S 5189

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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

July 30, 2026

Ms. Hirono (for herself, Ms. Duckworth, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Alsobrooks, Mr. Van Hollen, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Warren, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Markey, Mr. Kim, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Booker, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Schiff, and Ms. Baldwin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To amend title 10, United States Code, and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994, to codify and clarify gender neutral standards for members of certain Armed Forces, 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. GENDER NEUTRAL STANDARDS IN CERTAIN ARMED FORCES.

(a) Prohibition on Exclusion of a Member of Certain Armed Forces From an Assignment on the Basis of Gender.—

(1) In general.—Section 652 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: “Sec. 652. Prohibition of exclusion from assignments on the basis of gender

“(a) Prohibition.—A member of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Space Force may not be excluded from an occupational specialty, career field, or assignment on the basis of gender.

“(b) Annual Report.—The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives an annual report that includes, with respect to the year preceding the date of the report, the following:

“(1) Any change to an occupational standard, including a description of how such change predicts performance of actual, regular, and recurring duties of a military occupational specialty.

“(2) The number of members, disaggregated by military occupational specialty and gender, who were involuntarily reclassified or separated for a reason other than discipline or pursuant to a sentence of a court-martial.

“(3) The reasons for reclassifications or separations described in paragraph (2).”.

(2) Conforming amendment.—Section 8225 of title 10, United States Code, is repealed.

(3) Effective date.—The amendments made by this subsection shall take effect on September 30, 2026. The first report under subsection (b) of section 652 of such title, as amended by this section, shall be due on September 30, 2027.

(b) Gender-Neutral Occupational Standard for a Military Career Designator: Modernization; Additional Information to Congress To Review a Proposed Change.—

(1) Modernization.—Section 543 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-160; 10 U.S.C. 113 note) is amended—

(A) in subsection (a)—

(i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “that is open to both male and female members of the Armed Forces”; and

(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking “women in that occupational career field” and inserting “individuals in such occupational career field on the basis of gender”;

(B) in subsection (b)—

(i) in the heading, by striking “Specific Physical Requirements” and inserting “occupational performance standards”;

(ii) in paragraph (1)—

(I) by striking “physical” both places it appears;

(II) by inserting “, based on a scientifically rigorous process,” after “determines”;

(III) by inserting “technical, tactical, cognitive, or physical abilities, including” before “muscular strength”; and

(IV) by striking “(in the case of a career designator that is open to both male and female members of the Armed Forces)”; and

(iii) in paragraph (2)—

(I) by inserting “not shorter than 18 months” after “a reasonable period”; and

(II) by inserting “that are based on input from health care providers and researchers of the Department of Defense” after “prescribed by the Secretary”; and

(C) in subsection (c), by striking “female members of the Armed Forces” and inserting “members of the Armed Forces, of any gender,”.

(2) Information to congress.—Such section is further amended, in subsection (c)—

(A) by striking “are expected to” and inserting “may”;

(B) by striking “Congress” and inserting “the congressional defense committees”;

(C) by striking “change and the justification and rationale” and inserting “proposed change, the estimated costs, the justification (including the relevant research and data that the Secretary reviewed and relied upon before making such proposal), and rationale”; and

(D) by striking “60-day period” and inserting “180-day period”.

(c) Submission of the Review of Operational Effectiveness of Army and Marine Corps Ground Combat Units.—

(1) Submission of unredacted version.—Not later than 7 days after it is completed, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to Congress the full, unredacted review of operational effectiveness of Army and Marine Corps ground combat units that is the subject of the memorandum issued by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness on December 18, 2025, relating to “Review of the Operational Effectiveness of Army and Marine Corps Ground Combat Units,” and which was reassigned to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

(2) Briefing.—Not later than 30 days after submitting the review under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense shall provide a briefing to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The briefing shall include the full, unredacted findings of the review and report methodology.

(3) Preliminary findings and information.—The Secretary of Defense shall provide to Congress any preliminary findings, methodology, and information delivered by the Institute for Defense Analyses to the Department of Defense related to the study required under paragraph (1) before the study’s reassignment to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

(4) Comptroller general review.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report reviewing—

(A) the review provided to Congress under paragraph

(1); and

(B) any actions taken by the Department of Defense in response to the review.

(d) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect on September 30, 2026. The first report under subsection (b) of section 652 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by this section, shall be due on September 30, 2027. <all>