Congressman Brown: "The FY21 NDAA is One of the Most Significant Steps Towards Diversity and Inclusion that Congress has Taken Since the Desegregation of the Armed Forces"

Press Release

Congressman Anthony Brown (MD-04), Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee and 30-year Army veteran, released the following statement on the passage of his provisions promoting and fostering diversity within the military in the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act:

"We are at an inflection point when it comes to race in this country. Our armed services are not immune to these currents. Today, we're still grappling with a military that does not fully reflect our country's diversity," said Congressman Anthony Brown. "This legislation is one of the most significant steps towards diversity and inclusion that Congress itself has taken since the desegregation of the Armed Forces in 1948. We foster opportunities for women and minorities, update surveys to include experiences with supremacist and extremist activity, anti-Semitism and racism and after decades of inaction, we reckon with one of the darkest periods of our country's history, the institution of slavery. Our work is long from finished, but this year's NDAA represents an important step forward at this pivotal moment."

"I can't say enough about Representative Anthony Brown (D-Md.), Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and his many contributions to the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act," said Congressman Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. "While there is still more work to be done, thanks to Mr. Brown's dedicated leadership we were able to include a number of provisions that will foster a more diverse and inclusive military and identify areas where we must improve. At this pivotal moment in our nation's history, it is critical that we establish policies that drive our military to be more representative of the country they serve. I am incredibly proud of the work Mr. Brown has done to make this a reality for our service men and women of color."

Congressman Brown's full speech on the floor of the House of Representatives can be found: here.

The House of Representatives passed the following amendments from Congressman Brown related to diversity and inclusion:
The implementation of the Military Leadership Diversity Commission (MLDC) Recommendations:

Establishes a Chief Diversity Officer reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense, as well as a chief diversity officer in each of the military services reporting directly to the secretary of that service.

Requires the Secretary of Defense to establish a Diversity and Inclusion Council, to be included in the National Defense Strategy, with the goal of increasing the diversity in the military to mirror that of the US population. Additionally, the Secretary of Defense and secretaries of each branch of the Armed Services will be required to set goals for increasing the minority and women populations in the military.

Accountability and Reporting: Adds a Violent Extremism punitive article to the Uniform Code of Justice.

Requires membership of the selection boards to represent the diversity of the Armed Forces

Requires the establishment of a comprehensive mentoring program and career development framework which would provide measurable metric outcomes with the goal of increasing diversity in senior ranks and retaining the best and brightest in the military.

The PANORAMA Act which would mandate race, gender, ethnicity and other demographic metrics for academy nominations be collected and published on an annual basis. Women have never exceeded 27 percent of nominations made by Members of Congress. Nominations of minority candidates and those from marginalized communities continue to lag.

The ELITE Act which would require the Department of Defense to conduct a study through a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) on the barriers facing minorities from serving in certain elite units of the Armed Forces, including pilots and special operations. Only 5 percent of Army Green Beret, 2 percent of SEALS and only 0.6 percent of the Air Force's para-rescue jumpers are Black.

The FLIGHT Act which would provide new resources for Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and minority institutions, with special emphasis on support for flight training. Only 1.7% of Air Force pilots (and less than 3% of civilian pilots) are Black.

The PROMOTES Act which would include science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instruction or activities within the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) programs. 68 percent of JROTC cadets do not have the opportunity to take an Advanced Placement (AP) computer science course in their school. Many of these schools are disproportionately located in low-income and minority communities.

The SERVICE Act which incentivizes defense contractors to invest in STEM education in their communities, with a particular emphasis on communities of color.

The PIPELINE Act which taps into the talent at our HBCUs and other Minority Serving Institutions by establishing a scholarship for service program at HBCUs.

An amendment updating the workplace and equal opportunity and workplace and gender relations surveys to include experiences with supremacist activity, extremist activity, anti-Semitism or racism. According to a Military Times poll, 53 percent of minority service members said they had seen examples of white nationalism or racism among their fellow troops.

An amendment requiring the Department of Defense to identify, report on a process, and change the names of all military bases and infrastructure named for individuals who served in the confederacy and prohibits the public display of the Confederate flag on Department of Defense installations.

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