Matters
SEC. 571. IMPACT AID FOR CHILDREN WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES.
Of the amount authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2012 pursuant to section 301 and available for operation and maintenance for Defense-wide activities as specified in the funding table in section 4301, $5,000,000 shall be available for payments
under section 363 of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (as enacted into law by Public Law 106–398; 114 Stat. 1654A–77; 20 U.S.C. 7703a).
SEC. 572. CONTINUATION OF AUTHORITY TO ASSIST LOCAL EDU-CATIONAL AGENCIES THAT BENEFIT DEPENDENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES.
(a) ASSISTANCE TO SCHOOLS WITH SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS OF
MILITARY DEPENDENT STUDENTS.—Of the amount authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2012 by section 301 and available for operation and maintenance for Defense-wide activities as speci-fied in the funding table in section 4301, $30,000,000 shall be available only for the purpose of providing assistance to local edu-cational agencies under subsection (a) of section 572 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109–
163; 20 U.S.C. 7703b).
(b) ASSISTANCE TO SCHOOLS WITH ENROLLMENTCHANGES DUE TO BASE CLOSURES, FORCE STRUCTURE CHANGES, OR FORCE
RELOCATIONS.—Of the amount authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2012 by section 301 and available for operation and maintenance for Defense-wide activities as specified in the funding table in section 4301, $10,000,000 shall be available only for the purpose of providing assistance to local educational agencies under subsection (b) of section 572 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109–163; 20 U.S.C. 7703b).
(c) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given that term in section 8013(9) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7713(9)).
SEC. 573. THREE-YEAR EXTENSION AND ENHANCEMENT OF AUTHORI-TIES ON TRANSITION OF MILITARY DEPENDENT STU-DENTS AMONG LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.
(a) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.—Paragraph (2)(B) of section 574(d) of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (20 U.S.C. 7703b note) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘grant assistance’’ after ‘‘To provide’’; and (2) by striking ‘‘including—‘‘ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘including programs on the following:
‘‘(i) Access to virtual and distance learning capabilities and related applications.
‘‘(ii) Training for teachers.
‘‘(iii) Academic strategies to increase academic achieve-ment.
‘‘(iv) Curriculum development.
‘‘(v) Support for practices that minimize the impact of transition and deployment.
‘‘(vi) Other appropriate services to improve the aca-demic achievement of such students.’’.
(b) THREE-YEAR EXTENSION.—Paragraph (3) of such section is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘Sep-tember 30, 2016’’.
SEC. 574. REVISION TO MEMBERSHIP OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MILITARY FAMILY READINESS COUNCIL.
Subsection (b) of section 1781a of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) MEMBERS.—(1) The Council shall consist of the following members:
‘‘(A) The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, who shall serve as chair of the Council and who may designate a representative to chair the council in the Under Secretary’s absence.
‘‘(B) The following persons, who shall be appointed or des-ignated by the Secretary of Defense:
‘‘(i) One representative of each of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, each of whom shall be a member of the armed force to be represented.
‘‘(ii) One representative of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, who may be a member of the National Guard.
‘‘(iii) One spouse or parent of a member of each of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, two of whom shall be the spouse or parent of an active component member and two of whom shall be the spouse or parent of a reserve component member.
‘‘(C) Three individuals appointed by the Secretary of Defense from among representatives of military family organizations, including military family organizations of fami-lies of members of the regular components and of famifami-lies of members of the reserve components.
‘‘(D) The senior enlisted advisor from each of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, except that two of these members may instead be selected from among the spouses of the senior enlisted advisors.
‘‘(E) The Director of the Office of Community Support for Military Families with Special Needs.
‘‘(2)(A) The term on the Council of the members appointed or designated under clauses (i) and (iii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) shall be two years and may be renewed by the Secretary of Defense. Representation on the Council under clause (ii) of that subparagraph shall rotate between the Army National Guard and Air National Guard every two years on a calendar year basis.
‘‘(B) The term on the Council of the members appointed under subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) shall be three years.’’.
SEC. 575. REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS FOLLOWING CERTAIN NATIONAL GUARD DUTY.
Section 4312(c)(4) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(F) ordered to full-time National Guard duty (other than for training) under section 502(f)(2)(A) of title 32 when authorized by the President or the Secretary of Defense for the purpose of responding to a national emer-gency declared by the President and supported by Federal funds, as determined by the Secretary concerned.’’.
SEC. 576. EXPANSION OF OPERATION HERO MILES.
(a) EXPANDED DEFINITION OF TRAVELBENEFIT.—Subsection (b) of section 2613 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) TRAVELBENEFITDEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘travel benefit’ means—
‘‘(1) frequent traveler miles, credits for tickets, or tickets for air or surface transportation issued by an air carrier or a surface carrier, respectively, that serves the public; and
‘‘(2) points or awards for free or reduced-cost accommoda-tions issued by an inn, hotel, or other commercial establishment that provides lodging to transient guests.’’.
(b) CONDITION ON AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT DONATION .—Sub-section (c) of such .—Sub-section is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘the air or surface carrier’’ and inserting
‘‘the business entity referred to in subsection (b)’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘the surface carrier’’ and inserting ‘‘the business entity’’; and
(3) by striking ‘‘the carrier’’ and inserting ‘‘the business entity’’.
(c) ADMINISTRATION.—Subsection (e)(3) of such section is amended by striking ‘‘the air carrier or surface carrier’’ and inserting ‘‘the business entity referred to in subsection (b)’’.
(d) STYLISTICAMENDMENTS.—
(1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading of such section is amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 2613. Acceptance of frequent traveler miles, credits, points, and tickets: use to facilitate rest and recuperation travel of deployed members and their families’’.
(2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections at the begin-ning of chapter 155 of such title is amended by striking the item relating to section 2613 and inserting the following new item:
‘‘2613. Acceptance of frequent traveler miles, credits, points, and tickets: use to fa-cilitate rest and recuperation travel of deployed members and their fam-ilies.’’.
SEC. 577. REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTISM PILOT AND DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.
(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than March 14, 2013, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on all pilot and demonstration projects and all other efforts being conducted by the Department of Defense on autism services.
(b) MATTERS COVERED.—At a minimum, the report under sub-section (a) shall include an assessment of the demand for autism treatment services by military families, including the intensity and volumes of use across specific diagnoses and age groups and the availability of qualified providers of such treatment services.
SEC. 578. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MILITARY SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS.
(a) INGENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall carry out a review of all current Department of Defense military spouse employment programs.
(b) ELEMENTS.—The review required by subsection (a) shall, address, at a minimum, the following:
(1) All current Department of Defense military spouse employment programs, and the efficacy and effectiveness of each such program.
(2) The types of military spouse employment programs that have been considered or used in the past by the Depart-ment.
(3) The ways in which military spouse employment pro-grams have changed in recent years.
(4) The benefits or programs that are specifically available to provide employment assistance to spouses of members of the Armed Forces serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Oper-ation Enduring Freedom, or OperOper-ation New Dawn, or any other contingency operation being conducted by the Armed Forces as of the date of such review.
(5) Existing mechanisms available to military spouses to express their views on the effectiveness and future direction of Department programs and policies on employment assistance for military spouses.
(6) The oversight provided by the Office of Personnel and Management regarding preferences for military spouses in Fed-eral employment.
(7) The total funding available to the Department for each military spouse employment program and the amount obligated by the Department for each such program.
(8) The number (or a reasonable estimate if a precise number is not available) of military spouses who have obtained employment following participation in a Department military spouse employment program, as a whole and for each military spouse employment program.
(c) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the review carried out under subsection (a). The report shall set forth the following:
(1) The results of the review concerned.
(2) Such clear and concrete metrics as the Comptroller General considers appropriate for the current and future evaluation and assessment of the efficacy and effectiveness of Department of Defense military spouse employment pro-grams.
(3) A description of the assumptions utilized in the review, and an assessment of the validity and completeness of such assumptions.
(4) Such recommendations as the Comptroller General con-siders appropriate for improving Department military spouse employment programs.