INTEGRITY OF THE PROMOTION SELECTION BOARD PROCESS.

SEC. 504. INTEGRITY OF THE PROMOTION SELECTION BOARD PROCESS. (a) Communications With Boards.— (1) Section 615 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— (A) by redesignating subsections (a) through (d) as subsections (b) through (e); and (B) by inserting after the section heading the following new subsection (a): “(a)(1) The Secretaiy of Defense shall prescribe regulations governing information furnished to selection boards convened under section 611(a) of this title. Those regulations shall apply uniformly 105 STAT. 1356among the military departments. Any regulations prescribed by the Secretary of a military department to supplement those regulations may not take effect without the approval of the Secretary of Defense in writing. “(2) No information concerning a particular eligible officer may be furnished to a selection board except for the following: “(A) Information that is in the officer’s official military personnel file and that is provided to the selection board in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to paragraph (1). “(B) Other information that is determined by the Secretary of the military department concerned, after review by that Secretary in accordance with standards and procedures set out in the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to paragraph (1), to be substantiated, relevant information that could reasonably and materially affect the deliberations of the selection board. “(C) Subject to such limitations as may be prescribed in those regulations, information communicated to the board by the officer in accordance with this section, section 614(b) of this title (including any comment on information referred to in subparagraph (A) regarding that officer), or other applicable law. “(D) A factual summary of the information described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) that, in accordance with the regulations prescribed pursuant to paragraph (1), is prepared by administrative personnel for the purpose of facilitating the work of the selection board. “(3) Information provided to a selection board in accordance with paragraph (2) shall be made available to all members of the board and shall be made a part of the record of the board. Communication of such information shall be in a written form or in the form of an audio or video recording. If a communication is in the form of an audio or video recording, a written transcription of the recording shall also be made a part of the record of the selection board. “(4) Paragraphs (2) and (3) do not apply to the furnishing of appropriate administrative processing information to the selection board by administrative staff designated to assist the board, but only to the extent that oral communications are necessary to facilitate the work of the board. “(5) Information furnished to a selection board that is described in subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (2) may not be furnished to a later selection board unless— “(A) the information has been properly placed in the official military personnel file of the officer concerned; or “(B) the information is provided to the later selection board in accordance with paragraph (2). “(6)(A) Before information described in paragraph (2)(B) regarding an eligible officer is furnished to a selection board, the Secretary of the military department concerned shall ensure— “(i) that such information is made available to such officer; and “(ii) that the officer is afforded a reasonable opportunity to submit comments on that information to the selection board. “(B) If an officer cannot be given access to the information referred to in subparagraph (A) because of its classification status, the officer shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be furnished with an appropriate summary of the information.”. 105 STAT. 1357 (2)(A) The heading for section 614 of such title is amended by striking out “; communications with boards”. (B) The item relating to such section in the table of sections at the beginning of subchapter I of chapter 36 of such title is amended by striking out “; communications with boards”. (b) Disclosure of Board Recommendations.—Section 616 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections. “(e) The recommendations of a selection board may be disclosed only in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. Those recommendations may not be disclosed to a person not a member of the board (or a member of the administrative staff designated by the Secretary concerned to assist the board) until the written report of the recommendations of the board, required by section 617 of this title, is signed by each member of the board. “(f) The Secretary convening a selection board under section 611(a) of this title, and an officer or other official exercising authority over any member of a selection board, may not— “(1) censure, reprimand, or admonish the selection board or any member of the board with respect to the recommendations of the board or the exercise of any lawful function within the authorized discretion of the board; or “(2) attempt to coerce or, by any unauthorized means, influence any action of a selection board or any member of a selection board in the formulation of the board’s recommendations.”. (c) Recommendations for Removal of Selected Officers From Report.—Section 618 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(g) If the Secretary of a military department or the Secretary of Defense makes a recommendation under this section that the name of an officer be removed from a report of a selection board and the recommendation is accompanied by information that was not presented to that selection board, that information shall be made available to that officer. The officer shall then be afforded a reasonable opportunity to submit comments on that information to the officials making the recommendation and the officials reviewing the recommendation. If an eligible officer cannot be given access to such information because of its classification status, the officer shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be provided with an appropriate summary of the information.”. (d) Screening of Officers for Consideration by Selection Boards.— Section 619(c) of such title is amended— (1) in paragraph (2)— (A) by striking out subparagraph (A) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(A) may, in accordance with standards and procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense in regulations which shall apply uniformly among the military departments, limit the officers to be considered by a selection board from below the promotion zone to those officers who are determined to be exceptionally well qualified for promotion;“; (B) by striking out subparagraph (B); and (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; and (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(3) (A) The Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretaries of the military departments to preclude from consideration by selec-105 STAT. 1358tion boards for promotion to the grade of brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half) officers in the grade of colonel or, in the case of the Navy, captain who— “(i) have been considered and not selected for promotion to the grade of brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half) by at least two selection boards; and “(ii) are determined, in accordance with standards and procedures prescribed pursuant to subparagraph (B), as not being exceptionally well qualified for promotion. “(B) If the Secretary of Defense authorizes the Secretaries of the military departments to have the authority described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation the standards and procedures for the exercise of such authority. Those regulations shall apply uniformly among the military departments and shall include the following provisions: “(i) A requirement that the Secretary of a military department may exercise such authority in the case of a particular selection board only if the Secretary of Defense approves the exercise of that authority for that board. “(ii) A requirement that an officer may be precluded from consideration by a selection board under this paragraph only upon the recommendation of a preselection board of officers convened by the Secretary of the military department concerned and composed of at least three officers all of whom are serving in a grade higher than the grade of such officer. “(iii) A requirement that such a preselection board may not recommend that an officer be precluded from such consideration unless the Secretary concerned has given the officer advance written notice of the convening of such board and of the military records that will be considered by the board and has given the officer a reasonable period before the convening of the board in which to submit comments to the board. “(iv) A requirement that the Secretary convening such a preselection board shall provide general guidance to the board in accordance with standards and procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense in those regulations. “(v) A requirement that the preselection board may recommend that an officer be precluded from consideration by a selection board only on the basis of the general guidance provided by the Secretary of the military department concerned, information in the officer’s official military personnel records that has been described in the notice provided the officer as required pursuant to clause (iii), and any communication to the board received from that officer before the board convenes.”. (e) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section shall apply to selection boards convened under section 611(a) of title 10, United States Code, after the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.