It would offer reinstatement to any service member discharged solely for their refusal of the COVID vaccine and credit them for the time of their involuntary separation for retirement pay,
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The AMERICANS Act, put forth by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and freshman Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., bans the Pentagon from instituting any additional COVID-19 vaccine mandates without congressional approval. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
It would also repair the rank of those demoted due to the vaccination mandate, offering them back pay and benefits for any reimbursement they have lost as a result of their demotion.
For those who do not want to rejoin service, it would restore their discharge to “honorable” to restore their GI Bill and health care benefits.
In August 2021, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a requirement that troops be vaccinated against COVID-19 for “readiness” purposes. That order was rescinded in January 2023 after lawmakers directed the Pentagon to do so in the annual defense policy bill passed by Congress that year.
More than 8,400 infantrymen were separated last year and part of the order went into effect. Thousands more have implemented religious or medical exemptions.
“As a Green Beret, I’ve seen the sacrifices our service members make firsthand, and I will not stand by while their honor is tarnished,” said Rep. Pat Harrigan. (Pat Harrigan)
Austin’s repeal did not require the Pentagon to reinstate troops separated because of the mandate and stipulated that commanders would still have the authority to inoculate troops’ prestige when making decisions about deployments or other missions. He added that 96% of U. S. forces had won the vaccine.
“Our military is still dealing with the consequences of the Biden administration’s wrongful COVID-19 vaccine mandate,” Cruz said in a statement. “The AMERICANS Act would provide remedies for servicemembers whom the Biden Department of Defense punished for standing by their convictions. It’s the right thing to do.”
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“The Biden administration’s mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine is not about science or preparation, but control,” Harrigan said. “As a Green Beret, I have witnessed the sacrifices made throughout our military, and I will not stand by while their honor is tarnished. ”
In August 2021, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a requirement that troops be vaccinated against COVID-19 for “readiness” purposes. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
The law is in line with a promise Tuesday by President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to re-enlist those who separated from the military because of the vaccine.
“Service members who were kicked out of the experimental vaccine,” Hegseth told lawmakers, “will get an apology. They will be reinstated with pay and rank. “
Trump told supporters over the summer that he would “rehire each and every patriot fired from the military” as a result of his tenure.
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Pentagon leadership considered offering back pay to troops after the vaccine mandate was rescinded in early 2023, but it never came to fruition.
Republicans have long denounced the vaccine mandate and the separations it caused, arguing that it hurts morale at a time of primary recruitment problems. Pentagon leaders have argued that their forces have had to be vaccinated for years if they are deployed overseas.
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