Sec. 2. Establishment and duties

797 words·~4 min read·/bill/119/s/3691/is/section-2

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

There is established the Commission on Equity and Reconciliation in the Uniformed Services (in this Act referred to as the Commission ). The Commission shall perform the following duties: Identify and compile a corpus of documentation on the policing of sexual orientation and gender identity in the uniformed services, from the beginning of World War II and onward. Such documentation shall include the following: Facts related to the history of policies regarding LGBTQ+ sexual orientation and gender identity in the uniformed services.

The effects of such policies on eligibility for, and access to, benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on servicemembers who were discharged due to sexual orientation or gender identity. Hold public hearings in such cities of the United States as it finds appropriate, and do community outreach and other public relations efforts in order to advertise such hearings and the opportunity to give testimony. Gather testimonies, written and oral, from LGBTQ+ servicemembers and veterans about their experiences, both anonymously and with names given.

Examine the impacts that discriminatory policy and corresponding actions taken by the uniformed services had on the physical and mental wellbeing of servicemembers. Examine lasting impacts (including psychological, financial, and professional) that policies of the uniformed services have had on veterans and servicemembers who were discharged due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Examine how discriminatory practices contributed to suicidality and homelessness among LGBTQ+ veterans.

Examine the disparate impact that policies targeting sexual and gender minorities has had on minority groups in the uniformed services, especially racial minorities and women. Examine the impacts that policing of sexual and gender minorities has had on individuals who do not identify as LGBTQ+ but were nevertheless targeted due to perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Examine the impacts that discriminatory policies related to sexual orientation and gender identity have had on the dependents of servicemembers and veterans.

Examine the immediate and long-term impacts that the denial, on the bases of policies and directives of the Department of Defense and of the Department of Veteran Affairs, of medically necessary healthcare, including denial of treatments for gender dysphoria, has had on servicemembers and veterans. Examine and quantify the impacts that discriminatory policies and directives related to sexual orientation and gender identity from the Department of Defense have on force readiness, including the cost of retraining and replacing individuals who were separated from the uniformed services for reasons related to their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

Collect information on the effects of changes to individuals’ demographic data (including gender markers), without the consent of the individuals, in databases and systems of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs (including the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System). Collect information on— the codes under which individuals were separated from the uniformed services on the basis of the individual’s real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; and the effect that such codes had on the access of servicemembers and veterans to employment and other benefits.

Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public about institutionalized and government-sanctioned discrimination. Recommend appropriate remedies to address the findings of the Commission, including— how the Federal Government may offer an apology for enforcing discrimination that led to psychological, emotional, and physical harm to servicemembers and their families; how the Department of Defense may seek to properly compensate severed servicemembers for lost time, professional opportunities, access to benefits, and other impacts, with compensation including backpay, reinstatement, benefits reinstatement, or other opportunities; how the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs can restore gender affirming services and care to servicemembers, veterans, and other beneficiaries; how discharge upgrades and amendments of military records may be streamlined through the Boards for Correction of Military Records, including improving the transparency and accessibility of records by the members of the Armed Forces to whom they pertain; how the service of LGBTQ+ individuals in the uniformed services may be made more visible in materials distributed by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; how diversity and inclusion policies of the Department of Defense may be revised, including how resources may be committed to diversity training; how healthcare and other benefits, furnished by such Secretaries to members of the uniformed services and veterans, will commit more resources to meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ patients, including improved data collection on LGBTQ+ patients, mental health counseling, and other medical necessities; and how the Federal Government may examine the issue of burial rights denied to members of the uniformed services and veterans who were prematurely discharged due to the discriminatory policies against them.

The Commission shall submit a written report of its findings to Congress not later than one year after the date of the first meeting of the Commission.