119-hr511

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 511 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 511

 To provide remedies to members of the Armed Forces discharged or 
 subject to adverse action under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 16, 2025

Mr. Harrigan (for himself, Mr. Kennedy of Utah, Mr. Ogles, Mr. Hamadeh 
of Arizona, Mr. Stutzman, Mr. Wied, Mrs. Luna, Mr. Knott, Mr. Harris of 
 North Carolina, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Moore of West Virginia, Mr. Onder, Mr. 
Barrett, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Self, Mr. Downing, Mr. Jack, Mr. 
 Schmidt, Mr. Messmer, Mr. McGuire, Mr. Haridopolos, and Mr. Rulli) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To provide remedies to members of the Armed Forces discharged or 
 subject to adverse action under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

 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 ``Allowing Military Exemptions, 
Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots Act of 2025'' or the 
``AMERICANS Act''.

SEC. 2. REMEDIES FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES DISCHARGED OR SUBJECT 
 TO ADVERSE ACTION UNDER THE COVID-19 VACCINE MANDATE.

    (a) Limitation on Imposition of New Mandate.--The Secretary of 
Defense may not issue any COVID-19 vaccine mandate as a replacement for 
the mandate rescinded under 

section 525 of the James M. Inhofe National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 absent a further Act of 
Congress expressly authorizing a replacement mandate.

    (b) Remedies.--

Section 736 of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117-81; 10 U.S.C. 1161 note prec.) 
is amended--

    (1) in the section heading, by striking ``to obey lawful 
 order to receive'' and inserting ``to receive'';

    (2) in subsection

    (a) --
        (A) by striking ``a lawful order'' and inserting 
 ``an order''; and
        (B) by striking ``shall be'' and all that follows 
 through the period at the end and inserting ``shall be 
 an honorable discharge.'';

    (3) by redesignating subsection

    (b) as subsection

    (g) ; and

    (4) by inserting after subsection

    (a) the following new 
 subsections:
 ``

    (b) Prohibition on Adverse Action.--The Secretary of Defense may 
not take any adverse action against a covered member based solely on 
the refusal of such member to receive a vaccine for COVID-19.
 ``
            (c) Remedies Available for a Covered Member Discharged or Subject 
to Adverse Action Based on COVID-19 Status.--At the election of a 
covered member discharged or subject to adverse action based on the 
member's COVID-19 vaccination status, and upon application through a 
process established by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary shall--
 ``

    (1) adjust to `honorable discharge' the status of the 
 member if--
 ``
        (A) the member was separated from the Armed 
 Forces based solely on the failure of the member to 
 obey an order to receive a vaccine for COVID-19; and
 ``
        (B) the discharge status of the member would have 
 been an `honorable discharge' but for the refusal to 
 obtain such vaccine;
 ``

    (2) reinstate the member to service at the highest grade 
 held by the member immediately prior to the involuntary 
 separation, allowing, however, for any reduction in rank that 
 was not related to the member's COVID-19 vaccination status, 
 with an effective date of reinstatement as of the date of 
 involuntary separation;
 ``

    (3) for any member who was subject to any adverse action 
 other than involuntary separation based solely on the member's 
 COVID-19 vaccination status--
 ``
        (A) restore the member to the highest grade held 
 prior to such adverse action, allowing, however, for 
 any reduction in rank that was not related to the 
 member's COVID-19 vaccination status, with an effective 
 date of reinstatement as of the date of involuntary 
 separation; and
 ``
        (B) compensate such member for any pay and 
 benefits lost as a result of such adverse action;
 ``

    (4) expunge from the service record of the member any 
 adverse action, to include non-punitive adverse action and 
 involuntary separation, as well as any reference to any such 
 adverse action, based solely on COVID-19 vaccination status; 
 and
 ``

    (5) include the time of involuntary separation of the 
 member reinstated under paragraph

    (2) in the computation of the 
 retired or retainer pay of the member.
 ``
            (d) Retention and Development of Unvaccinated Members.--The 
Secretary of Defense shall--
 ``

    (1) make every effort to retain covered members who are 
 not vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide such members with 
 professional development, promotion and leadership 
 opportunities, and consideration equal to that of their peers;
 ``

    (2) only consider the COVID-19 vaccination status of a 
 covered member in making deployment, assignment, and other 
 operational decisions where--
 ``
        (A) the law or regulations of a foreign country 
 require covered members to be vaccinated against COVID-
 19 in order to enter that country; and
 ``
        (B) the covered member's presence in that foreign 
 country is necessary in order to perform their assigned 
 role; and
 ``

    (3) for purposes of deployments, assignments, and 
 operations described in paragraph

    (2) , create a process to 
 provide COVID-19 vaccination exemptions to covered members 
 with--
 ``
        (A) a natural immunity to COVID-19;
 ``
        (B) an underlying health condition that would 
 make COVID-19 vaccination a greater risk to that 
 individual than the general population; or
 ``
            (C) sincerely held religious beliefs in conflict 
 with receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.
 ``

    (e) Termination of Obligation To Repay Bonuses of Members 
Separated for Refusing Covid-19 Vaccine.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--A former member of the Armed Forces who 
 was separated from the Armed Forces because the former member 
 refused to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine shall be released for any 
 obligation to repay any bonus received by the former member.
 ``

    (2) Reimbursement of repayments.--A former member of the 
 Armed Forces described in subsection

    (a) who, before the date 
 of the enactment of this Act, repaid any portion of a bonus 
 described in that subsection shall be reimbursed for such 
 repayment.
 ``

    (f) Applicability of Remedies Contained in This Section.--The 
prohibitions and remedies described in this section shall apply to 
covered members regardless of whether or not they sought an 
accommodation to any Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccination policy 
on any grounds.''.
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