REINSTATEMENT OF AUTHORITY TO REDUCE THREE-YEAR TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT FOR RETIREMENT IN GRADE FOR OFFICERS IN GRADES ABOVE MAJOR AND LIEUTENANT COMMANDER.

SEC. 505. REINSTATEMENT OF AUTHORITY TO REDUCE THREE-YEAR TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT FOR RETIREMENT IN GRADE FOR OFFICERS IN GRADES ABOVE MAJOR AND LIEUTENANT COMMANDER. (a) Officers on Active Duty.—Subsection (a)(2) of section 1370 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking “during the period beginning on October 1, 1990, and ending on December 31, 2001” and inserting “during the period beginning on October 1, 2002, and ending on December 31, 2003”; (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs CD) and (E), respectively; and (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraphs (B) and (C): “(B) In the case of an officer to be retired in a general or flag officer grade, authority provided by the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of a military department under subparagraph (A) may be exercised with respect to that officer only if approved by the Secretary of Defense or another civilian official in the Office of the Secretary of Defense appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. “(C) Authority provided by the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of a military department under subparagraph (A) may be delegated within that military department only to a civilian official of that military department appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.”. (b) Reserve Officers.—Subsection (d) of such section is amended— (1) by designating the second sentence of paragraph (5) as paragraph (6) and in that paragraph by striking “this paragraph” and inserting “paragraph (5)”; and (2) in paragraph (5)— (A) by inserting “(A)” after “(5)”; (B) by striking “in the case of retirements effective during the period beginning on October 17, 1998, and ending on December 31, 2001” and inserting –in the case of transfers to the Retired Reserve and discharges of retirement-qualified officers effective during the period beginning on October 1, 2002, and ending on December 31, 2003”; and (C) by adding at the end (before paragraph (6) as designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection) the following new subparagraphs: “(B) In the case of a person who, upon transfer to the Retired Reserve or discharge, is to be credited with satisfactory service in a general or flag officer grade under paragraph (1), authority provided by the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of a military 116 STAT. 2534department under subparagraph (A) may be exercised with respect to that person only if approved by the Secretary of Defense or another civilian official in the Office of the Secretary of Defense appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. “(C) Authority provided by the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of a military department under subparagraph (A) may be delegated within that military department only to a civilian official of that military department appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.”. (c) Advance Notice to Congress.–Such section is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(e) Advance Notice to Congressional Committees.—(1) In the case of an officer to be retired in a grade that is a general or flag officer grade who is eligible to retire in that grade only by reason of an exercise of authority under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) to reduce the three-year service-in-grade requirement otherwise applicable under that paragraph, the Secretary of Defense, before the officer is retired in that grade, shall notify the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives of the exercise of authority under that paragraph with respect to that officer. “(2) In the case of a person to be credited under subsection (d) with satisfactory service in a grade that is a general or flag officer grade who is eligible to be credited with such service in that grade only by reason of an exercise of authority under paragraph (5) of that subsection to reduce the three-year service-in-grade requirement otherwise applicable under paragraph (3)(A) of that subsection, the Secretary of Defense, before the person is credited with such satisfactory service in that grade, shall notify the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives of the exercise of authority under paragraph (5) of that subsection with respect to that officer. “(3) In the case of an officer to whom subsection (c) applies, the requirement for notification under paragraph (1) is satisfied if the notification is included in the certification submitted with respect to that officer under paragraph (1) of such subsection.”.