and ,separation ,authority shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member and shall be placed under secretarial authority4 ,any other similar indication of the sexual orientation or reason for discharge shall be removed or changed accordingly to be consistent with this paragraph4 7#b7 ,for each covered member whose discharge occurred prior to the creation of general secretarial authority1 the sections of the ,,dd-#bad form referred to paragraph 7#a7 shall be changed to similarly reflect a universal authority with codes1 authorities1 and language applicable at the time of discharge4 7g7 ,status 7#a7 ,in general ,each covered member whose discharge characterization is changed under subsection 7e7 shall be treated without regard to the original discharge characterization of the member1 including for purposes of-- 7,a7 benefits provided by the ,federal ,government to an individual by reason of service in the ,armed ,forces2 and 7,b7 all recognitions and honors that the ,secretary of ,defense provides to members of the ,armed ,forces4 7#b7 ,reinstatement ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a77;,b71 the ,secretary shall reinstate all recognitions and honors of a covered member whose discharge characterization is changed under subsection 7e7 that the ,secretary withheld because of the original discharge characterization of the member4 7h7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term appropriate discharge board means the boards for correction of military records under section #aeeb of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 or the discharge review boards under section #aeec of such title1 as the case may be4 7#b7 ,the term covered member means any former member of the ,armed ,forces who was discharged from the ,armed ,forces because of the sexual orientation of the member4 7#c7 ,the term discharge characterization means the characterization under which a member of the ,armed ,forces is discharged or released1 including dishonorable1 general1 other than honorable1 and honorable4 7#d7 ,the term ,don't ,ask ,don't ,tell means section #fed of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 as in effect before such section was repealed pursuant to the ,don't ,ask1 ,don't ,tell ,repeal ,act of #bjaj 7,public ,law #aaa-cba74 7#e7 ,the term representative means the surviving spouse1 next of kin1 or legal representative of a covered member4 #c4 ,reports 7a7 ,review ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall conduct a review of the consistency and uniformity of the reviews conducted under section #b4 7b7 ,reports ,not later than #bgj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and each year thereafter for a four-year period1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report on the reviews under subsection 7a74 ,such reports shall include any comments or recommendations for continued actions4 #d4 ,historical review ,the ,secretary of each military department shall ensure that oral historians of the department-- 7#a7 review the facts and circumstances surrounding the estimated #ajj1jjj members of the ,armed ,forces discharged from the ,armed ,forces between ,world ,war ,,ii and ,september #bjaa because of the sexual orientation of the member2 and 7#b7 receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation of the individual so that such testimony may serve as an official record of these discriminatory policies and their impact on ,american lives4 #e4 ,modification of ,article #abe of the ,uniform ,code of ,military ,justice ,section #ibe7;a7 of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code 7article #abe of the ,uniform ,code of ,military ,justice7 is amended by striking with another person of the same or opposite sex or4