Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 120.djvu/2250

 PUBLIC LAW 109–364—OCT. 17, 2006

120 STAT. 2219

(6) The importance that has been assigned to determining all available facts before a decision is made to award the Purple Heart. (7) The views of the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. SEC. 557. REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PROCESS FOR AWARDING DECORATIONS.

10 USC note prec. 1211.

(a) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a review of the policy, procedures, and processes of the military departments for awarding decorations to members of the Armed Forces. (b) TIME PERIODS.—As part of the review under subsection (a), the Secretary shall compare the time frames of the awards process between active duty and reserve components— (1) from the time a recommendation for the award of a decoration is submitted until the time the award of the decoration is approved; and (2) from the time the award of a decoration is approved until the time when the decoration is presented to the recipient. (c) RESERVE COMPONENTS.—If the Secretary, in conducting the review under subsection (a), finds that the timeliness of the awards process for members of the reserve components is not the same as, or similar to, that for members of the active components, the Secretary shall take appropriate steps to address the discrepancy. (d) REPORT.—Not later than August 1, 2007, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report containing the Secretary’s findings as a result of the review under subsection (a), together with a plan for implementing whatever changes are determined to be appropriate to the process for awarding decorations in order to ensure that decorations are awarded in a timely manner, to the extent practicable.

Subtitle G—Matters Relating to Casualties SEC. 561. AUTHORITY FOR RETENTION AFTER SEPARATION FROM SERVICE OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY AND DEVICES PROVIDED WHILE ON ACTIVE DUTY.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 58 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1150 the following new section: ‘‘§ 1151. Retention of assistive technology and services provided before separation ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—A member of the armed forces who is provided an assistive technology or assistive technology device for a severe or debilitating illness or injury incurred or aggravated by such member while on active duty may, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, be authorized to retain such assistive technology or assistive technology device upon the separation of the member from active service. ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘assistive technology’ and ‘assistive technology device’ have the meaning given those terms in section 3 of the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3002).’’.

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