The Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow at 2 p.m.ET in Rayburn 2118 to specifically address issues related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Department of Defense (DOD) and service members.
The subcommittee will discuss back pay and lost benefits to service members who were punished for refusing to follow the unlawful COVID shot mandate that violated their religious beliefs. The subcommittee will seek answers regarding the number of service members separated because of the mandate and the number of those required to pay back bonuses, the average amount to be repaid, and the amount already repaid. The subcommittee will also address whether DOD policy still requires repayment of bonuses and whether it has reinstated any service members forced out for failure to abide by the shot mandate as well as the military’s plan for ensuring that reinstatement is offered to any separated service members.
Witnesses will include Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., DOD Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer; Gabe Camarillo, Under Secretary and Chief Management Officer of the Army; Erik Raven, Under Secretary and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Management Officer of the Navy; and Gina Ortiz Jones, Under Secretary of the Air Force.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Repealing the COVID shot mandate for military members does not end the abuse our service members have endured. Our military members who love God and love America have been horribly abused and they must be honored again. Hopefully, this hearing will be the beginning of rectifying the wrongs the Biden administration has done to our brave military heroes.”
