PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.

A bill to amend titles 10 and 32, United States Code, to improve and enhance authorities relating to the employment, use, status, and benefits of military technicians (dual status), and for other purposes.

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 29, 2017

This bill revises provisions concerning military technicians (dual status), including by: (1) transferring authority to issue regulations regarding the employment, use, and status of such technicians from the Departments of the Army and the Air Force to the Department of Defense (DOD); and (2) requiring that such individuals be outside the competitive service and be appointed and administered by an adjutant general.

An individual who becomes employed as such a technician while already a member of a reserve component of the armed forces shall not have to repay any enlistment, reenlistment, or affiliation bonus provided before such employment.

The bill: (1) makes such technicians eligible for TRICARE, and (2) sets forth FY2018 end strengths for the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard.

Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.

Read full official summaryShow less

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 is amended to reduce from 20% to 4.8% the percentage of technician positions filled in administration, clerical, finance, and office service occupations as of October 1, 2017, that DOD must convert to civilian positions.

A governor or the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard may order a member of the National Guard to perform active Guard and Reserve duty in support of state missions.

The bill modifies personnel management authorities of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, including by requiring adjutants general to exercise the Chief's authority to employ, administer, and assign certain persons within their jurisdictions.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Sen. Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV] · D–WV

Committees

  • Armed Services Committee
13 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

  2. Introduced in Senate

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

Source last updated: Dec 4, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

Explore the bill from different angles

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.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze S.766 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.

View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine S.766 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.

View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine S.766 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.

View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine S.766 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.

View full prompt & sources