,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #fdij  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #e1        
#bjbe,ms4 ,houlahan 7for herself1 ,mrs4 
,kiggans of ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,bacon1 ,mr4
 ,horsford1 ,mr4 ,wittman1 and ,ms4     
,goodlander7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a      
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of    
,defense to establish a pilot program to
 provide certain members of the ,armed  
,forces with timely and relevant        
information via text message1 and for   
other purposes4  #a4 ,pilot program for 
push-text notifications to members and  
dependents  7a7 ,establishment ,not     
later than one year after the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,defense shall establish a
 pilot program to be known as the       
,push-,text ,initiative 7in this section
 referred to as the pilot program7 to   
provide members of the ,armed ,forces   
assigned to ,marine ,corps              

,installations ,pacific in ,okinawa1    
,japan1 and the adult dependents of such
 members with timely and relevant       
information via text message4  7b7      
,implementation ,the pilot program      
shall--  7#a7 automatically enroll all  
eligible members of the ,armed ,force   
assigned to the locations participating 
in the pilot program and the dependents 
of such members using all available text
 messaging contact information provided 
by such members2 and  7#b7 provide all  
recipients with the ability to opt out  
of receiving text messages under the    
pilot program at any time4  7c7 ,covered
 information ,text messages transmitted 
under the pilot program shall include-- 
7#a7 information on military spouse     
employment opportunities1 career        
counseling1 and related support         
programs2  7#b7 updates with respect to 
childcare services available both on and
 off the installation1 availability of  
child care1 and child care fee          
assistance programs2  7#c7 information  

regarding general ,,tricare program     
benefits1 enrollment deadlines1 and     
other health-related resources2  7#d7   
notifications of changes in ,department 
of ,defense policies1 regulations1 or   
,federal laws that affect members or    
dependents of members2 and  7#e7 any    
other information or resources that the 
,secretary considers relevant to the    
well-being of members and dependents of 
members4  7d7 ,report ,not later than   
,october #a1 #bjbg1 the ,secretary of   
,defense shall submit to the ,committees
 on ,armed ,services of the ,senate and 
,house of ,representatives a report on  
the pilot program4 ,such report shall   
include-- 7#a7 a description of how the 
pilot program was implemented1 including
 the timeline1 execution plan1 and the  
official managing the pilot program2    
7#b7 data on participation and usage1   
including the number of individuals     
automatically enrolled1 the opt-out     
rate1 and the frequency and types of    
messages transmitted2  7#c7 any observed

 benefits or outcomes of the pilot      
program1 including feedback from        
participants2  7#d7 an analysis of the  
costs of operating the pilot program and
 any cost savings or efficiencies       
achieved by consolidating or scaling    
back other outreach efforts with respect
 to issues addressed by the pilot       
program2 and  7#e7 the recommendations  
of the ,secretary with respect to the   
feasibility and advisability of         
continuing or expanding the pilot       
program to the entire ,department of    
,defense1 including any proposed        
modifications to the program and an     
assessment of the anticipated costs1    
resource requirements1 and potential    
benefits of ,department-wide            
implementation4