,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cijc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #d1      
#bjbj,ms4 ,duckworth introduced the     
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to direct the    
,secretary of ,defense to enter into an 
agreement with a federally funded       
research and development center for a   
study on the barriers to minority       
participation in the elite units of the 
,armed ,forces1 and for other purposes4 
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,equality in ,leadership and    
,inclusion in ,top ,elements ,act of    
#bjbj or the ,,elite ,act of #bjbj4  #b4
 ,findings ,congress makes the following
 findings3 7#a7 ,in #aiii1 the ,,rand   
,corporation issued a report entitled   
,barriers to ,minority ,participation in
 ,special ,operations ,forces that was  
sponsored by ,united ,states ,special   
,operations ,command4  7#b7 ,in #bjah1  
the ,,rand ,corporation issued a report 

entitled ,understanding ,demographic    
,differences in ,undergraduate ,pilot   
,training ,attrition that was sponsored 
by the ,air ,force4  7#c7 ,no           
significant independent study has been  
performed by a federally funded research
 and development center into increasing 
minority participation in the special   
forces since #aiii4  #c4 ,evaluation of 
barriers to minority participation in   
certain units of the ,armed ,forces  7a7
 ,study required  7#a7 ,in general ,not 
later than #cj days after the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,defense shall seek to    
enter into an agreement with a federally
 funded research and development center 
with relevant expertise to conduct an   
evaluation of the barriers to minority  
participation in covered units of the   
,armed ,forces4  7#b7 ,elements ,the    
evaluation required under paragraph 7#a7
 shall include the following elements3  
7,a7 ,a description of the racial1      
ethnic1 and gender composition of       

covered units4  7,b7 ,a comparison of   
the participation rates of minority     
populations in covered units to         
participation rates of the general      
population as members and as officers of
 the ,armed ,forces4  7,c7 ,a comparison
 of the percentage of minority officers 
in the grade of ,o-#g or higher who have
 served in each covered unit to such    
percentage for all such officers in the 
,armed ,force of that covered unit4     
7,d7 ,an identification of barriers to  
minority participation in the accession1
 assessment1 and training processes4    
7,e7 ,the status and effectiveness of   
the response to the recommendations     
contained in the report referred to in  
section #b7a7 and any follow-up         
recommendations4  7,f7 ,recommendations 
to increase the number of minority      
officers in the ,armed ,forces4  7,g7   
,recommendations to increase minority   
participation in covered units4  7,h7   
,any other matters the ,secretary       
determines appropriate4  7#c7 ,report to

 congress ,the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7  
submit to the congressional defense     
committees a report on the results of   
the study by not later than ,january #a1
 #bjbb2 and  7,b7 provide interim       
briefings to such committees upon       
request4  7b7 ,designation ,the study   
conducted under subsection 7a7 shall be 
known as the ,study on ,reducing        
,barriers to ,minority ,participation in
 ,elite ,units in the ,armed ,services4 
7c7 ,implementation required  7#a7 ,in  
general ,except as provided in paragraph
 7#b71 not later than ,march #a1 #bjbc1 
the ,secretary of ,defense shall        
commence the implementation of each     
recommendation included in the final    
report submitted under subsection       
7a77#c74  7#b7 ,exceptions  7,a7        
,delayed implementation ,the ,secretary 
of ,defense may commence implementation 
of a recommendation described in        
paragraph 7#a7 not later than ,march #a1
 #bjbc1 if-- 7i7 the ,secretary submits 
to the congressional defense committees1

 not later than ,january #a1 #bjbc1     
written notice of the intent of the     
,secretary to delay implementation of   
the recommendation2 and  7ii7 includes1 
as part of such notice1 a specific      
justification for the delay in          
implementing the recommendation4  7,b7  
,nonimplementation ,the ,secretary of   
,defense may elect not to implement a   
recommendation described in paragraph   
7#a71 if-- 7i7 the ,secretary submits to
 the congressional defense committees1  
not later than ,january #a1 #bjbc1      
written notice of the intent of the     
,secretary not to implement the         
recommendation2 and  7ii7 includes1 as  
part of such notice-- 7,i7 the reasons  
for the ,secretary's decision not to    
implement the recommendation2 and       
7,,ii7 a summary of alternative actions 
the ,secretary will carry out to address
 the purposes underlying the            
recommendation4  7#c7 ,implementation   
plan ,for each recommendation that the  
,secretary implements under this        

subsection1 the ,secretary shall submit 
to the congressional defense committees 
an implementation plan that includes--  
7,a7 a summary of actions the ,secretary
 has carried out1 or intends to carry   
out1 to implement the recommendation2   
and  7,b7 a schedule1 with specific     
milestones1 for completing the          
implementation of the recommendation4   
7d7 ,covered units defined ,in this     
section1 the term covered units means   
the following3 7#a7 ,army ,special      
,forces4  7#b7 ,army ,rangers4  7#c7    
,navy ,s,e,a,ls4  7#d7 ,air ,force      
,combat ,control ,teams4  7#e7 ,air     
,force ,pararescue4  7#f7 ,air ,force   
,special ,reconnaissance4  7#g7 ,marine 
,raider ,regiments4  7#h7 ,marine ,corps
 ,force ,reconnaissance4  7#i7 ,coast   
,guard ,deployable ,operations ,group4  
7#aj7 ,any other forces designated by   
the ,secretary of ,defense as special   
operations forces4  7#aa7 ,pilot and    
navigator military occupational         
specialties4