,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dbgb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #ai       
7legislative day1 ,may #ag71 #bjbb,ms4  
,duckworth 7for herself1 ,ms4           
,klobuchar1 ,mrs4 ,blackburn1 and ,ms4  
,warren7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a     
,,bill  ,to improve promotion practices 
in the ,national ,guard1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,national ,guard    
,promotion ,improvement ,act of #bjbb4  
#b4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense
 of ,congress that-- 7#a7 existing      
processes contribute to the long delays 
experienced by reserve officers of the  
,national ,guard for ,federal           
recognition of ,state vacancy           
promotions2 and  7#b7 unduly delayed    
promotions have a significant impact on 
members of the ,national ,guard as they 
manage their careers and make financial 
plans for the future1 and pose retention

 challenges4  #c4 ,independent study on 
,federal recognition process  7a7       
,independent study ,not later than #fj  
days after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense   
shall seek to enter into a contract with
 a federally funded research and        
development center to conduct a study on
 the ,national ,guard commissioned      
officer and warrant officer promotion   
system and provide recommendations to   
the ,department of ,defense1 the        
,department of the ,air ,force1 the     
,department of the ,army1 the ,national 
,guard ,bureau1 and individual ,state   
,national ,guard commands4  7b7         
,elements ,the study referred to in     
subsection 7a7 shall include a          
comprehensive review and assessment of  
the following3 7#a7 ,the ,federal       
recognition process used to extend      
,federal recognition to ,state          
promotions4  7#b7 ,best practices among 
the various ,state ,national ,guards for
 managing their requirements under the  

existing ,national ,guard promotion     
system4  7#c7 ,possible improvements to 
requirements1 policies1 procedures1     
workflow1 or resources to reduce the    
time required for ,federal recognition  
to be extended to a ,state promotion4   
7#d7 ,the feasibility of developing or  
adopting a commercially available       
solution for an integrated enterprise   
information technology system for       
managing ,national ,guard officer and   
warrant officer promotions that allows  
seamless transition for promotions as   
they move through reviews at the        
,national ,guard ,bureau1 the           
,department of the ,army1 the           
,department of the ,air ,force1 and the 
,department of ,defense4  7#e7 ,possible
 metrics to evaluate effectiveness of   
any recommendations made4  7#f7 ,any    
other matters the federally funded      
research and development center         
determines relevant4  7c7 ,report  7#a7 
,in general ,the contract under         
subsection 7a7 shall require the        

federally funded research and           
development center that conducts the    
study under the contract to submit to   
the ,secretary of ,defense1 the         
,secretary of the ,army1 the ,secretary 
of the ,air ,force1 and the ,chief of   
the ,national ,guard ,bureau a report on
 the results of the study4  7#b7        
,submission to congress ,not later than 
#cj days after receiving the report     
required under paragraph 7#a71 the      
,secretary of ,defense shall submit an  
unedited copy of the report results to  
the congressional defense committees4   
#d4 ,backdating of effective date of    
rank for reserve officers in the        
,national ,guard due to undue delays in 
,federal recognition ,paragraph 7#b7 of 
section #adcjh7;f7 of title #aj1 ,united
 ,states ,code1 is amended to read as   
follows3  7#b7 ,if there is a delay in  
extending ,federal recognition in the   
next higher grade in the ,army ,national
 ,guard or the ,air ,national ,guard to 
a reserve commissioned officer of the   

,army or the ,air ,force that exceeds   
#fj days from when the ,national ,guard 
,bureau received the promotion from the 
,state1 and the delay was not           
attributable to the action or inaction  
of such officer1 the effective date of  
the promotion concerned under paragraph 
7#a7 shall be adjusted by the ,secretary
 concerned to not later than #fj days   
after the ,national ,guard ,bureau      
received the promotion but not earlier  
than the effective date of the ,state   
promotion4  4  #e4 ,reporting           
requirement  7a7 ,in general ,not later 
than one year after the date of the     
enactment of this ,act1 and annually    
thereafter until the date specified in  
subsection 7c71 the ,secretary of       
,defense1 acting through the ,chief of  
the ,national ,guard ,bureau and in     
consultation with the ,secretary of the 
,army and the ,secretary of the ,air    
,force as appropriate1 shall submit to  
the ,committee on ,armed ,services of   
the ,senate and the ,committee on ,armed

 ,services of the ,house of             
,representatives a report detailing the 
current status of the ,federal          
recognition process for ,national ,guard
 promotions4  7b7 ,elements ,the report 
required under subsection 7a7 shall     
include the following elements3 7#a7 ,an
 update on actions taken to reduce the  
average time needed to extend ,federal  
recognition in the next higher grade in 
the ,army and ,air ,national ,guards to 
a reserve commissioned officer          
promotion4  7#b7 ,the average time it   
took during the previous fiscal year to 
extend ,federal recognition in the next 
higher grade in the ,army ,national     
,guard to a reserve commissioned officer
 of the ,army1 as measured from the date
 at which the ,national ,guard ,bureau  
received the promotion until the date at
 which ,federal recognition was granted4
  7#c7 ,the average time it took during 
the previous fiscal year to extend      
,federal recognition in the next higher 
grade in the ,air ,national ,guard to a 

reserve commissioned officer of the ,air
 ,force1 as measured from the date at   
which the ,national ,guard ,bureau      
received the promotion until the date at
 which ,federal recognition was granted4
  7#d7 ,the number of ,army ,national   
,guard officers who experienced ,federal
 recognition delays greater than #fj    
days in the previous fiscal year4  7#e7 
,the number of ,air ,national ,guard    
officers who experienced ,federal       
recognition delays greater than #fj days
 in the previous fiscal year4  7#f7 ,a  
summary of any additional resources or  
authorities needed to further streamline
 the ,federal recognition to reduce     
average ,federal recognition delays to  
less than #fj days4  7#g7 ,any other    
information the ,chief of the ,national 
,guard ,bureau or the ,secretaries      
concerned determine relevant4  7c7      
,expiration of annual reporting         
requirement ,the report required under  
subsection 7a7 may be submitted once    
every three years after the ,secretary  

of ,defense certifies to the ,committee 
on ,armed ,services of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,armed ,services of   
the ,house of ,representatives that the 
average delay for ,federal recognition  
of ,army ,national ,guard and ,air      
,force ,national ,guard members is less 
than #fj days4