,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #decf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #ag1 #bjbe,mr4 
,timmons introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,armed ,services1 and in addition to the
 ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 for a  
period to be subsequently determined by 
the ,speaker1 in each case for          
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
recognize and reward exceptional        
physical fitness among members of the   
,armed ,forces serving on active duty   
and to promote physical readiness and   
overall health in the ,armed ,forces4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,fit for ,duty ,act4  #b4       
,military fitness bonus pay  7a7        
,findings2 ,sense of ,congress  7#a7    
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7,a7 ,physical fitness is a critical  
component of military readiness1        
ensuring that members of the ,armed     

,forces can meet the physical demands of
 their duties in both training and      
combat environments4  7,b7 ,according to
 the ,department of ,defense1           
musculoskeletal injuries related to poor
 physical fitness are among the leading 
causes of non-deployability and medical 
discharge in the ,armed ,forces1 costing
 the military billions in healthcare    
expenses annually4  7,c7 ,a #bjbb       
,department of ,defense report found    
that approximately #gg percent of young 
,americans are ineligible for military  
service1 with obesity being one of the  
primary disqualifying factors4  7,d7    
,data from the ,army ,public ,health    
,center indicates that excess body fat  
and poor cardiovascular fitness are     
linked to lower performance in          
physically demanding tasks1 increased   
risk of injury1 and higher attrition    
rates in basic training and beyond4     
7,e7 ,according to the ,centers for     
,disease ,control and ,prevention1 the  
prevalence of obesity among active-duty 

members of the ,armed ,forces increased 
from #aj4d percent in #bjab to #ag4d    
percent in #bjbb1 negatively affecting  
overall force readiness and             
deployability4  7,f7 ,the ,united       
,states ,armed ,forces lose an estimated
 #a1ejj1jjj1jjj annually due to         
obesity-related health issues1 including
 lost workdays1 medical costs1 and early
 separations from service4  7,g7 ,the   
implementation of incentive-based       
fitness programs have been shown to     
enhance motivation and readiness and    
reduce long-term healthcare expenditures
 within military populations4  7#b7     
,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of 
,congress that fostering a culture of   
physical excellence among members of the
 ,armed ,forces strengthens individual  
and unit readiness and reinforces the   
ability of the ,united ,states to       
project power and defend freedom across 
the globe as the premier military force 
in the world4  7b7 ,establishment of    
,bonus ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #e of

 title #cg1 ,united ,states ,code1 is   
amended by adding at the end the        
following new section3  #ceh4 ,military 
fitness bonus pay  7a7 ,availability of 
,bonus  7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary
 concerned shall pay a fitness bonus to 
each member of the ,armed ,forces who-- 
7,a7 is entitled to basic pay under     
section #bjd of this title2 and  7,b7   
achieves a score of #ij percent or      
higher on a physical fitness test1 as   
determined by the ,secretary concerned4 
7#b7  ,recurring availability  ,a bonus 
under this section shall be available   
for each physical fitness test the      
,secretary concerned requires a member  
of the ,armed ,forces to complete4  7b7 
,amount of ,bonus ,the amount of a bonus
 paid under this section shall be-- 7#a7
 #a1jjj with respect to a member of the 
,armed ,forces who achieves a perfect   
score on a physical fitness test2 and   
7#b7 #ejj with respect to a member of   
the ,armed ,forces who-- 7,a7 does not  
achieve a perfect score on a physical   

fitness test2 and  7,b7 achieves a score
 of #ij percent or higher on such       
physical fitness test4  7c7 ,annual     
,report ,not later than ,december #ca of
 each year1 each ,secretary concerned   
shall submit to the congressional       
defense committees a report that        
includes1 with respect to the preceding 
fiscal year-- 7#a7 the total number of  
bonuses awarded under this section by   
the ,secretary concerned2  7#b7 the     
number of bonuses awarded under this    
section by the ,secretary concerned for 
a perfect score on a physical fitness   
test2  7#c7 the number of bonuses       
awarded under this section by the       
,secretary concerned for a non-perfect  
score of #ij percent or higher on a     
physical fitness test2  7#d7 the number 
of members of the ,armed ,forces to whom
 the ,secretary concerned awarded a     
bonus under this section2  7#e7 the     
total cost of carrying out this section 
for members of the ,armed ,forces under 
the jurisdiction of the ,secretary      

concerned2 and  7#f7 a description of   
the impact of this section1 if any1 on  
the military readiness of the members of
 the ,armed ,forces under the           
jurisdiction of the ,secretary          
concerned4  4  7c7 ,exclusion from      
,income ,tax  7#a7 ,in general ,section 
#acd7;b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code
 of #aihf is amended by adding at the   
end the following new paragraph3  7#g7  
,certain bonus payments for military    
fitness ,the term qualified military    
benefit includes any bonus awarded under
 section #ceh of title #cg1 ,united     
,states ,code4  4  7#b7 ,effective date 
,the amendment made by paragraph 7#a7   
shall apply to taxable years ending     
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act4