S.Amdt. 6413

SA 6413, submitted by Mr. HEINRICH, is an amendment to bill S. 4784. This bill deals with appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for the Department of Defense, military construction, and Department of Energy defense activities.

The purpose of this amendment is to add Section 566, which requires the Secretary of Defense to provide annual reports to congressional defense committees regarding staffing shortages.

The amendment aims to add the following requirements:

• Reports on staffing shortages for family advocacy personnel, counselors, and social workers who help military families.
• A description of current Department of Defense actions to fix these shortages.
• An assessment of how to improve efforts to address these shortages.
• A description of challenges faced when a military family involved in child abuse proceedings moves across State lines, specifically regarding:
  • The transfer of records.
  • Information sharing between the Department and State child welfare agencies.
  • Information sharing between the commander before and after the family relocates.