[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 117 (Thursday, June 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S3514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2068. Mr. GARDNER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2021 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:

       At the end of part II of subtitle G of title V, add the 
     following:

     SEC. ___. INDEPENDENT STUDY AND REPORT ON MILITARY SPOUSE 
                   UNDEREMPLOYMENT.

       (a) Independent Study.--Not later than 30 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
     shall seek to enter into a contract with a Federally funded 
     research and development center to conduct a study on 
     underemployment among military spouses. The study shall 
     consider, at a minimum, the following:
       (1) The prevalence of unemployment and underemployment 
     among military spouses, including differences by Armed Force, 
     region, State, education level, and income level.
       (2) The causes of unemployment and underemployment among 
     military spouses.
       (3) The differences in unemployment and underemployment 
     between military spouses and civilians.
       (4) Barriers to small business ownership and 
     entrepreneurship faced by military spouses.
       (b) Submittal to DoD.--Not later than 240 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Federally funded 
     research and development center with which the Secretary 
     contracts pursuant to subsection (a) shall submit to the 
     Secretary a report containing the results of the study 
     conducted pursuant to that subsection.
       (c) Transmittal to Congress.--Not later than 270 days after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
     transmit to the appropriate committees of Congress the report 
     under subsection (b), without change.
       (d) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
     means the following--
       (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
     Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, the Committee on 
     Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
     Education and Labor, the Committee on Small Business, and 
     Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
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