[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2516 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2516

To recognize the sacrifices of the members of the Armed Forces who are 
               injured in combat, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 14, 2004

   Mr. Pryor introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To recognize the sacrifices of the members of the Armed Forces who are 
               injured in combat, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Service Act for Care and Relief 
Initiatives for Forces Injured in Combat Engagements of 2004'' or 
``SACRIFICE of 2004''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF SENATE.

    (a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:
            (1) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States place 
        themselves in harms way in the defense of democratic values and 
        to keep the United States safe.
            (2) This call to duty has resulted in the ultimate 
        SACRIFICE of members of the Armed Forces of the United States 
        who are killed or critically injured while serving the United 
        States.
    (b) Sense of Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate--
            (1) to honor the SACRIFICE of the members of the Armed 
        Forces who have been killed or critically wounded while serving 
        the United States;
            (2) to recognize the heroic efforts of the medical 
        personnel of the Armed Forces in treating wounded military 
        personnel and civilians; and
            (3) to support advanced medical technologies that assist 
        the medical personnel of the Armed Forces in saving lives and 
        reducing disability rates for members of the Armed Forces.

SEC. 3. POLICY ON TRACKING OF WOUNDED FROM COMBAT ZONES.

    (a) Policy.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall--
            (1) prescribe the policy of the Department of Defense for 
        providing timely notification to the next of kin of the status, 
        including health and location, of members of the Armed Forces 
        who are seriously ill or injured in a combat zone; and
            (2) transmit to the Committees on Armed Services of the 
        Senate and House of Representatives a copy of the policy 
        prescribed under subparagraph (A).
    (b) Elements.--The policy prescribed under subsection (a) shall 
ensure respect for the expressed desires of individual members of the 
Armed Forces regarding notification of next of kin under the policy, 
and shall also include standards of timeliness for the initial and 
continuing notification of next of kin under the policy.

SEC. 4. MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND COMBAT CASUALTY TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) Funding for Medical Equipment and Combat Casualty 
Technologies.--(1) Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated for 
fiscal year 2005 for the use of the Department of Defense for research, 
development, test, and evaluation, Defense-wide activities, in the 
amount of $10,000,000.
    (2) Of the amount authorized to be appropriated by paragraph (1) 
for research, development, test, and evaluation, Defense-wide 
activities, $10,000,000 shall be allocated to Program Element PE 
0603826D8Z and available for medical equipment and combat casualty care 
technologies.
    (b) Offset.--(1) Of the amount authorized to be appropriated by 
section 301(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2005 for operation and maintenance for the Army, $2,500,000 of the 
amount otherwise available for travel shall not be available for any 
purpose.
    (2) Of the amount authorized to be appropriated by section 301(2) 
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 for 
operation and maintenance for the Navy, $2,500,000 of the amount 
otherwise available for travel shall not be available for any purpose.
    (3) Of the amount authorized to be appropriated by section 301(3) 
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 for 
operation and maintenance for the Air Force, $2,500,000 of the amount 
otherwise available for travel shall not be available for any purpose.
    (4) Of the amount authorized to be appropriated by section 301(5) 
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 for 
operation and maintenance for Defense-wide activities, $2,500,000 of 
the amount otherwise available for travel shall not be available for 
any purpose.
                                 <all>