text: SECTION 1. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ON ACCESSION OF CANDIDATES WITH 
                AUDITORY IMPAIRMENTS AS AIR FORCE OFFICERS.
  
      (a) Demonstration Program Required.--Beginning not later than 90 
  days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
  Air Force shall carry out a demonstration program to assess the 
  feasibility and advisability of permitting individuals with auditory 
  impairments (including deafness) to access as officers of the Air 
  Force.
      (b) Candidates.--
              (1) Number of candidates.--The total number of individuals 
          with auditory impairments who may participate in the 
          demonstration program shall be not fewer than 15 individuals or 
          more than 20 individuals.
              (2) Mix and range of auditory impairments.--The individuals 
          who participate in the demonstration program shall include 
          individuals who are deaf and individuals who have a range of 
          other auditory impairments.
              (3) Qualification for accession.--Any individual who is 
          chosen to participate in the demonstration program shall meet 
          all essential qualifications for accession as an officer in the 
          Air Force, other than those related to having an auditory 
          impairment.
      (c) Selection of Participants.--
              (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Air Force shall--
                      (A) publicize the demonstration program nationally, 
                  including to individuals who have auditory impairments 
                  and would be otherwise qualified for officer training;
                      (B) create a process whereby interested individuals 
                  can apply for the demonstration program; and
                      (C) select the participants for the demonstration 
                  program, from among the pool of applicants, based on 
                  the criteria in subsection (b).
              (2) No prior service as air force officers.--Participants 
          selected for the demonstration program shall be individuals who 
          have not previously served as officers in the Air Force.
      (d) Basic Officer Training.--
              (1) In general.--The participants in the demonstration 
          program shall undergo, at the election of the Secretary of the 
          Air Force, the Basic Officer Training course or the 
          Commissioned Officer Training course at Maxwell Air Force Base, 
          Alabama.
              (2) Number of participants.--Once individuals begin 
          participating in the demonstration program, each Basic Officer 
          Training course or Commissioned Officer Training course at 
          Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, shall include not fewer than 
          4, or more than 6, participants in the demonstration program 
          until all participants have completed such training.
              (3) Auxiliary aids and services.--The Secretary of Defense 
          shall ensure that participants in the demonstration program 
          have the necessary auxiliary aids and services (as that term is 
          defined in section 4 of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 
          1990 (42 U.S.C. 12103)) in order to fully participate in the 
          demonstration program.
      (e) Coordination.--
              (1) Special advisor.--The Secretary of the Air Force shall 
          designate a special advisor to the demonstration program to act 
          as a resource for participants in the demonstration program, as 
          well as a liaison between participants in the demonstration 
          program and those providing the officer training.
              (2) Qualifications.--The special advisor shall be a member 
          of the Armed Forces on active duty--
                      (A) who--
                              (i) if a commissioned officer, shall be in 
                          grade O-3 or higher; or
                              (ii) if an enlisted member, shall be in 
                          grade E-5 or higher; and
                      (B) who is knowledgeable about issues involving, 
                  and accommodations for, individuals with auditory 
                  impairments (including deafness).
              (3) Responsibilities.--The special advisor shall be 
          responsible for facilitating the officer training for 
          participants in the demonstration program, intervening and 
          resolving issues and accommodations during the training, and 
          such other duties as the Secretary of the Air Force may assign 
          to facilitate the success of the demonstration program and 
          participants.
      (f) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
  enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Air Force shall submit to 
  the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the demonstration 
  program. The report shall include the following:
              (1) A description of the demonstration program and the 
          participants in the demonstration program.
              (2) The outcome of the demonstration program, including--
                      (A) the number of participants in the demonstration 
                  program that successfully completed the Basic Officer 
                  Training course or the Commissioned Officer Training 
                  course;
                      (B) the number of participants in the demonstration 
                  program that were recommended for continued military 
                  service;
                      (C) the issues that were encountered during the 
                  program; and
                      (D) such recommendation for modifications to the 
                  demonstration program as the Secretary considers 
                  appropriate to increase further inclusion of 
                  individuals with auditory disabilities serving as 
                  officers in the Air Force or other Armed Forces.
              (3) Such recommendations for legislative or administrative 
          action as the Secretary considers appropriate in light of the 
          demonstration program.
      (g) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section, 
  the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
              (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
          Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Committee on 
          Appropriations of the Senate; and
              (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
          Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
target: Requires the Secretary of the Air Force to carry out a demonstration program to assess the feasibility and advisability of permitting individuals with auditory impairments (including deafness) access as officers of the Air Force.  Authorizes between 15 and 20 individuals who are deaf or have a range of other auditory impairments, who otherwise meet all essential qualifications for accession as an officer of the Air Force, and who have not previously served as officers to participate in such program. Requires selected participants to undergo the Basic Officer Training course or the Commissioned Officer Training course at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, at the election of the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to designate a special advisor to act as a resource for participants, as well as a liaison between participants and those providing the officer training. 
feat_title: To require a demonstration program on the accession as Air Force officers of candidates with auditory impairments.