[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3926 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3926

 To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the separation from 
 military service under certain circumstances of members of the Armed 
                 Forces diagnosed with the HIV-1 virus.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 1996

 Mr. Dornan (for himself, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Stearns, and 
  Mr. Crane) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on National Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the separation from 
 military service under certain circumstances of members of the Armed 
                 Forces diagnosed with the HIV-1 virus.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REENACTMENT AND MODIFICATION OF MANDATORY SEPARATION FROM 
              SERVICE FOR MEMBERS DIAGNOSED WITH HIV-1 VIRUS.

    (a) Reenactment and Modification.--(1) Chapter 59 of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1176 the 
following:
``Sec. 1177. Members infected with HIV-1 virus: mandatory discharge or 
              retirement
    ``(a) Mandatory Separation.--(1) A member of the Army, Navy, Air 
Force, or Marine Corps who is HIV-positive shall be separated. Such 
separation shall be made on a date determined by the Secretary 
concerned, which shall be as soon as practicable after the date on 
which the determination is made that the member is HIV-positive and not 
later than the last day of the second month beginning after such date.
    ``(b) Form of Separation.--If a member to be separated under this 
section is eligible to retire under any provision of law or to be 
transferred to the Fleet Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve, the 
member shall be so retired or so transferred. Otherwise, the member 
shall be retired under section 1201 or 1204 of this title, as 
applicable to that member, with a disability rating of 30 percent 
(unless the member is otherwise entitled to a higher rating) and with 
the member deemed to have met all other requirements for retirement 
under that section. The characterization of the service of the member 
shall be determined without regard to the determination that the member 
is HIV-positive.
    ``(c) Deferral of Separation for Members Within Five Years of 
Retirement Eligibility.--In the case of a member to be retired under 
section 1201 or 1204 of this title pursuant to the second sentence of 
subsection (b) who on the date on which the member is to be so retired 
is within five years of qualifying for retirement under any other 
provision of law, or of qualifying for transfer to the Fleet Reserve or 
Fleet Marine Corps Reserve under section 6330 of this title, the member 
may, as determined by the Secretary concerned, be retained on active 
duty until the member is so qualified for retirement or transfer to the 
Fleet Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve, as the case may be, and 
then be so retired or transferred, unless the member is sooner retired 
or discharged under any other provision of law.
    ``(d) Separation To Be Considered Involuntary.--A separation under 
this section shall be considered to be an involuntary separation for 
purposes of any other provision of law.
    ``(e) Counseling About Available Medical Care.--A member to be 
separated under this section shall be provided information, in writing, 
before such separation of the available medical care (through the 
Department of Veterans Affairs and otherwise) to treat the member's 
condition. Such information shall include identification of specific 
medical locations near the member's home of record or point of 
discharge at which the member may seek necessary medical care.
    ``(f) HIV-Positive Members.--A member shall be considered to be 
HIV-positive for purposes of this section if there is serologic 
evidence that the member is infected with the virus known as Human 
Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1), the virus most commonly associated 
with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the United 
States. Such serologic evidence shall be considered to exist if there 
is a reactive result given by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay 
(ELISA) serologic test that is confirmed by a reactive and diagnostic 
immunoelectrophoresis test (Western blot) on two separate samples. Any 
such serologic test must be one that is approved by the Food and Drug 
Administration.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 59 of such 
title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1176 
the following new item:

``1177. Members infected with HIV-1 virus: mandatory discharge or 
                            retirement.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 1177 of title 10, United States Code, 
as added by subsection (a), applies with respect to members of the 
Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps determined to be HIV-positive 
before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. In the case 
of a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps determined to 
be HIV-positive before such date, the deadline for separation of the 
member under subsection (a) of such section shall be determined from 
the date of the enactment of this Act (rather than from the date of 
such determination), except that no such member shall be separated by 
reason of such section (without the consent of the member) before 
October 1, 1996.
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