10 U.S.C. § 129c — Medical personnel: limitations on reduc-

Page 162 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 129b Pub. L. 103–139, title VIII, § 8040, Nov. 11, 1993, 107 Stat. 1449. Pub. L. 102–396, title IX, § 9053, Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1914. Pub. L. 102–172, title VIII, § 8055, Nov. 26, 1991, 105 Stat. 1184. Pub. L. 101–511, title VIII, § 8063, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1888. Pub. L. 101–165, title IX, § 9085, Nov. 21, 1989, 103 Stat. 1147. Pub. L. 100–463, title VIII, § 8079, Oct. 1, 1988, 102 Stat. 2270–30. Pub. L. 100–202, § 101(b) [title VIII, § 8105], Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329–43, 1329–81. § 129b. Authority to procure personal services (a) AUTHORITY.—Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the military departments may— (1) procure the services of experts or consult- ants (or of organizations of experts or consult- ants) in accordance with section 3109 of title 5; and (2) pay in connection with such services travel expenses of individuals, including trans- portation and per diem in lieu of subsistence while such individuals are traveling from their homes or places of business to official duty stations and return as may be authorized by law. (b) CONDITIONS.—The services of experts or consultants (or organizations thereof) may be procured under subsection (a) only if the Sec- retary of Defense or the Secretary of the mili- tary department concerned, as the case may be, determines that— (1) the procurement of such services is ad- vantageous to the United States; and (2) such services cannot adequately be pro- vided by the Department of Defense. (c) REGULATIONS.—Procurement of the services of experts and consultants (or organizations thereof) under subsection (a) shall be carried out under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. (d) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY FOR PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS.—(1) In addition to the au- thority provided under subsection (a), the Sec- retary of Defense may enter into personal serv- ices contracts if the personal services— (A) are to be provided by individuals outside the United States, regardless of their nation- ality, and are determined by the Secretary to be necessary and appropriate for supporting the activities and programs of the Department of Defense outside the United States; (B) directly support the mission of a defense intelligence component or counter-intel- ligence organization of the Department of De- fense; or (C) directly support the mission of the spe- cial operations command of the Department of Defense. (2) The contracting officer for a personal serv- ices contract under this subsection shall be re- sponsible for ensuring that— (A) the services to be procured are urgent or unique; and (B) it would not be practicable for the De- partment to obtain such services by other means. (3) The requirements of section 3109 of title 5 shall not apply to a contract entered into under this subsection. (Added Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XIV, § 1481(b)(1), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1704; amended Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title X, § 1061(a)(2), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1472; Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title VIII, § 841(a), (b)(1), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1552.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in Pub. L. 101–165, title IX, § 9002, Nov. 21, 1989, 103 Stat. 1129, which was set out as a note under section 2241 of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 101–510, § 1481(b)(3). AMENDMENTS 2003—Pub. L. 108–136, § 841(b)(1), substituted ‘‘Author- ity to procure personal services’’ for ‘‘Experts and con- sultants: authority to procure services of’’ in section catchline. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 108–136, § 841(a), added subsec. (d). 1991—Pub. L. 102–190 inserted ‘‘of’’ after ‘‘services’’ in section catchline. § 129c. Medical personnel: limitations on reduc- tions (a) LIMITATION ON REDUCTION.—For any fiscal year, the Secretary of Defense may not make a reduction in the number of medical personnel of the Department of Defense described in sub- section (b) unless the Secretary makes a certifi- cation for that fiscal year described in sub- section (c). (b) COVERED REDUCTIONS.—Subsection (a) ap- plies to a reduction in the number of medical personnel of the Department of Defense as of the end of a fiscal year to a number that is less than— (1) 95 percent of the number of such per- sonnel at the end of the immediately pre- ceding fiscal year; or (2) 90 percent of the number of such per- sonnel at the end of the third fiscal year pre- ceding the fiscal year. (c) CERTIFICATION.—A certification referred to in subsection (a) with respect to reductions in medical personnel of the Department of Defense for any fiscal year is a certification by the Sec- retary of Defense to Congress that— (1) the number of medical personnel being reduced is excess to the current and projected needs of the Department of Defense; and (2) such reduction will not result in an in- crease in the cost of health care services pro- vided under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services under chapter 55 of this title. (d) POLICY FOR IMPLEMENTING REDUCTIONS.— Whenever the Secretary of Defense directs that there be a reduction in the total number of mili- tary medical personnel of the Department of De- fense, the Secretary shall require that the re- duction be carried out so as to ensure that the reduction is not exclusively or disproportion- ately borne by any one of the armed forces and is not exclusively or disproportionately borne by either the active or the reserve components. (e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘medical personnel’’ means— Page 163 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 129c (1) the members of the armed forces covered by the term ‘‘medical personnel’’ as defined in section 115a(e)(2) of this title; and (2) the civilian personnel of the Department of Defense assigned to military medical facili- ties. (Added Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title V, § 564(a)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 325; amended Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title X, § 1073(a)(4), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1900.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title VII, § 711, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1582, as amended, which was set out as a note under section 115 of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 104–106, § 564(d)(1). AMENDMENTS 1997—Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 105–85 substituted ‘‘sec- tion 115a(e)(2)’’ for ‘‘section 115a(g)(2)’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries LIMITATION ON REDUCTION OF MILITARY MEDICAL MAN- NING END STRENGTH: CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT AND OTHER REFORMS Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title VII, § 741(a), (d), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2676, 2680, provided that: ‘‘(a) LIMITATION.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), and in addition to the limitation under section 719 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fis- cal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 1454), as most recently amended by section 731 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Pub- lic Law 117–81; 135 Stat. 1795), during the five-year pe- riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2022], neither the Secretary of Defense nor a Secretary concerned may reduce military med- ical end strength authorizations, and following such period, neither may reduce such authorizations un- less the Secretary of Defense issues a waiver pursu- ant to paragraph (6). ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The limitation under paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to the following: ‘‘(A) Administrative billets of a military depart- ment that have remained unfilled since at least Oc- tober 1, 2018. ‘‘(B) Billets identified as non-clinical in the budg- et of the President for fiscal year 2020 submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, except that the number of such billets may not exceed 1,700. ‘‘(C) Medical headquarters billets of the military departments not assigned to, or providing direct support to, operational commands. ‘‘(3) REPORT ON COMPOSITION OF MILITARY MEDICAL WORKFORCE REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of De- fense, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall conduct an assessment of current military medical manning requirements (tak- ing into consideration factors including future oper- ational planning, training, and beneficiary healthcare) and submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Sen- ate a report containing the findings of such assess- ment. Such assessment shall be informed by the fol- lowing: ‘‘(A) The National Defense Strategy submitted under section 113(g) of title 10, United States Code. ‘‘(B) The National Military Strategy prepared under section 153(b) of such title. ‘‘(C) The campaign plans of the combatant com- mands. ‘‘(D) Theater strategies. ‘‘(E) The joint medical estimate under section 732 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authoriza- tion Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115–232; 132 Stat. 1817). ‘‘(F) The plan of the Department of Defense on in- tegrated medical operations, as updated pursuant to paragraph (1) of section 724(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117–81; 135 Stat. 1793; 10 U.S.C. 1096 note). ‘‘(G) The plan of the Department of Defense on global patient movement, as updated pursuant to paragraph (2) of such section 724(a). ‘‘(H) The biosurveillance program of the Depart- ment of Defense established pursuant to Depart- ment of Defense Directive 6420.02 (relating to bio- surveillance). ‘‘(I) Requirements for graduate medical edu- cation. ‘‘(J) The report of the COVID–19 Military Health System Review Panel under section 731 of the Wil- liam M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Au- thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 3698). ‘‘(K) The report of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense titled ‘Evaluation of De- partment of Defense Military Medical Treatment Facility Challenges During the Coronavirus Dis- ease-2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic in Fiscal Year 2021 (DODIG-2022-081)’ and published on April 5, 2022. ‘‘(L) Reports of the Comptroller General of the United States relating to military health system reforms undertaken on or after January, 1, 2017, in- cluding any such reports relating to military med- ical manning and force composition mix. ‘‘(M) Such other reports as may be determined ap- propriate by the Secretary of Defense. ‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a certifi- cation containing the following: ‘‘(A) A certification of the completion of a com- prehensive review of military medical manning, in- cluding with respect to the medical corps (or other health- or medical-related component of a military department), designator, profession, occupation, and rating of medical personnel. ‘‘(B) A justification for any proposed increase, re- alignment, reduction, or other change to the spe- cialty or occupational composition of military medical end strength authorizations, which may in- clude compliance with a requirement or rec- ommendation set forth in a strategy, plan, or other matter specified in paragraph (3). ‘‘(C) A certification that, in the case that any change to such specialty or occupational composi- tion is required, a vacancy resulting from such change may not be filled with a position other than a health- or medical-related position until such time as there are no military medical billets re- maining to fill the vacancy. ‘‘(D) A risk analysis associated with the potential realignment or reduction of any military medical end strength authorizations. ‘‘(E) An identification of any plans of the Depart- ment to backfill military medical personnel posi- tions with civilian personnel. ‘‘(F) A plan to address persistent vacancies for ci- vilian personnel in health- or medical-related posi- tions, and a risk analysis associated with the hir- ing, onboarding, and retention of such civilian per- sonnel, taking into account provider shortfalls across the United States. ‘‘(G) A comprehensive plan to mitigate any risk identified pursuant to subparagraph (D) or (F), in- cluding with respect to funding necessary for such mitigation across fiscal years. ‘‘(5) PROCESS REQUIRED.—The Secretaries of the military departments, in coordination with the Sec- Page 164 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 129c retary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall develop and submit to the Com- mittees on Armed Services of the House of Represent- atives and the Senate a process for the authorization of proposed modifications to the composition of the medical manning force mix across the military de- partments while maintaining compliance with the limitation under paragraph (1). Such process shall— ‘‘(A) take into consideration the funding required for any such proposed modification; and ‘‘(B) include distinct processes for proposed in- creases and proposed decreases, respectively, to the medical manning force mix of each military depart- ment. ‘‘(6) WAIVER.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Following the conclusion of the five-year period specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense may waive the prohibition under such subsection if— ‘‘(i) the report requirement under paragraph (3), the certification requirement under paragraph (4), and the process requirement under paragraph (5) have been completed; ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines that the waiver is necessary and in the interests of the national security of the United States; and ‘‘(iii) the waiver is issued in writing. ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than five days after issuing a waiver under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Rep- resentatives and the Senate a notification of the waiver (including the text of the waiver and a jus- tification for the waiver) and provide to such com- mittees a briefing on the components of the waiver. ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: ‘‘(1) The term ‘medical personnel’ has the meaning given such term in section 115a(e) of title 10, United States Code. ‘‘(2) The term ‘Secretary concerned’ has the mean- ing given that term in section 101(a) of such title. ‘‘(3) The term ‘theater strategy’ means an over- arching construct outlining the vision of a combatant commander for the integration and synchronization of military activities and operations with other na- tional power instruments to achieve the strategic ob- jectives of the United States.’’ PROHIBITION ON CONVERSION OF MILITARY MEDICAL AND DENTAL POSITIONS TO CIVILIAN MEDICAL AND DENTAL POSITIONS Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title VII, § 721(a)–(d), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 198, 199, as amended by Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title VII, § 701, Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2372, pro- hibited the Secretary of a military department from converting any military medical or dental position to a civilian medical or dental position on or after Oct. 1, 2007, and required restoration of certain converted posi- tions to military positions, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VII, § 721(c), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2228. REQUIREMENT TO CERTIFY AND REPORT ON CONVERSION OF MILITARY MEDICAL AND DENTAL POSITIONS TO CI- VILIAN MEDICAL AND DENTAL POSITIONS Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title VII, § 742, Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2306, which prohibited the Secretary of a military department from converting any military medical or dental position to a civilian medical or dental position in a fiscal year until the Secretary submitted to the Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives with re- spect to that fiscal year a certification that the conver- sions within that department would not increase cost or decrease quality of care or access to care, was re- pealed by Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title VII, § 721(e), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 199. PROHIBITION ON CONVERSIONS OF MILITARY MEDICAL AND DENTAL POSITIONS TO CIVILIAN MEDICAL POSI- TIONS UNTIL SUBMISSION OF CERTIFICATION Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VII, § 744, Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3360, provided that: ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION ON CONVERSIONS.— ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF CERTIFICATION.—A Secretary of a military department may not convert any military medical or dental position to a civilian medical or dental position until the Secretary submits to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a certification that the con- versions within that department will not increase cost or decrease quality of care or access to care. Such a certification may not be submitted before June 1, 2006. ‘‘(2) REPORT WITH CERTIFICATION.—A Secretary sub- mitting such a certification shall include with the certification a written report that includes— ‘‘(A) the methodology used by the Secretary in making the determinations necessary for the cer- tification, including the extent to which the Sec- retary took into consideration the findings of the Comptroller General in the report under subsection (b)(3); ‘‘(B) the results of a market survey in each af- fected area of the availability of civilian medical and dental care providers in such area in order to determine whether the civilian medical and dental care providers available in such area are adequate to fill the civilian positions created by the conver- sion of military medical and dental positions to ci- vilian positions in such area; and ‘‘(C) any action taken by the Secretary in re- sponse to recommendations in the Comptroller General report under subsection (b)(3). ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General shall conduct a study on the effect of conversions of mili- tary medical and dental positions to civilian medical or dental positions on the defense health program. ‘‘(2) MATTERS COVERED.—The study shall include the following: ‘‘(A) The number of military medical and dental positions, by grade and specialty, planned for con- version to civilian medical or dental positions. ‘‘(B) The number of military medical and dental positions, by grade and specialty, converted to ci- vilian medical or dental positions since October 1, 2004. ‘‘(C) The ability of the military health care sys- tem to fill the civilian medical and dental positions required, by specialty. ‘‘(D) The degree to which access to health care is affected in both the direct and purchased care sys- tem, including an assessment of the effects of any increased shifts in patient load from the direct care to the purchased care system, or any delays in re- ceipt of care in either the direct or purchased care system because of lack of direct care providers. ‘‘(E) The degree to which changes in military manpower requirements affect recruiting and re- tention of uniformed medical and dental personnel. ‘‘(F) The degree to which conversion of the mili- tary positions meets the joint medical and dental readiness requirements of the uniformed services, as determined jointly by all the uniformed services. ‘‘(G) The effect of the conversions of military medical positions to civilian medical and dental po- sitions on the defense health program, including costs associated with the conversions, with a com- parison of the estimated costs versus the actual costs incurred by the number of conversions since October 1, 2004. ‘‘(H) The effectiveness of the conversions in en- hancing medical and dental readiness, health care efficiency, productivity, quality, and customer sat- isfaction. Page 165 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 130 ‘‘(3) REPORT ON STUDY.—Not later than May 1, 2006, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Commit- tees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a report containing the results of the study under this section. ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: ‘‘(1) The term ‘military medical or dental position’ means a position for the performance of health care functions within the Armed Forces held by a member of the Armed Forces. ‘‘(2) The term ‘civilian medical or dental position’ means a position for the performance of health care functions within the Department of Defense held by an employee of the Department or of a contractor of the Department. ‘‘(3) The term ‘affected area’ means an area in which military medical or dental positions were con- verted to civilian medical or dental positions before October 1, 2004, or in which such conversions are scheduled to occur in the future. ‘‘(4) The term ‘uniformed services’ has the meaning given that term in section 1072(1) of title 10, United States Code.’’ SPECIAL TRANSITION RULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996 Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title V, § 564(b), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 326, provided that, for purposes of applying subsec. (b)(1) of this section during fiscal year 1996, the number against which the percentage limitation of 95 percent was to be computed would be the number of medical personnel of the Department of Defense as of the end of fiscal year 1994, rather than the number as of the end of fiscal year 1995. § 129d. Disclosure to litigation support contrac- tors (a) DISCLOSURE AUTHORITY.—An officer or em- ployee of the Department of Defense may dis- close sensitive information to a litigation sup- port contractor if— (1) the disclosure is for the sole purpose of providing litigation support to the Govern- ment in the form of administrative, technical, or professional services during or in anticipa- tion of litigation; and (2) under a contract with the Government, the litigation support contractor agrees to and acknowledges— (A) that sensitive information furnished will be accessed and used only for the pur- poses stated in the relevant contract; (B) that the contractor will take all pre- cautions necessary to prevent disclosure of the sensitive information provided to the contractor; (C) that such sensitive information pro- vided to the contractor under the authority of this section shall not be used by the con- tractor to compete against a third party for Government or non-Government contracts; and (D) that the violation of subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) is a basis for the Government to terminate the litigation support contract of the contractor. (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: (1) The term ‘‘litigation support contractor’’ means a contractor (including an expert or technical consultant) under contract with the Department of Defense to provide litigation support. (2) The term ‘‘sensitive information’’ means confidential commercial, financial, or propri- etary information, technical data, or other privileged information. (Added Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title VIII, § 802(a)(1), Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1484.) § 130. Authority to withhold from public disclo- sure certain technical data (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Defense may withhold from public disclosure any technical data with military or space application in the possession of, or under the control of, the Department of Defense, if such data may not be exported law- fully outside the United States without an ap- proval, authorization, or license under the Ex- port Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.) or the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.). However, technical data may not be withheld under this section if regulations pro- mulgated under either such Act authorize the export of such data pursuant to a general, unre- stricted license or exemption in such regula- tions. (b) Regulations under this section shall be published in the Federal Register for a period of no less than 30 days for public comment before promulgation. Such regulations shall address, where appropriate, releases of technical data to allies of the United States and to qualified United States contractors, including United States contractors that are small business con- cerns, for use in performing United States Gov- ernment contracts. (c) In this section, the term ‘‘technical data with military or space application’’ means any blueprints, drawings, plans, instructions, com- puter software and documentation, or other technical information that can be used, or be adapted for use, to design, engineer, produce, manufacture, operate, repair, overhaul, or repro- duce any military or space equipment or tech- nology concerning such equipment. (Added Pub. L. 98–94, title XII, § 1217(a), Sept. 24, 1983, 97 Stat. 690, § 140c; amended Pub. L. 99–145, title XIII, § 1303(a)(3), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 738; renumbered § 130 and amended Pub. L. 99–433, title I, §§ 101(a)(3), 110(d)(6), Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 994, 1003; Pub. L. 100–26, § 7(k)(3), Apr. 21, 1987, 101 Stat. 284; Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XIV, § 1484(b)(1), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1715; Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title X, § 1081(b)(3)(A), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2418.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Export Administration Act of 1979, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 96–72, Sept. 29, 1979, 93 Stat. 503, which was classified principally to chapter 56 (§ 4601 et seq.) of Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to re- peal by Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title XVII, § 1766(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 2232, except for sections 11A, 11B, and 11C thereof (50 U.S.C. 4611, 4612, 4613). The Arms Export Control Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 90–629, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1320, which is classified principally to chapter 39 (§ 2751 et seq.) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2751 of Title 22 and Ta- bles. AMENDMENTS 2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–328 substituted ‘‘(50 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.)’’ for ‘‘(50 U.S.C. App. 2401–2420)’’.