This is the full text of what I will from here on out refer to as the Enyart Amendment to the House version of the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (HR 1960). The original idea and hence the name of the amendment comes from Rep William Enyart (D-IL) who happens to also be a Retired Major General and former State Adjutant General of the Illinois Army National Guard.
The “Requirement to Establish Policy on Joint Combat Uniforms” passed yesterday 32-30 in a session of the House Armed Services Committee. As I am told the waiver for SOCOM was added after opposition to a blanket requirement for all of DoD to adopt the same uniform. Additionally, you will note that the 2010 legislation regarding joint combat uniforms will be repealed by this act. As I have read multiple accounts of what it says or doesn’t say I felt it best to offer the actual language.
Enyart Amendment to the 2014 NDAA (HR 1960) by solsys
And as I published earlier today, this is still far from law.
First off, for those of you unfamiliar with the legislative process, this is just the first hurdle and it’s still quite a way from becoming law. It’s not as bad as I had feared but I’m concerned it still ham strings the individual services. Below is a simplified version of what still has to happen.
In order to become the law of the land, it must first pass a vote in the full House of Representatives. Then, the Senate will vote on their version of the NDAA which may or may not include similar language. Either way, the two versions of the NDAA will most assuredly contain differences which will have to be hammered out in Conference Committee made up of members of both chambers of Congress. Once those differences are worked out, a conference report detailing what is in the final legislation is voted on by both the Senate and House of Representatives. After approval, it goes to the President to be signed. Barring a veto it becomes law. At any point in this process expect the services to weigh in.
This is by no means a quick process. The NDAA will become law some time after the Army’s anticipated June 14th announcement of a new family of camouflage patterns.
I still feel that it isn’t the job of Congress to dictate to the Services which uniforms to wear but I understand the frustration felt by many (although those that yell the loudest are oftentimes unaffected by the issue). Ultimately, the individual Services have brought this oversight upon themselves by not complying with earlier legislation.
