Temporary withholding of officer nominations and promotion recommendations

(a) Authority Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary may temporarily withhold the forwarding or processing of an officer nomination or promotion recommendation for not more than 30 days. (b) Disposition Upon expiration of the period under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall— (1) forward the nomination or recommendation for further processing; (2) take appropriate action to permanently remove the officer from consideration due to a substantiated finding of misconduct; or (3) provide a written determination to the Secretary concerned, including the basis for continued withholding, to justify an extension under subsection (c). (c) Extension and notification Any withholding that exceeds 30 days shall be accompanied by written notification to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives, including a detailed explanation of the basis for such continued withholding. (d) Construction Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the President to remove an officer from a promotion list under section 629 of title 10, United States Code.