H.R. 4935: SWOLE Act

117th Congress · introduced 2021-08-03 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2021-08-03 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Wittman, Robert J. [R-VA-1] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

SWOLE Act

Plain summary

Surface Warfare Officer Leadership Enhancement Act or the SWOLE Act This bill addresses Naval operations, including the duties of surface warfare officers. Specifically, the bill requires that any person originally commissioned as a surface warfare officer in the Navy on or after January 1, 2023, be assigned to the ship engineering systems career path or the ship operations and combat systems path. The Department of Defense (DOD) must seek to enter into an agreement with a nonprofit entity or federally funded research and development center independent of DOD to research and analyze the gender gap in retention of surface warfare officers in the Navy. The Navy must not expend more than 75% of the funds authorized to be appropriated in FY2022 for Ship Operations, Operations and Maintenance, Navy, until the Navy certifies to Congress that it has established certain standards and procedures by which a member of the Navy can receive a merchant mariner credential with a national officer endorsement, a national rating endorsement, or a Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping endorsement.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

SWOLE Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Wittman, Robert J. [R-VA-1] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Wittman, Robert J. [R-VA-1] reported raising $5.4 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117hr4935.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/hr>

Record fed-us-cong117-hr4935 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117