[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 104 (Thursday, June 20, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S4192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 836. Mr. MURPHY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 764 submitted by Mr. Inhofe and intended to be proposed to 
the bill S. 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       Insert after section 5546 the following:

     SEC. 5547. LIMITATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH 
                   SEPARATIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES WHO 
                   SUFFER FROM MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS IN 
                   CONNECTION WITH A SEX-RELATED, INTIMATE PARTNER 
                   VIOLENCE-RELATED, OR SPOUSAL-ABUSE OFFENSE.

       (a) Confirmation of Diagnosis of Condition Required Before 
     Separation.--Before a member of the Armed Forces who was the 
     victim of a sex-related offense, an intimate partner 
     violence-related offense, or a spousal-abuse offense during 
     service in the Armed Forces (whether or not such offense was 
     committed by another member of the Armed Forces), and who has 
     a mental health condition not amounting to a physical 
     disability, is separated, discharged, or released from the 
     Armed Forces based solely on such condition, the diagnosis of 
     such condition must be--
       (1) corroborated by a competent mental health care 
     professional at the peer level or a higher level of the 
     health care professional making the diagnosis; and
       (2) endorsed by the Surgeon General of the military 
     department concerned.
       (b) Narrative Reason for Separation if Mental Health 
     Condition Present.--If the narrative reason for discharge, 
     separation, or release from the Armed Forces of a member of 
     the Armed Forces is a mental health condition that is not a 
     disability, the appropriate narrative reason for the 
     discharge, separation, or release shall be condition, not a 
     disability, or Secretarial authority.
       (c) Definition.--In this section:
       (1) The term ``intimate partner violence-related offense'' 
     means the following:
       (A) An offense under section 928 or 930 of title 10, United 
     States Code (article 128 or 130 of the Uniform Code of 
     Military Justice).
       (B) An offense under State law for conduct identical or 
     substantially similar to an offense described in subparagraph 
     (A).
       (2) The term ``sex-related offense'' means the following:
       (A) An offense under section 920 or 920b of title 10, 
     United States Code (article 120 or 120b of the Uniform Code 
     of Military Justice).
       (B) An offense under State law for conduct identical or 
     substantially similar to an offense described in subparagraph 
     (A).
       (3) The term ``spousal-abuse offense'' means the following:
       (A) An offense under section 928 of title 10, United States 
     Code (article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice).
       (B) An offense under State law for conduct identical or 
     substantially similar to an offense described in subparagraph 
     (A).
       (d) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect 180 
     days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall 
     apply with respect to separations, discharges, and releases 
     from the Armed Forces that occur on or after that effective 
     date.
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