H.R. 9403

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9403 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9403

To require the Secretary of Defense to update guidance for the Junior 
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) program to evaluate the 
effects of the JROTC instructor pay scale on recruitment and retention.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 23, 2026

Ms. Escobar (for herself and Mr. Alford) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Defense to update guidance for the Junior 
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) program to evaluate the 
effects of the JROTC instructor pay scale on recruitment and retention.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Junior Reserve Officers' Training 
Corps Pay Oversight for Workforce Evaluation and Retention Act'' or the 
``JROTC POWER Act''.

SEC. 2. UPDATE OF GUIDANCE AND EVALUATION OF JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICERS' 
TRAINING CORPS INSTRUCTOR PAY SCALE.

(a) Update of Guidance.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination 
with the Secretaries concerned (as that term is defined in section 
101(a)(9) of title 10, United States Code), shall update Department of 
Defense guidance governing the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps 
(JROTC) program to include--
(1) an evaluation plan to assess the effects of the JROTC 
Standardized Instructor Pay Scale (JSIPS), or any successor pay 
system, on recruitment and retention of JROTC instructors; and
(2) standardized metrics for measuring JROTC instructor 
recruiting outcomes and retention rates across the military 
services.
(b) Required Metrics.--The evaluation plan required under 
subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, metrics relating to--
(1) instructor vacancy rates and time-to-hire;
(2) retention rates and length of service;
(3) geographic variation in recruiting and retention 
outcomes, including high-cost-of-living areas, rural, urban, 
and geographically isolated locations;
(4) comparisons between outcomes under the legacy pay 
system and the JSIPS;
(5) the identification of recruiting efforts used to 
attract instructor applicants, including data on how applicants 
learned about available instructor positions;
(6) the number of applicants who begin, complete, or 
withdraw from the instructor hiring process, including the 
interview and background investigation stages;
(7) the number of applicants who accept or decline 
instructor position offers, including to the extent 
practicable, information on the reasons offers were declined; 
and
(8) any other matters the Secretary determines appropriate.
(c) Report to Congress.--Not later than one year after the issuance 
of the updated guidance under subsection (a), and annually thereafter 
for two years, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee 
on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of 
the House of Representatives a report that includes--
(1) a description of the updated guidance and 
implementation status;
(2) baseline data and metrics collected using the metrics 
developed under subsection (a);
(3) an assessment of the effects of the pay scale on 
recruitment and retention; and
(4) any recommendations for legislative or administrative 
action.
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