PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · May 7, 2012
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) (Secretary) to: (1) assess and develop a uniform definition of hazing, applicable to members of the Armed Forces (members), for inclusion in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ); and (2) submit such definition to Congress. Expresses the sense of Congress that such definition should cover, at a minimum, any situation in which a member suffers or is exposed to any cruelty, indignity, humiliation, hardship, harm, harassment, or oppression, or the deprivation or abridgment of any right, by another member.
Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a comprehensive policy on the prevention of and response to hazing involving members.
Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop and implement a centralized, case-level database for the collection and maintenance of information regarding hazing, including incidents occurring at officer candidate schools, military academies and their preparatory schools, and basic training and professional schools for enlisted members. Requires such Secretaries to: (1) submit to Congress a plan to implement the database, and (2) complete implementation within 15 months after the enactment of this Act.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Directs the Secretary to report to Congress: (1) a description of the current status of the Defense Incident-Based Reporting System, and (2) an explanation of how such System will relate to the database.
Requires annual reports from each Secretary on the hazing incidents involving members.
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to Congress on the policies to prevent hazing and the systems initiated to track incidents of hazing in each of the military departments.
People & committees
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-32] · D–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jun 6, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.5344 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.5344 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.5344 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.5344 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.