[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 842 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 842

To require reports by the Comptroller General on Department of Defense 
      military spouse employment programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 14, 2011

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require reports by the Comptroller General on Department of Defense 
      military spouse employment programs, 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 ``Military Spouse Employment Programs 
Evaluation Act''.

SEC. 2. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MILITARY 
              SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS.

    (a) Annual Review Required.--The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall carry out each year a review of all current Department of 
Defense military spouse employment programs.
    (b) Elements.--Each review required by subsection (a) shall, 
address, at a minimum, the following:
            (1) The efficacy and effectiveness of Department of Defense 
        military spouse employment programs.
            (2) All current Department programs to support military 
        spouses or dependents for the purposes of employment 
        assistance.
            (3) The types of military spouse employment programs that 
        have been considered or used in the past by the Department.
            (4) The ways in which military spouse employment programs 
        have changed in recent years.
            (5) The benefits or programs that are specifically 
        available to provide employment assistance to spouses of 
        members of the Armed Forces serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, 
        Operation Enduring Freedom, or Operation New Dawn, or any other 
        contingency operation being conducted by the Armed Forces as of 
        the date of such review.
            (6) Existing mechanisms available to military spouses to 
        express their views on the effectiveness and future direction 
        of Department programs and policies on employment assistance 
        for military spouses.
            (7) The oversight provided by the Office of Personnel and 
        Management regarding preferences for military spouses in 
        Federal employment.
    (c) Comptroller General Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
Comptroller General shall submit to the congressional defense 
committees a report on the review carried out under subsection (a) 
during the year in which such review is carried out. Each report shall 
set forth the following:
            (1) The results of the review concerned.
            (2) In the first report submitted under this subsection, 
        such clear and concrete metrics as the Comptroller General 
        considers appropriate for the current and future evaluation and 
        assessment of the efficacy and effectiveness of Department of 
        Defense military spouse employment programs.
            (3) A description of the assumptions utilized in the 
        review, and an assessment of the validity and completeness of 
        such assumptions.
            (4) Such recommendations as the Comptroller General 
        considers appropriate for improving Department of Defense 
        military spouse employment programs.
    (d) Department of Defense Reports.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense 
committees a report setting forth the number (or a reasonable estimate 
if a precise number is not available) of military spouses who have 
obtained employment following participation in Department of Defense 
military spouse employment programs. The report shall set forth such 
number (or estimate) for the Department of Defense military spouse 
employment programs as a whole and for each such military spouse 
employment program.
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