[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7444 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7444

To direct the Secretary of Defense to review and report to Congress on 
 the status of the professional military education enterprise, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 1, 2020

  Mr. Bacon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Defense to review and report to Congress on 
 the status of the professional military education enterprise, 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 ``Professional Military Education 
Review Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. TRANSFORMATION OF THE PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION 
              ENTERPRISE.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) professional military education is foundational to the 
        development of ethical and effective military leaders and vital 
        to national security;
            (2) oversight of professional military education is an 
        essential part of Congress' constitutional responsibilities to 
        regulate and maintain the Armed Forces of the United States;
            (3) reform of the professional military education system, 
        as directed by the congressional defense committees, has played 
        a central role in the institutionalization of jointness as 
        envisioned by the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense 
        Reorganization Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-433);
            (4) the Goldwater-Nichols professional military education 
        model has served the Nation well since the end of the Cold War 
        by enabling successful joint military operations across the 
        spectrum of conflict;
            (5) recent changes in the national security environment 
        require that the professional military education enterprise 
        adapt to prepare the joint force to successfully defend 
        American interests in evolving areas of strategic competition; 
        and
            (6) the Department of Defense must transform the 
        professional military education enterprise to meet these 
        challenges by emphasizing focused and rigorous intellectual 
        study reflecting the hard won strategic insights of history, 
        while leveraging advancements in the modern learning 
        environment.
    (b) Limitation.--None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by 
this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2021 for the 
Department of Defense may be obligated or expended to consolidate, 
close, or significantly change the curriculum of the National Defense 
University or any institution of professional military education of an 
Armed Force until a period of 120 days has elapsed following the date 
on which the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness 
submits the report required under subsection (c).
    (c) Report Required.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, acting 
        through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and 
        Readiness, shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of 
        the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the 
        status of the professional military education enterprise.
            (2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include the following:
                    (A) A consolidated summary that--
                            (i) lists all components of the 
                        professional military education enterprise of 
                        the Department of Defense, including all 
                        associated schools, programs, research centers, 
                        and support activities; and
                            (ii) for each such component, identifies 
                        the assigned personnel strength, annual student 
                        throughput, and budget details covering the 
                        period of three fiscal years preceding the date 
                        of the report.
                    (B) An assessment of the effectiveness and 
                shortfalls of the existing professional military 
                education enterprise as measured against graduate 
                utilization, post-graduate evaluations, and the 
                education and force development requirements of the 
                Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Chiefs of 
                the Armed Forces.
                    (C) Recommendations to improve the intellectual 
                readiness of the joint force through reforms designed 
                to--
                            (i) improve the warfighting readiness, 
                        intellectual fitness, and cognitive ingenuity 
                        of military leaders;
                            (ii) promote development of strategic 
                        thinkers capable of developing integrated 
                        political-military and cross-domain strategies 
                        and new doctrinal concepts;
                            (iii) enhance the effectiveness, coherence, 
                        and efficiency of individual service approaches 
                        to professional military education;
                            (iv) improve the depth and rigor of 
                        professional military education curriculum in 
                        alignment with national defense strategy pacing 
                        threats while enhancing strategic relationships 
                        and operational integration with key allies and 
                        international security partners; and
                            (v) foster the deliberate development of 
                        world-class faculty through increasing the 
                        value of faculty assignments and other 
                        appropriate measures.
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