It would offer reinstatement to any military member released just for refusing the COVID vaccine and credit them during their involuntary separation for retirement benefit.
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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 wish to return to service, this would repair their discharge to “honorable” to repair their GI Bill and their physical care benefits.
In August 2021, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a requirement that troops take the COVID-19 jab for “readiness” purposes. That order was rescinded in January 2023 after lawmakers directed the Pentagon to do so in the annual defense policy bill Congress passed for that year.
More than 8,400 infantry soldiers were separated in the year and a part of the order in force. Thousands more have requested religious or medical exemptions.
“As a Green Beret, I have witnessed the sacrifices made through our military, and I will stand idly by as their honor 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 COVID-19 vaccine mandate wasn’t about science or readiness—it was about control,” said Harrigan. “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.”
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 pledge Tuesday through Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, to re-recruit the ones who separated from the army because of the vaccine.
“Service members who were kicked out because of the experimental vaccine,” Hegseth told lawmakers, “they will be apologized to. They will be reinstituted with pay and rank.”
Trump told supporters over the summer that he would “rehire every patriot who is fired from the military” during his term.
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Pentagon leaders provided back pay to troops after rescinding the vaccine mandate in early 2023, but it never came to fruition.
Republicans have long decried the vaccine mandate and the rifts it has caused, arguing it hurts morale at a time of primary recruiting problems. Pentagon officials have argued that their forces have been required to get vaccinated for years if they deploy overseas.
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