| Sponsor | Rep. Jones, Walter B. |
| Committee | Armed Services |
| Date | May 4, 2010 (111th Congress, 2nd Session) |
| Staff Contact | Andy Koenig |
The House is scheduled to consider H.R. 24, on Tuesday, May 4, 2010, under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage. H.R. 24 was introduced on January 6, 2010, by Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), and referred to the Committee on Armed Services, which took no official action.
H.R. 24 would redesignate the U.S. Department of the Navy as the "Department of the Navy and Marine Corps." In addition, the bill would redesignate the position of Secretary of the Navy as the "Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps."
The U.S. Marine Corps is a branch of the U.S. military that is a component of the U.S. Navy. The Secretary of the Navy oversees the Commandant of the Marine Corps as well as the Chief of Naval Operations and, in times of war, the U.S. Coast Guard. As of October, 2009, the Marine Corps boasted 203,095 members. The Navy has 330,423 active personnel. The legislation is an attempt to distinguish the U.S. Marine Corps as a separate military branch within the Department of the Navy.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the legislation would cost less than $500,000 a year to implement because most signage referring to either the Navy or the Marine Corps does not refer to the Department of the Navy and would not need to be changed.