Sec. 1709. Prohibition of retaliation against members of the Armed Forces for reporting a criminal offense

297 words·~1 min read·/bill/113/hr/3304/eah/section-1709

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The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations, or require the Secretaries of the military departments to prescribe regulations, that prohibit retaliation against an alleged victim or other member of the Armed Forces who reports a criminal offense. The regulations shall prescribe that a violation of the regulations is an offense punishable under section 892 of title 10, United States Code (article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice). The regulations required by this subsection shall be prescribed not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

For purposes of the regulations required by subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall define retaliation to include, at a minimum— taking or threatening to take an adverse personnel action, or withholding or threatening to withhold a favorable personnel action, with respect to a member of the Armed Forces because the member reported a criminal offense; and ostracism and such of acts of maltreatment, as designated by the Secretary of Defense, committed by peers of a member of the Armed Forces or by other persons because the member reported a criminal offense.

For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary of Defense shall define the personnel actions to be covered by the regulations. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report setting forth the recommendations of the Secretary regarding whether chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), should be amended to add a new punitive article to subchapter X of such chapter to prohibit retaliation against an alleged victim or other member of the Armed Forces who reports a criminal offense.