AMERICANS Act

To provide remedies to members of the Armed Forces discharged or subject to adverse action under the COVID–19 vaccine mandate. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots Act of 2023 AMERICANS Act 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of new mandate The Secretary of Defense may not issue any COVID–19 vaccine mandate as a replacement for the mandate rescinded under section 525 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 absent a further Act of Congress expressly authorizing a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 (1) in the section heading, by striking to obey lawful order to receive to receive (2) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking a lawful order an order (B) by striking shall be shall be an honorable discharge. (3) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (e); 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 (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 (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) 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. .

Summary: Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots Act of 2023 or the AMERICANS Act This bill prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from issuing any COVID-19 vaccine mandate as a replacement for the rescinded vaccine mandate of August 24, 2021, unless the mandate is expressly authorized by Congress. The bill also provides that DOD must establish an application process for remedies for members of the Armed Forces who were discharged or subject to adverse action under the rescinded mandate. Any administrative discharge of a member on the sole basis of a failure to receive a COVID-19 vaccine must be categorized as an honorable discharge, and DOD is prohibited from taking any adverse action against such a member for that reason. Under the bill, DOD must try to retain unvaccinated members and provide such members with professional development, promotion and leadership opportunities, and consideration equal to that of their peers. Additionally, DOD may only consider the COVID-19 vaccination status of members in making certain decisions (e.g., deployments in countries where it is the law) and must establish a process to provide exemptions to certain members for such decisions. This bill applies to all members of the Armed Forces, regardless of whether they sought an accommodation to any DOD COVID-19 vaccination policy.