IMPROVED DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PREVENTION OF, AND RESPONSE TO, BULLYING IN THE ARMED FORCES.

SEC. 549L. IMPROVED DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PREVENTION OF, AND RESPONSE TO, BULLYING IN THE ARMED FORCES. Section 549 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328; 10 U.S.C. 113 note) is amended— (1) in the section heading, by inserting “and bullying” after “hazing”; (2) in subsection (a)— (A) in the heading, by inserting “and anti-bullying” after “Anti-hazing”; and (B) by inserting “or bullying” after “hazing” both places it appears; (3) in subsection (b), by inserting “and bullying” after “hazing”; and (4) in subsection (c)— (A) in the heading, by inserting “and bullying” after “hazing”; (B) in paragraph (1)— (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)— (I) by striking “January 31 of each year through January 31, 2021” and inserting “May 31, 2023, and annually thereafter for five years,”; and (II) by striking “each Secretary of a military department, in consultation with the Chief of Staff of each Armed Force under the jurisdiction of such Secretary,” and inserting “the Secretary of Defense”; (ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting “or bullying” after “hazing”; and (iii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting “and anti-bullying” after “anti-hazing”; and (C) in amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: “(2) Additional elements.—Each report required by this subsection shall include the following: “(A) A description of comprehensive data-collection systems of each Armed Force described in subsection (b) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense for collecting hazing or bullying reports involving a member of the Armed Forces. “(B) A description of processes of each Armed Force described in subsection (b) to identify, document, and report alleged instances of hazing or bullying. Such description shall include the methodology each such Armed Force uses to categorize and count potential instances of hazing or bullying. “(C) An assessment by each Secretary of a military department of the quality and need for training on recognizing and preventing hazing and bullying provided to members under the jurisdiction of such Secretary. “(D) An assessment by the Office of the Secretary of Defense of— “(i) the effectiveness of each Armed Force described in subsection (b) in tracking and reporting instances of hazing or bullying; “(ii) whether the performance of each such Armed Force was satisfactory or unsatisfactory in the preceding fiscal year. “(E) Recommendations of the Secretary to improve— “(i) elements described in subparagraphs (A) through (D). “(ii) the Uniform Code of Military Justice or the Manual for Courts-Martial to improve the prosecution of persons alleged to have committed hazing or bullying in the Armed Forces. “(F) The status of efforts of the Secretary to evaluate the prevalence of hazing and bullying in the Armed Forces. “(G) Data on allegations of hazing and bullying in the Armed Forces, including final disposition of investigations. “(H) Plans of the Secretary to improve hazing and bullying prevention and response during the next reporting year.” .