Bill > S1641

This bill, known as the RESTORE Act (Reaffirming Every Servicemembers' Trust Of Religious Exemptions Act), establishes a Special Review Board within the Department of Defense to audit and address the impact of COVID-19 vaccine religious accommodation requests on service members' careers. The board will conduct a comprehensive review of religious accommodation requests filed since 2020, assessing the Department of Defense's compliance with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and examining how service members' career progression may have been negatively affected by their vaccine refusal or accommodation requests. The board will have the authority to take corrective actions, including backdating promotions, restoring lost pay and benefits, correcting dates of rank, and potentially reinstating service members who were discharged due to vaccine mandates. Additionally, the board will work to expunge adverse administrative actions from service members' records, such as reprimands, negative evaluations, and promotion delays. The Secretary of Defense must provide quarterly reports to congressional armed services committees detailing the review's progress, and the Department of Defense Inspector General will conduct an independent audit of the implementation within 18 months. The bill aims to ensure fairness and restore potential career opportunities for service members who sought religious exemptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Military Affairs and Security

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1641/all-info