H.R. 3976 — Introduced in House

I 114th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3976 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 5, 2015 Mrs. Lawrence (for herself, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Jackson Lee, and Ms. Kelly of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the provision of legal assistance to junior enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces and their dependents in connection with their personal civil legal affairs. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Enlisted Legal Assistance Act. 2. Guaranteed provision of legal assistance to junior enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces and their dependents (a) Provision of legal assistance Section 1044 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— (1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (e) as subsections (b) through (f), respectively; and (2) by inserting before subsection (b), as so redesignated, the following new subsection (a): (a) Utilizing such legal staff resources as may be necessary, the Secretary of the department concerned shall provide legal assistance in connection with their personal civil legal affairs to the following persons: (1) Members of the armed forces under the jurisdiction of that Secretary in pay grades E–1 through E–5 who are on active duty. (2) Dependents of members described in paragraph (1). (3) Survivors of a deceased member described in paragraph (1) who were dependents of the member at the time of the death of the member, except that the eligibility of such survivors shall be determined pursuant to regulations prescribed by that Secretary. . (b) Conforming amendments (1) Section 1044 of title 10, United States Code, is further amended— (A) in paragraph (1) of subsection (b), as redesignated by subsection (a)(1), by inserting not covered by subsection (a)(1) after armed forces; and (B) in subsection (d), as redesignated by subsection (a)(1), by striking subsection (a) and inserting subsection (b). (2) Section 1044e(d)(1) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking section 1044(d)(2) and inserting section 1044(e)(2).