[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1177 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1177

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the practice 
  of the Department of Defense to continue to use stop-loss orders to 
retain members of the Armed Forces who have completed their contractual 
obligations runs contrary to the stated policy of the United States to 
                    utilize an all-volunteer force.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 2008

  Ms. Sutton (for herself, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Cohen, Ms. McCollum of 
  Minnesota, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Stark, Mr. 
Kucinich, and Mr. Filner) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the practice 
  of the Department of Defense to continue to use stop-loss orders to 
retain members of the Armed Forces who have completed their contractual 
obligations runs contrary to the stated policy of the United States to 
                    utilize an all-volunteer force.

Whereas the President's stop-loss authority derives from section 12305 of title 
        10, United States Code, which states that the President may suspend any 
        provision of law relating to promotion, retirement, or separation 
        applicable to members of the Armed Forces who the President determines 
        are essential to the national security of the United States;
Whereas President George H.W. Bush issued Executive Order 12728 on August 22, 
        1990, delegating stop-loss authority to the Secretary of Defense;
Whereas on September 19, 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld delegated 
        this authority to each of the branches of the Armed Forces;
Whereas the Army has implemented a stop-loss policy that prevents soldiers who 
        have completed their contractual obligations from voluntarily separating 
        from the Army if their units are deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan;
Whereas since September 19, 2001, nearly 45,000 members of the Armed Forces have 
        had their service involuntarily extended by stop-loss orders;
Whereas on January 19, 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates sent a memorandum 
        to the Secretaries of the military departments, Under Secretaries of 
        Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff setting February 
        28, 2007, as a deadline for the submission of plans to minimize stop-
        loss for regular and reserve component forces;
Whereas the Department of Defense has not taken adequate action to implement 
        stop-loss minimization plans;
Whereas a report commissioned by the Pentagon stated that ``the persistent use 
        of stop-loss underscores the fact that the war-fighting burden is being 
        carried by a handful of soldiers'' and that policies such as stop-loss 
        ``risk breaking the force as recruitment and retention problems mount''; 
        and
Whereas stop-loss orders place an unjustifiable strain on members of the Armed 
        Forces and their families who have already sacrificed tremendously in 
        defense of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the Secretary of Defense should--
            (1) immediately submit to Congress a plan to minimize the 
        utilization of stop-loss orders that prevent members of the 
        Armed Forces who have completed their contractual obligations 
        from voluntarily separating from the Armed Forces; and
            (2) immediately implement a new stop-loss policy to ensure 
        that no member of the Armed Forces who has completed a tour of 
        duty in Iraq or Afghanistan is subject to a stop-loss order.
                                 <all>