Findings; sense of Congress

(a) Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) According to an internal report of the Department of Defense, Black members of the Armed Forces are more likely than White members to be the subject of— (A) an administrative action, including an investigation into alleged misconduct; (B) a nonjudicial punishment; or (C) a trial by court-martial. (2) Certain administrative actions, nonjudicial punishments, and court-martial sentences may adversely affect the eligibility of a former member of the Armed Forces to receive disability benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. (3) According to the report titled VA Disability Benefits: Actions Needed to Further Examine Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Compensation (GAO–23–106097), published on July 26, 2023— (A) Black, non-Hispanic applicants for such benefits experience the lowest rate of approval for such benefits compared to applicants of other races or ethnicities; (B) a Black, non-Hispanic applicant is 14 percent less likely to be approved for such benefits than a White, non-Hispanic applicant; and (C) the rates of approval for such benefits for Black, male applicants are between 3 and 22 percent lower than the rates of approval for applicants of other races or genders. (4) Female former members of the Armed Forces are less likely to apply for such benefits than male former members. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) each former member of the Armed Forces made heroic sacrifices while serving in the Armed Forces, such as risking the life of the former member, to preserve the freedom of the United States; and (2) the collection and publication by the Secretary of accurate data regarding the race, ethnicity, and gender of all applicants for, and recipients of, disability benefits administered by the Secretary would enable the Secretary and Congress to identify and address any disparity based on the race, ethnicity, or gender of a former member of the Armed Forces, with respect to the receipt of such benefits.