Title: To establish certain protections for members of the Armed Forces who refuse to receive vaccinations against COVID-19.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill requires that a discharge or dismissal of a member of the Armed Forces must be characterized as honorable in situations where the individual was discharged or dismissed solely for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
Such individuals may not be denied retired or retainer pay or any benefits through the Department of Defense or Department of Veterans Affairs solely on the basis that they refused to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6288 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6288

 To establish certain protections for members of the Armed Forces who 
            refuse to receive vaccinations against COVID-19.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 14, 2021

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish certain protections for members of the Armed Forces who 
            refuse to receive vaccinations against COVID-19.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that no member of the Armed Forces 
should be required to receive a vaccination against COVID-19.

SEC. 2. PROTECTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES WHO REFUSE TO 
              RECEIVE VACCINATIONS AGAINST COVID-19.

    (a) Characterization of Discharge or Dismissal.--
            (1) Prohibition of dishonorable characterization.--The 
        characterization of the discharge or dismissal of a covered 
        individual shall be honorable.
            (2) Upgrade.--In the case of a covered individual 
        discharged or dismissed from the Armed Forces before the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall 
        upgrade the characterization of such discharge or dismissal to 
        honorable.
    (b) Prohibition of Denial of Retired Pay and Benefits.--No covered 
individual may be denied, solely on the basis that such individual is a 
covered individual, any--
            (1) retired or retainer pay; or
            (2) benefit under a law administered by the Secretary of 
        Defense or the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (including post-9/
        11 educational assistance under chapter 33 of title 38, United 
        States Code).
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``covered individual'' means an individual 
        involuntarily separated from the Armed Forces solely on the 
        basis of the refusal of such individual to receive a 
        vaccination against COVID-19.
            (2) The term ``Secretary concerned'' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 101 of title 10, United States Code.
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