,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hbdh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #ad1      
#bjbj,mr4 ,veasey 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,castro of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,vela1 and ,ms4 
,escobar7 introduced the following bill2
 which was referred to the ,committee on
 ,armed ,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to       
establish a grant program in the        
,department of ,defense to increase the 
number of women1 ,,lgbt individuals1 and
 underrepresented minorities in military
 and civilian leadership positions of   
the ,department of ,defense4  #a4 ,short
 title ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,diversity in ,military ,leadership     
,act4  #b4 ,grant program to increase   
the number of women and underrepresented
 minorities in military and civilian    
leadership positions of the ,department 
of ,defense  7a7 ,grants authorized ,the
 ,secretary of ,defense may award grants
 on a competitive basis to any entity   
that the ,secretary determines has the  
capacity and expertise to carry out the 

activities described in subsection 7b7  
for the purpose of increasing the       
participation of women and              
underrepresented minorities in military 
and civilian leadership positions of the
 ,department of ,defense4  7b7          
,application ,an entity that seeks a    
grant under this section shall submit an
 application to the ,secretary at such  
time1 in such manner1 and containing    
such information as the ,secretary may  
require4  7c7 ,authorized activities ,an
 entity that receives a grant under this
 section shall use the grant funds to   
carry out one or more of the following  
activities3 7#a7 ,online interactive    
workshops for women and underrepresented
 minorities4  7#b7 ,mentoring programs  
that partner members of the ,armed      
,forces and officers and employees of   
the ,department with students who are   
women or underrepresented minorities1 or
 both4  7#c7 ,internships for           
undergraduate and graduate students who 
are women or underrepresented           

minorities1 or both1 with the           
,department4  7#d7 ,outreach programs   
that provide elementary school and      
secondary school students who are women 
or underrepresented minorities1 or both1
 with opportunities to increase their   
exposure to military and civilian       
defense careers4  7#e7 ,such additional 
activities as the ,secretary may        
authorize4  7d7 ,definitions ,in this   
section3 7#a7 ,the term minority means  
,american ,indian1 ,alaskan ,native1    
,black 7not of ,hispanic origin71       
,hispanic 7including persons of         
,mexican1 ,puerto ,rican1 ,cuban1 and   
,central or ,south ,american origin71   
,asian 7including underrepresented      
subgroups71 ,native ,hawaiian1 ,pacific 
,islander origin subgroup1 lesbian1 gay1
 bisexual1 transgender1 or queer1 or    
other demographic group underrepresented
 in military and civilian leadership    
positions of the ,department of         
,defense4  7#b7 ,the term               
underrepresented minority means a       

minority group that is not represented  
in military and civilian leadership     
positions of the ,department of ,defense
 at a rate comparable to the percentage 
of the population of the ,united ,states
 that is comprised of members of that   
underrepresented minority4