II
118THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. 1811
To ensure treatment in the military based on merit and performance, and
for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JUNE6, 2023
Mr. W
ICKERintroduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Armed Services
A BILL
To ensure treatment in the military based on merit and
performance, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Merit, Fair-4
ness, and Equality Act of 2023’’. 5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6
Congress makes the following findings: 7
(1) The United States Armed Forces is the 8
greatest civil rights program in the history of the 9
world. 10
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1811.IS S1811
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2
•S 1811 IS
(2) Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen-1
eral Colin Powell wrote that ‘‘the military [has] 2
given African-Americans more equal opportunity 3
than any other institution in American society’’. 4
(3) Today’s Armed Forces is the most diverse 5
large public institution in the country, and brings to-6
gether Americans from every background in the 7
service of defending the country. 8
(4) Military readiness depends on the guarantee 9
of equal opportunity, without the promise of an 10
equal outcome, because warfare is a competitive en-11
deavor and the nation’s enemies must know that the 12
United States Armed Forces is led by the best, 13
brightest, and bravest Americans. 14
(5) The tenets of critical race theory are anti-15
thetical to the merit-based, all-volunteer, military 16
that has served the country with great distinction 17
for the last 50 years. 18
SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF EQUITY. 19
For the purposes of any Department of Defense Di-20
versity, Equity, and Inclusion directive, program, policy, 21
or instruction, the term ‘‘equity’’ is defined as ‘‘the right 22
of all persons to have the opportunity to participate in, 23
and benefit from, programs, and activities for which they 24
are qualified’’. 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1811.IS S1811
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3
•S 1811 IS
SEC. 4. PROHIBITIONS. 1
(a) D
IRECTIVES.—The Department of Defense shall 2
not direct or otherwise compel any member of the Armed 3
Forces, military dependent, or civilian employee of the De-4
partment of Defense to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere 5
to the tenet that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion or na-6
tional origin is inherently superior or inferior. 7
(b) T
RAINING ANDINSTRUCTION.—No organization 8
or institution under the authority of the Secretary of De-9
fense may provide courses, training, or any other type of 10
instruction that directs, compels, or otherwise suggests 11
that members of the Armed Forces, military dependents, 12
or civilian employees of the Department of Defense should 13
affirm, adopt, or adhere to the tenet described in sub-14
section (a). 15
(c) D
ISTINCTIONS ANDCLASSIFICATIONS.— 16
(1) I
N GENERAL.—No organization or institu-17
tion under the authority of the Secretary of Defense 18
shall make a distinction or classification of members 19
of the Armed Forces, military dependents, or civilian 20
employees of the Department of Defense based on 21
account of race, ethnicity, or national origin. 22
(2) R
ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in this 23
subsection shall be construed to prohibit the re-24
quired collection or reporting of demographic infor-25
mation by the Department of Defense. 26
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1811.IS S1811
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4
•S 1811 IS
SEC. 5. MERIT REQUIREMENT. 1
All Department of Defense personnel actions, includ-2
ing accessions, promotions, assignments and training, 3
shall be based exclusively on individual merit and dem-4
onstrated performance. 5
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1811.IS S1811
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS