PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must every four years do a full check of the quality of life for members of the armed forces. This check, called the quadrennial quality of life review, looks at Department of Defense programs, projects, and activities, including morale, welfare, and recreation. It must lead to decisions and policies that show quality of life is a top concern for Defense leaders. The review must match the most recent National Security Strategy the President issues under section 108 of the National Security Act (50 U.S.C. 3043). It must find actions needed so service members have the quality of life required to carry out missions under that strategy and other actions that could improve life for members. The review should consider things like infrastructure and military construction; conditions at bases and facilities; budgets; medical care; housing, housing and subsistence allowances, and utility costs; education; deployment length; pay and pay differences with civilians; recruiting and retention; workplace safety; support for spouses, children, and Gold Star families; and other DoD or government programs that affect quality of life. The Secretary must report the assumptions and results of each review to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees in the year after the review, but no later than the date the President submits the budget for the next fiscal year under 31 U.S.C. 1105(a).

Title 10, §118a

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Review Required.—

(1)The Secretary of Defense shall every four years conduct a comprehensive examination of the quality of life of the members of the armed forces (to be known as the “quadrennial quality of life review”). The review shall include examination of the programs, projects, and activities of the Department of Defense, including the morale, welfare, and recreation activities.

(2)The quadrennial quality of life review shall be designed to result in determinations, and to foster policies and actions, that reflect the priority given the quality of life of members of the armed forces as a primary concern of the Department of Defense leadership.

(b)Conduct of Review.—

Each quadrennial quality of life review shall be conducted so as—

(1)to assess quality of life priorities and issues consistent with the most recent National Security Strategy prescribed by the President pursuant to section 108 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3043);

(2)to identify actions that are needed in order to provide members of the armed forces with the quality of life reasonably necessary to encourage the successful execution of the full range of missions that the members are called on to perform under the national security strategy; and

(3)to identify other actions that have the potential for improving the quality of life of the members of the armed forces.

(c)Considerations.—

The Secretary shall consider addressing the following matters as part of the quadrennial quality of life review:

(1)Infrastructure.

(2)Military construction.

(3)Physical conditions at military installations and other Department of Defense facilities.

(4)Budget plans.

(5)Adequacy of medical care for members of the armed forces and their dependents.

(6)Adequacy of housing and the basic allowance for housing and basic allowance for subsistence.

(7)Housing-related utility costs.

(8)Educational opportunities and costs.

(9)Length of deployments.

(10)Rates of pay and pay differentials between the pay of members and the pay of civilians.

(11)Retention and recruiting efforts.

(12)Workplace safety.

(13)Support services for spouses and children.

(14)Other elements of Department of Defense programs and Government policies and programs that affect the quality of life of members.

(15)Support services for Gold Star families.

(d)Submission to Congressional Committees.—

(1)The Secretary shall submit a report on each quadrennial quality of life review to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives. The report shall include the following:

(A)The assumptions used in the review.

(B)The results of the review, including a comprehensive discussion of how the quality of life of members of the armed forces affects the national security strategy of the United States.

(2)The report shall be submitted in the year following the year in which the review is conducted, but not later than the date on which the President submits the budget for the next fiscal year to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Another section 118a was renumbered section 118b of this title.

Amendments

2021—Pub. L. 117–81, § 1061(a)(1), which directed renumbering of the “second section 118a” of this title, relating to quadrennial quality of life review, as section 118b of this title could not be executed because there was no second section 118a of this title after the renumbering of another section 118a of this title, relating to National Defense Sustainment and Logistics Review, as section 118b by Pub. L. 117–81, § 311(b)(1)(B), (C). See 2021 Amendment note set out under section 118b of this title. Subsec. (c)(15). Pub. L. 117–81, § 1061(b), which directed the addition of par. (15) to subsec. (c) of section 118b of this title, as redesignated by Pub. L. 117–81, § 1061(a)(1), was executed by adding par. (15) to subsec. (c) of this section to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See above. 2014—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 113–291 substituted “(50 U.S.C. 3043)” for “(50 U.S.C. 404a)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Termination of Reporting RequirementsFor termination, effective Dec. 31, 2021, of provisions in subsec. (d) of this section requiring submittal of report to Congress, see section 1061 of Pub. L. 114–328, set out as a note under section 111 of this title. First Quadrennial Quality of Life Review Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title V, § 581(b), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2561, directed that the first quadrennial quality of life review under this section would be conducted during 2003, and that the report on such review was to be submitted not later than the date on which the President submitted the budget for fiscal year 2005 to Congress.

§118a Quadrennial Quality of Life Review