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.
Sponsored By: Senator Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would ban excluding service members from occupational specialties or assignments because of gender and require modern, evidence-based performance rules and stronger transparency through new reports and reviews.
Show full summary
- Would prohibit excluding members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Space Force from any occupational specialty, career field, or assignment on the basis of gender.
- Would modernize career designator standards to focus on occupational performance, rely on scientific methods to measure technical, tactical, cognitive, and physical abilities, remove physical qualifiers, and set performance timeframes not shorter than 18 months with input from Department of Defense health researchers.
- Would require annual Department of Defense reports that list changes and involuntary reclassifications or separations by gender, deliver an unredacted review of Army and Marine ground combat units to congressional defense committees within 7 days of completion, and trigger a Comptroller General review within 180 days of enactment.
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Gender-neutral military job access rules
If enacted, this bill would bar the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force from excluding a member from any occupational specialty, career field, or assignment because of gender. It would modernize military job standards to use gender-neutral "occupational performance standards" based on a scientifically rigorous process and input from DoD health care providers and researchers. Services would need standards that consider technical, tactical, cognitive, and physical abilities (including muscular strength) and give at least 18 months before a change takes effect. The bill would also require annual reports to the congressional defense committees with gender-disaggregated reclassification and separation data; the rules would take effect on September 30, 2026, and the first report would be due September 30, 2027.
Unredacted combat review for Congress
If enacted, this bill would require the Secretary of Defense to provide Congress with the full, unredacted review of the operational effectiveness of Army and Marine Corps ground combat units not later than 7 days after the review is completed. The Secretary would have to brief the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on the full findings and methodology within 30 days after sending the review. The bill would also require any preliminary findings from the Institute for Defense Analyses to be provided, and it would direct the Comptroller General to report to the congressional defense committees within 180 days after enactment reviewing the review and any DoD actions. These requirements would take effect on September 30, 2026.
Repeal of a military personnel rule
If enacted, this bill would repeal section 8225 of title 10, United States Code. That repeal would take effect on September 30, 2026. Because the removed text currently sits in Defense personnel law, the practical effects would depend on the content of that subsection and how the Department of Defense and the Services change policies afterward.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
HI • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]
IL • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
NY • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
NY • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD]
MD • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
MD • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
WA • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]
MA • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV]
NV • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI]
MI • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO]
CO • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
MA • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ]
NJ • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
OR • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
NJ • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA]
PA • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
NH • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ]
AZ • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA]
CA • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
WI • D
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA]
VA • D
Sponsored 8/4/2026
Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA]
CA • D
Sponsored 8/4/2026
Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
CO • D
Sponsored 8/5/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov