Sec. 581. ACCOUNTING FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES LISTED AS MISSING AND RELATED REPORTS
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## SEC. 581 ACCOUNTING FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES LISTED AS MISSING AND RELATED REPORTS ###
(a)System for Accounting for Missing Persons Section 1501(a)(1) of title 10, United States Code, is amended— ####
(1)in subparagraph (B), by striking “and” at the end; ####
(2)in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and ####
(3)by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: > > ##### “(D) > > the dissemination of appropriate information on the status of missing persons to authorized family members.” > . ###
(b)Report on Accounting for POW/MIAS ####
(1)Report required Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on accounting for missing persons from covered conflicts. ####
(2)Elements The report required by paragraph
(1)shall include the following: #####
(A)The total number of missing persons in all covered conflicts and in each covered conflict. #####
(B)The total number of missing persons in all covered conflicts, and in each covered conflict, that are considered unrecoverable, including— ######
(i)the total number in each conflict that are considered unrecoverable by being lost at sea or in inaccessible terrain; ######
(ii)the total number from the Korean War that are considered to be located in each of China, North Korea, and Russia. #####
(C)The total number of missing persons in all covered conflicts, and in each covered conflict, that were interred without identification, including the locations of interment. #####
(D)The number of remains in the custody of the Department of Defense that are awaiting identification, and the number of such remains estimated by the Department to be likely to be identified using current technology. #####
(E)The total number of identifications of remains that have been made since January 1, 1970, for all covered conflicts and for each covered conflict. #####
(F)The number of instances where next of kin have refused to provide a DNA sample for the identification of recovered remains, for each covered conflict. ####
(3)Definitions In this subsection: #####
(A)The term “appropriate committees of Congress” means— ######
(i)the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and ######
(ii)the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives. #####
(B)The term “covered conflicts” means the conflicts specified in or designated under section 1509(a) of title 10, United States Code, as of the date of the report required by paragraph (1). #####
(C)The term “missing persons” has the meaning given that term in section 1513(1) of such title. ###
(c)Report on POW/MIA Accounting Community ####
(1)Report required Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the POW/MIA accounting community. ####
(2)Elements The report required by paragraph (1)) shall including the following: #####
(A)A description and assessment of the current structure of the POW/MIA accounting community. #####
(B)A description of how the Secretary of Defense will ensure increased oversight of the POW/MIA accounting mission regardless of changes to the POW/MIA accounting community. #####
(C)An assessment of the feasibility and advisability of reorganizing the community into a single, central command, including— ######
(i)an identification of the elements that could be organized into such command; and ######
(ii)an assessment of cost-savings, advantages, and disadvantages of— ######
(I)transferring the command and control of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command
(JPAC)and the Central Identification Laboratory
(CIL)from the United States Pacific Command to the Office of the Secretary of Defense; ######
(II)merging the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Central Identification Laboratory with the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO); and ######
(III)merging the Central Identification Laboratory with the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab (AF-DIL). #####
(D)A recommendation on the element of the Department of Defense to be responsible for directing POW/MIA accounting activities, and on whether all elements of the POW/MIA accounting community should report to that element. #####
(E)An estimate of the costs to be incurred, and the cost savings to be achieved— ######
(i)by relocating central POW/MIA accounting activities to the continental United States; ######
(ii)by closing or consolidating existing Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command facilities; and ######
(iii)through any actions with respect to the POW/MIA accounting community and POW/MIA accounting activities that the Secretary considers advisable for purposes of the report. #####
(F)An assessment of the feasibility and advisability of the use by the Department of university anthropology or archaeology programs to conduct field work, particularly in politically sensitive environments, including an assessment of— ######
(i)the potential cost of the use of such programs; ######
(ii)whether the use of such programs would result in a greater number of identifications; and ######
(iii)whether the use of such programs would be consistent with requirements to preserve the integrity of the identification process. #####
(G)A survey of the manner in which other countries conduct accounting for missing persons, and an assessment whether such practices can be used by the United States to enhance programs to recover and identify missing members of the United States Armed Forces. #####
(H)A recommendation as to the advisability of continuing to use a military model for recovery operations, including the impact of the use of such model on diplomatic relations with countries in which the United States seeks to conduct recovery operations. #####
(I)Such recommendations for the reorganization of the POW/MIA accounting community as the Secretary considers appropriate in light of the other elements of the report, including an estimate of the additional numbers of recoveries and identifications anticipated to be made by the accounting community as a result of implementation of the reorganization. ####
(3)Basis in previous recommendations The report required by paragraph
(1)shall take into account recommendations previously made by the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, and the Comptroller General of the United States regarding the organization of the POW/MIA accounting community. ####
(4)Definitions In this subsection: #####
(A)The term “appropriate committees of Congress” means— ######
(i)the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and ######
(ii)the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives. #####
(B)The term “POW/MIA accounting community” has the meaning given that term in section 1509(b)(2) of title 10, United States Code.