U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced the Reaffirming Every Servicemember’s Trust Over Religious Exemptions (RESTORE) Act. This bill would require the Department of Defense (DoD) to establish a Special Review Board to audit the service-wide handling of religious accommodation requests related to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The Board would be charged with identifying those who were unjustly penalized, and correcting the career and personnel records of affected servicemembers.
Sen. Cruz said, “American servicemembers are still facing unjust consequences for personal religious decisions that caused them to reject the Biden administration’s coercive COVID-19 vaccine mandates, including being denied promotions and receiving negative performance reviews. Under the RESTORE Act, these wrongs would be corrected for the men and women in uniform.”
Sen. Scott said, “Biden’s DOD placed a ridiculous vaccine mandate on the great men and women who served our nation, kicking American heroes out of our service for refusing to comply for health or religious reasons. President Trump is already working to right these wrongs, but we must make sure every service member who lost their livelihood due to this overreaching mandate has the chance to serve their nation once again. I’m proud to support the RESTORE Act and will always be grateful to those willing to serve our nation.”
Sen. Britt said, “I’m proud to support the RESTORE Act, which directly addresses the previous administration’s mishandling of religious accommodation requests and aims to remedy the unjust consequences experienced by thousands of dedicated men and women in uniform. This legislation builds upon the AMERICANS Act, of which I am also a proud cosponsor. I’m honored to stand with Senator Cruz and my colleagues in our continued efforts to restore fairness and justice for military service members harmed by the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.”
Sen. Lee said, “Thousands of military service members were punished for declining the COVID-19 vaccine – some for religious reasons that are protected by the Constitution. The RESTORE Act corrects these injustices by awarding the promotions and pay stolen from our courageous men and women in uniform by the Biden administration.”
Read the full text of the bill here.
Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas-13).
Rep. Jackson said, “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are on a mission to fix what Joe Biden and Lloyd Austin did to our brave men and women in uniform. This bill gives the Trump Administration the authority to investigate and finally deliver justice to the thousands of servicemembers who stood their ground and stayed in uniform after filing Religious Accommodation Requests from the COVID-19 vaccine. These heroes were wrongfully punished for their religious convictions—passed over for promotions, slapped with unfair evaluations, and pressured to cave. Those actions were absolutely wrong, and Congress must provide Secretary Hegseth with the authorities and tools he needs to make it right!”
