text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Defense Office of the 
  Victim Advocate Act of 2004''.
  
  SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF THE VICTIM ADVOCATE IN DEPARTMENT OF 
                DEFENSE.
  
      (a) Establishment.--Part II of subtitle A of title 10, United 
  States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:
  
                ``CHAPTER 90--OFFICE OF THE VICTIM ADVOCATE
  
  ``Sec.
  ``1811. Office of the Victim Advocate: establishment; Director.
  ``1812. Office of the Victim Advocate: functions.
  ``1813. Annual report.
  ``Sec. 1811. Office of the Victim Advocate: establishment; Director
      ``(a) Establishment.--There is in the Office of the Secretary of 
  Defense an Office of the Victim Advocate. The office shall have 
  responsibility for coordination of programs and activities of the 
  military departments to the extent that they relate to victims of 
  interpersonal violence among members of the armed forces or between 
  members of the armed forces and family members and partners (including 
  former spouses, children, significant others, children-in-common, girl 
  friends, and boy friends).
      ``(b) Director.--The head of the Office is a Director.
      ``(c) Victim Defined.--In this chapter, the term `victim' means a 
  person who is the victim of sexual misconduct or interpersonal violence 
  which--
              ``(1) in the case of a person who is a member of the armed 
          forces, is carried out by another member of the armed forces or 
          a family member or intimate partner; and
              ``(2) in the case of a person who is not member of the 
          armed forces, is carried out by a member of the armed forces 
          who is a family member or intimate partner of that person.
  ``Sec. 1812. Office of the Victim Advocate: functions
      ``(a) Coordination Functions.--The Director of the Office of the 
  Victim Advocate shall carry out the following coordination functions:
              ``(1) Coordinate programs and activities of the military 
          departments relative to care, services, and treatment for 
          victims.
              ``(2) Serve as headquarters program manager for the victim 
          advocates and the victim service specialists in the Department 
          of Defense authorized by law.
              ``(3) Coordinate services for victims among military and 
          civilian communities and provide guidance to victims in 
          obtaining those services.
      ``(b) Evaluation and Review Functions.--The Director of the Office 
  of the Victim Advocate shall carry out the following evaluation and 
  review functions:
              ``(1) Evaluate the prevalence of interpersonal violence 
          associated with members of the armed forces.
              ``(2) Evaluate the programs established by the military 
          departments providing services to victims of interpersonal 
          violence.
              ``(3) Evaluate the delivery of services by the military 
          departments to victims of interpersonal violence.
              ``(4) Review the facilities of the military departments 
          providing services to victims of interpersonal violence.
              ``(5) Review the hotline programs for victims of violence, 
          including command and installation hotlines, the National 
          Domestic Violence Hotline, and the National Sexual Assault 
          Hotline.
              ``(6) Review disciplinary actions taken against members of 
          the armed forces who commit acts of interpersonal violence.
      ``(c) Policy Functions.--The Director of the Office of the Victim 
  Advocate shall carry out the following policy functions:
              ``(1) Recommend to the Secretaries of the military 
          departments policies, protocols, and programs to enhance 
          services to victims.
              ``(2) Recommend changes to policies and procedures to 
          address sexual misconduct and intimate partner violence.
              ``(3) Establish system accountability standards.
              ``(4) Develop protocols for accountability of commanders in 
          response to incidents of violence.
              ``(5) Serve, or designate a person to serve, on any 
          fatality review panel established by the Secretary of a 
          military department under section 4061, 6036, or 9061 of this 
          title.
      ``(d) Education and Training Functions.--The Director of the Office 
  of the Victim Advocate shall carry out the following education and 
  training functions:
              ``(1) Conduct education and training within the armed 
          forces.
              ``(2) Conduct training and technical assistance (including 
          programs referred to as Life Skills program) for commands, 
          Family Advocacy Programs, victim witness assistance liaisons, 
          commissions, medical personnel, and law enforcement, security 
          forces, and the Judge Advocate General Corps.
              ``(3) Conduct programs of public education.
  ``Sec. 1813. Annual report
      ``(a) Report to the Secretary of Defense.--The Director of the 
  Office of the Victim Advocate shall submit to the Secretary of Defense 
  an annual report containing an assessment of the current state of 
  affairs within the military departments relative to interpersonal 
  violence and sexual misconduct. The report shall include proposed 
  initiatives to enhance the response of the military departments to 
  interpersonal violence and sexual misconduct.
      ``(b) Report to Congress.--The Secretary of Defense shall transmit 
  to Congress each report received from the Director under subsection 
  (a), together with the Secretary's comments thereon.''.
  
  SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  
      There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2005 for 
  Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide, the amount of $10,000,000 to 
  carry out the functions of the Office of the Victim Advocate in the 
  Department of Defense.
target: Department of Defense Office of the Victim Advocate Act of 2004 - Establishes an Office of the Victim Advocate within the Office of the Secretary of Defense to assist victims of sexual misconduct and interpersonal violence occurring among members of the Armed Forces or between members of the Armed Forces and family members and partners.
  
  Requires the Director of the Office to carry out specified coordination, evaluation and review, policy, and education and training functions, and to submit to the Secretary an annual report assessing the current state of affairs within military departments relative to interpersonal violence and sexual misconduct. Requires the Secretary to transmit the Director's report to Congress with additional comments.
feat_title: To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish in the Department of Defense an Office of the Victim Advocate, to prescribe the functions of that office, and for other purposes.