Senator John Hoeven this week joined Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in introducing the Preserving the Readiness of our Armed Forces Act of 2022. This legislation would preserve the readiness of the Armed Forces by limiting separations based on COVID–19 vaccination status and continuing pay and benefits for members while religious and health accommodations are pending. As the military faces recruiting and retention deficits, it is not in the interest of national security to separate otherwise ready servicemembers solely for vaccine refusal.
“We need to be working to strengthen our Armed Forces and support the brave men and women in uniform, especially with recruitment numbers down,” said Hoeven. “Continuing to put punitive COVID-19 mandates in place is the wrong approach. It’s long past time that the Biden administration ends their COVID mandates and we’ll continue working to block federal overreach like this that hinders our active duty, Guard and Reserve members.”
In additional to Hoeven and Blackburn, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.). Click here for the full bill text.
