Military Personnel Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993

Military Personnel Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 - Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations - Part A: Active Forces - Authorizes end strengths for active-duty forces for FY 1992 and 1993. Prohibits the Secretary in FY 1992 from requiring the involuntary separation of active-duty members who have completed their initial period of obligated service but are ineligible to retire with retired or retainer pay. Excepts certain separations from such prohibition. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the prescribed end strengths when necessary to prevent personnel imbalances that would impair long-term combat readiness.

Amends the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1985 to reduce the authorized permanent end strength of U.S. military personnel assigned to permanent duty in Europe.

Reduces the number of permanent active-duty Air Force colonels.

Part B: Reserve Forces - Authorizes end strengths for reserve components of the armed forces for FY 1992 and 1993. Allows such end strengths to vary by up to two percent. Authorizes reductions for the Selected Reserve components for each such fiscal year. Authorizes end strengths for FY 1992 and 1993 for reserve personnel serving on active duty in support of the reserves.

Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 to: (1) adjust the authorized number of personnel assigned to the Army Reserve and Army National Guard; and (2) extend such authorized end strengths through FY 1998 (currently, 1997). Increases the number of active-duty officers assigned to full-time support and training of Army National Guard personnel.

Increases the authorized number of certain enlisted and officer personnel on active duty in support of the reserves.

Part C: Military Training Student Loads - Authorizes the average military training student loads for FY 1992 and 1993. Provides for the adjustment of such student loads consistent with manpower strengths authorized under this Act.

Title V: Military Personnel Policy - Part A: General Matters - Prohibits an individual from receiving an original appointment as a commissioned officer in the regular armed forces until such individual has served at least one year on active duty as a commissioned officer in a reserve component.

Reduces from 90 to 30 the number of days certain general and flag officers awaiting retirement shall continue to hold such grade, such period beginning on the date when such officer is relieved from duty.

Excludes from a list of officers submitted to a selection board for consideration for early retirement any officer of that grade and competitive category who has been approved for retirement during the fiscal year in which the selection board is convened, or, if different, for retirement in the fiscal year in which any officer selected for retirement by the selection board is required to retire. Provides an alternate retirement date for officers not considered by a selection board under such exception, unless the Secretary of the military department concerned approves a modification to such date in order to prevent a personal hardship for the officer or for other humanitarian reasons. Provides a temporary early retirement selection authority for officers holding a regular grade below the grade of lieutenant colonel or commander who will become eligible for retirement before being retired by a selection board and whose names are not on an officer promotion list.

Authorizes the Secretary concerned to waive a current prohibition on certain reserve service with the ROTC program if such Secretary determines that the removal of such member from such assignment will cause a financial hardship for such member.

Authorizes the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps to be retired in the highest grade in such service in the discretion of the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate (currently, in the discretion of the President alone).

Removes the requirement that each candidate for admission to the Naval Academy must have served at least one year as an enlisted member.

Directs the Secretary to appoint a board to review the administration of the athletics programs of the military academies and to determine ways in which the administration of such programs can serve as a model for civilian institutions of higher education.

Authorizes the Secretary of the military department concerned to waive the current service academy maximum appointment age of 22 in the case of persons who became 22 while serving in the Persian Gulf or who were candidates for admission but were prevented from being admitted due to being called to duty in connection with the Persian Gulf War.

Extends through FY 1995: (1) the effective date of an amendment which states that, for purposes of determining years of service of a commissioned officer for mandatory retirement, any time of service before appointment as a commissioned officer shall not be counted; (2) the current determination for original appointment grades of Medical Corps Reserve officers; (3) the current determination for the promotion of reserve commissioned officers on active duty but not on the active duty list; and (4) the authority of the Secretary concerned to repay educational loans of certain health professionals in the Selected Reserve.

Makes permanent (currently ends on September 30, 1992) the authority for temporary promotions of certain Navy lieutenants.

Directs the Secretary to prescribe uniform regulations governing information furnished to selection boards convened for determining promotions, separations, and involuntary retirements of officers on the active-duty list. Requires the Secretary to approve any supplements to such regulations proposed by the Secretaries of any of the military departments. Requires each communication made to such a selection board to be made to each member and made a part of the record. Outlines specific information authorized to be received by a selection board, prohibiting any other types. Directs the Secretary concerned to provide that the officer to be placed before a selection board: (1) is notified that information will be presented to the board; and (2) is afforded a reasonable opportunity to comment on such information. Provides that recommendations of a selection board may be disclosed only in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary and in no event may such recommendation be disclosed to any person who is not a member of the board until each board member has signed the written report of the recommendation.

Prohibits a Secretary convening a selection board, or any officer exercising authority over any member of a board, from: (1) censuring, reprimanding, or admonishing such board member with respect to a recommendation or the exercise of any board function; or (2) attempting to coerce or influence any action of a selection board or any of its members. Provides that if the Secretary or Secretary concerned recommends that the name of an officer be removed from a report of a selection board and the recommendation includes information that was not presented to that board, such officer shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity for comment on such information to the recommending officials and the officials reviewing such recommendation. Revises provisions concerning the inclusion of officers to be considered for promotion by a selection board from below the promotion zone.

Allows the Secretary to authorize the Secretaries concerned to preclude from consideration by selection boards for promotion to the grade of brigadier general or real admiral (lower half) officers in the grade of colonel or Navy captain who: (1) have been considered but not selected for promotion to such grades by least two selection boards; and (2) are determined as not being exceptionally well qualified for promotion.

Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees on the supervision, management, and administration of the reserve components of the armed forces.

Directs the Secretary of the Navy to initiate without delay a thorough review of the cases of all individuals convicted in the courts-martial arising from an explosion at the Port Chicago (California) Naval Magazine in July, 1944, in order to determine the possibility and extent of racial prejudice in the original investigations and trials, and to correct appropriate individual military records, if necessary.

Directs the Secretary to respond promptly and comprehensively to requests for death information from parents, spouses, adult children, or legal representatives of military personnel who die while on active duty or inactive-duty training. Directs the Secretary to make the person's military record available to such individuals, upon request.

Part B: Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces - Establishes the Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces to study all matters relating to the assignment of women in the armed forces and to make findings on: (1) the implications on combat readiness of permitting women to be assigned to all combat positions; (2) the social and cultural implications of such position assignments; (3) the advisability of permitting only voluntary assignments of women to combat positions and of permitting involuntary assignments; (4) the advisability of requiring women to register and be drafted under the Military Selective Service Act; (5) the legal and policy implications of permitting women to qualify for assignment to combat positions; (6) the extent of the need to modify facilities, vessels, vehicles, aircraft, and other equipment to accommodate women assigned to combat positions, as well as the costs of such action and its practicality; and (7) the effects of existing laws relating to the recruitment, assignment, and promotion of women in the armed forces on combat readiness, opportunities for women in the armed forces, and the quality of personnel in the armed forces. Directs the Commission to transmit a final report to the President by November 15, 1992. Requires the President, by December 15, 1992, to transmit such report to the defense committees, along with comments and recommendations. Outlines administrative provisions concerning Commission powers, procedures, personnel matters, and expenses. Terminates the Commission 90 days after submission of its final report.

Authorizes the Secretary concerned to prescribe the conditions under which female members of the armed forces may be assigned to duty in aircraft that are engaged in combat missions.

Directs the Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces to conduct comprehensive research and analyses regarding the potential for women in the armed forces to serve in combat assignments. Directs the Commission to determine and promptly advise the Secretary of the types of information necessary for such research and analyses. Authorizes the Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, to conduct test assignments of women to combat positions and to waive Federal restrictions on such duty assignments in order to conduct such test assignments.

Part C: Matters Related to Contingency Operations - Provides that a retired officer ordered back to active duty shall serve at either the member's retired grade (current law) or any higher grade in which the member satisfactorily served on active duty, as determined by the Secretary. Entitles a retired officer recalled to active duty and later released from such duty to be placed on the retired list in the highest of: (1) the member's original retired grade; (2) the highest grade in which the member satisfactorily served for at least 180 days (current law); or (3) the highest grade in which the member served on active duty satisfactorily as determined by the Secretary for at least three years, including the recalled tour of duty.

Allows a member of the armed forces whose certification for foreign language proficiency pay was interrupted by an assignment to duty in connection with a contingency operation (an operation involving the possibility of military action or intervention against a hostile force) to be paid such special pay for the duration of such duty. Allows such member 180 days following such duty to obtain such necessary certification and authorizes the Secretary concerned to extend such period in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.

Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits - Part A: Pay and Allowances - Waives during FY 1992 a required pay increase for military personnel in conformity with the annual GS-level increase for the Federal Government. Increases by 4.2 percent the rates of basic pay, basic subsistence allowance, and basic allowance for quarters (BAQ) on January 1, 1992. Limits the amount of BAQ in the case of a member of the armed forces who is authorized such allowance solely by reason of the member's payment of child support pursuant to a court order.

Requires each member of the armed forces claiming entitlement to: (1) a BAQ to annually certify to the Secretary concerned the dependency status of each dependent of such member; and (2) a variable housing allowance (VHA) to annually certify to the Secretary the member's housing costs.

Part B: Miscellaneous Pay and Benefits Matters - Entitles aviation cadets of the armed forces to the lowest pay grade rate prescribed for grade E-4, unless any such cadet is entitled to the basic pay of a higher pay grade.

Entitles a senior noncommissioned officer who completes his or her service and is placed on terminal leave pending retirement to the rate of basic pay authorized for the senior enlisted member of that armed force.

Allows the Secretary concerned to provide reimbursement or a travel allowance for the dependents of a member assigned to a vessel under construction for the travel of such dependents from the designated home port of the ship or the residence of the member's dependents (currently, only from the home port of the ship).

Authorizes the payment of a travel and transportation allowance to a member who: (1) performs duty under emergency circumstances at a location within the limits of a member's station; and (2) uses overnight accommodations because of such duty.

Revises the definition of a "dependent" for purposes of eligibility for benefits as a military dependent to include dependent parents-in-law, dependent children whose custody is granted to a member by a court order or decree, and other dependent minors who reside in the member's household.

Revises hazardous duty pay provisions for parachute jumping to include all free fall operations involving jumper deployed parachute openings.

Extends the authority for the payment of the following bonuses and special pay: (1) the aviator retention bonus, through FY 1993; (2) special pay for enlisted members of the Selected Reserve assigned to high-priority units, through FY 1993; (3) the accession bonus for nurse officer candidates, through FY 1994; (4) special pay for nurse anesthetists, through FY 1993; (5) the reenlistment bonus for regular military personnel and the enlistment bonus for extended active duty, through FY 1997; and (6) the enlistment and reenlistment bonus for reservists as well as the bonus pay for affiliation with the Selected Reserve, through FY 1995.

Directs the Secretary to carry out a program under which a member of the armed forces may be reimbursed for qualifying expenses incurred in the adoption of a child under 18 years of age. Provides identical provisions for reimbursement of adoption expenses for members of the Coast Guard.

Authorizes the Secretary concerned to transport (or pay the cost of such transport) the remains of dependents of retired military personnel for burial when such dependents die in a military medical facility. (Currently, such transportation is provided only to the retired decedents.)

Authorizes the use of appropriated funds (currently nonappropriated funds only) for reimbursement of incidental expenses of persons providing voluntary services for programs operated by a military department or the Coast Guard.

Authorizes travel and transportation allowances for members performing consecutive tours of duty to be deferred for up to one year after the member begins the consecutive tour at the same duty station or another.

Entitles Federal employees assigned to a post at Johnstown Island in the Pacific Ocean to a separate maintenance allowance during the period of assignment if the head of the department or agency responsible for such assignment designates such duty as remote duty and finds it necessary for the employee to maintain his or her spouse or dependents at a location other than the Island.

Allows a person to choose a base amount for a supplemental spouse annuity under the Survivor Benefit Plan of between five and 20 percent of the base amount under the plan.

Waives a required reduction in military retired pay for persons returning to employment in the case of persons employed in the legislative branch for which there is exceptional difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified employees.

Authorizes the payment of a military survivor annuity to a representative of: (1) a person for whom a guardian or other fiduciary has been appointed; or (2) a minor, mentally incompetent, or otherwise legally disabled person for whom a guardian or other fiduciary has not been appointed.

Increases from $500 to $2500 the amount of a claim of the United States against a Federal employee, member of the military, or member of the Coast Guard for overpayment of pay, allowances, or expenses which is authorized to be waived by the department head or Secretary concerned when the collection of such claim would be against equity and good conscience or otherwise not in the best interests of the United States.

Authorizes the payment of a foreign post differential for civilian employees of DOD and the State Department who served on temporary duty in connection with Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf conflict for a period of more than 41 days in a combat zone.

Part C: Matters Related to Contingency Operations - Defines a "contingency operation" as one in which members of the armed forces are or may become involved in military actions against an enemy or opposing military force, or which results in a call or order to, or retention on, active duty during a war or national emergency. Provides for the payment of accrued leave to the survivors of members who die as a result of an injury or illness incurred while serving on active duty in support of a contingency operation. Allows the 60-day ceiling on the accumulation of accrued leave to be exceeded, by up to 30 additional days, in the case of members assigned to active duty in support of a contingency operation during a fiscal year.

Repeals the current $10,000 limit applicable to a savings deposit program in the case of members of the armed forces serving in a contingency operation. Allows the Secretary to authorize a member serving on temporary duty outside the United States in support of a contingency operation to make deposits of unallotted pay and allowances during such duty.

Provides for the payment of a BAQ for reserve members without dependents who are called to active duty in support of a contingency operation when such active duty makes the member unable to occupy his or her primary residence or rental housing.

Entitles reserve or retired members recalled to active duty who are not authorized transportation of household goods from their residence to their place of assignment to a VHA in lieu of such allowance.

Provides for special pay for: (1) reserve medical officers on active duty under a call or order for more than 30 days but less than one year; (2) a health care officer who is involuntarily retained on or recalled to active duty for more than 30 days; and (3) a medical officer who voluntarily agrees to remain on active duty for less than one year at a time when such officers are being involuntarily retained or when the Secretary determines that such pay is justified.

Increases: (1) the hazardous duty incentive pay for duty performed under conditions of imminent danger; (2) the authorized monthly family separation allowance from $60 to $75; and (3) the death gratuity to a standard $6,000 for members of all grades.

Allows a reserve member to be paid a VHA for active duty service of less than 140 days (currently, at least 140 days is required) when the call or order to duty is in support of a contingency operation.

Amends the Persian Gulf Conflict Supplemental Authorization and Personnel Benefits Act of 1991 to extend from August 1, 1990 (currently, November 5, 1990) to 180 days after the end of such conflict the period for the authorization of special pay for reserve, recalled, or retained medical officers in the armed forces.

Title VII: Health Care Services - Authorizes the Secretary to establish one or more supplemental dental benefit plans for members (and their spouses and dependents) already enrolled in basic dental benefit plans. Requires a monthly premium to be paid by the member for such additional coverage. Outlines copayment requirements under such supplemental plan.

Amends the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to authorize the provision under such Program of palliative care and support services in connection with hospice care to a terminally ill patient who chooses such hospice care rather than continuing hospitalization or other health care services for treatment of the patient's terminal illness. Authorizes the provision of such services for dependents of military personnel under contracts for medical care through other medical care providers.

Allows contracts providing for inpatient mental health services to include provisions for partial hospitalization services in connection with such psychiatric care. Defines "partial hospitalization services" as items and services that are: (1) prescribed for and provided to a patient by a physician; (2) reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of the patient's condition; and (3) not provided on an overnight hospitalization basis. Outlines the items and services to be included as part of such care, including various types of therapy, services of trained staff, and therapeutic drugs that cannot be self-administered.

Includes as part of authorized medical care at military medical facilities well-baby care that includes one screening of an infant to determine the level of lead in the blood.

Repeals a Federal provision which authorizes the payment of a multiyear retention bonus to general and flag officers serving as practicing physicians in military medical facilities.

Expands the eligibility for coverage under CHAMPUS to include those persons entitled to hospital insurance benefits under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act or who would be entitled to such benefits if under 65 years of age. Prevents CHAMPUS benefits from being paid to the extent that a person is entitled to the same benefits under either title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act or under Medicare.

Authorizes the commanding officer of a military health care facility, in determining whether to issue a nonavailability of health care statement for any person entitled to health care in such facility, to consider the availability of such services for such person pursuant to any contract or agreement entered into for the provision of such services within the area served by such facility.

Requires each provider of services under CHAMPUS to submit claims for payment for such services directly to the claims processing office designated pursuant to joint regulations prescribed by the administering Secretaries.

Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 to extend through October 1, 1993, the deadline for the issuance of regulations relating to the use of diagnosis-related groups for the allocation of resources to military health care facilities.

Authorizes the Secretary to designate any facility owned or operated by the Uniformed Services Treatment Facilities that is authorized to provide medical or dental care for persons eligible to receive such care in military health care facilities as a facility of the uniformed services for purposes of the provision of services under CHAMPUS. Sets forth facility reimbursement provisions.

Authorizes the provision of transitional medical and dental care under CHAMPUS for: (1) members of the reserves called to active duty in support of a contingency operation; (2) active-duty personnel retained on active duty for such support; and (3) active-duty personnel voluntarily agreeing to remain on active duty for such support for less than one year. Limits the extent of such coverage to 30 days after the contingency operation is concluded or until the person is covered by another plan, whichever is earlier. Provides exclusions.

Directs the Secretary to conduct a comprehensive study of the military medical care system and to report the results to the defense committees.

Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a replacement or successor contract upon termination of the current DOD contract under the CHAMPUS reform initiative.

Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a registry relating to members of the armed forces who were exposed to fumes of burning oil in the Persian Gulf theater in connection with Operation Desert Storm. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the ongoing study of the short and long-term health consequences of such exposure and on the need for additional studies relating to such exposure. Directs the Secretary concerned, upon request of any member listed in the registry, to furnish a pulmonary function examination and chest x-ray to such person.