AMERICANS ACT: Call Your Legislators!

 

Contact Legislators to Support AMERICANS Act

 Please support this bill, by urging Federal Legislators to vote YES onthe Americas Act.   

Introduced: Senator Ted Cruz January 24, 2023

Summary: To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 to adjust to honorable discharge the service members who refused the COVID-19 vaccine and to disallow any adverse actions from the Secretary of Defense against these members. Also, this bill will clear service record and if reinstated, will include the time of involuntary separation in computation for retirement benefits. The Secretary of Defense shall also be required to recognize exemption requests for immunity, medical and religious reasons. There will also be a requirement to report how many religious exemptions were submitted and then denied/approved. 

Call to Action: Contact Federal Legislators to support the Americans Act via email and social media.

*In your email, please use your own wording in the body of the provided sample email.

 

Actions: Introduced in Senate 1/24/2023

Referred to Senate Armed Services Committee 1/24/2023

Sponsors: Senator Ted Cruz, Sen. Marco Rubio, (NO CA) 

*Current status to be determined in last voting session for NDAA 2024 this December. Combined bill from House and Senate could cause Schumer to bring to the floor for vote.

 

Related Bills: H.R.453

Introduced in House (01/24/2023)

 

Statement in Support:

AMERICANS ACT seeks to assist the forgotten members of the military who have been punished for their convictions and just fell short of the opportunity to stay in after the mandate was rescinded. We are a group of thousands of involuntary veterans who, after being released involuntarily from our duty, have now less than honorable discharge characterizations and thus our service is seen as “unsatisfying” to the requirements to receive the benefits promised to us. This bill is NECESSARY to remedy the situation that so many veterans are experiencing now. The remedy will allow these members to pursue education, have access to VA services, and not allow for members in the future to be forgotten. Religious belief is a protected right within our military, and this bill will make sure to protect the rights stated within the U.S. Code, Title 42, Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Also, as is our duty, we have sworn to defend the Constitution first and that is what we continue to defend today. We should not establish a precedent of unreliable promises and rescinded mandates without restoring the members who have suffered from it most. This is the worst recruitment period we have seen in our U.S. forces and that is because of the mistrust we have in our DOD leadership. This bill will require our leadership to make right what was wrong and not leave anyone behind.

 

Talking Points: 

• Over 8,500 active duty service members have been discharged from the military against their will. Most, receiving general discharges which have limited their possibilities for future employment/school, VA administration benefits, third party benefits such as veteran support organization membership and ultimately, the honorable title and recognized service.

 

• Religious exemptions requests were denied on an unlawful basis. In February 2022, 12,600 religious exemption requests to the Air Force were submitted and only 9 were approved. A DOD Inspector General Memo, dated June 2, 2022, stated that there was found, “noncompliance with standards for reviewing and documenting denial of religious accommodation requests.” And, a “trend of generalized assessments.”

 

•  The U.S. military has the lowest recruitment and retention since the Vietnam era due to the way members were treated during COVID-19. Senator Mike Johnson, wrote a letter to SecDef Lloyd signed by 47 other members of Congress, voicing sincere concerns about retention and readiness in our U.S. military stating, “The data is now clear. The Department of Defense’s Covid vaccine mandate is deleterious to readiness and the military’s ability to fight and win wars. The vaccine provides negligible benefit to the young, fit members of our Armed Forces, and the mandate’s imposition is clearly affecting the Department’s ability to sustain combat formations and recruit future talent. We urge you to immediately revoke your Covid-19 vaccine mandate for all service members, civilian personnel, and contractors and re-instate those who have already been discharged.”

 

• We should not have punished the 1% for standing on their convictions against an unlawfully mandated FDA Emergency Authorized vaccine mandate. SecDef Lloyd’s memorandum required only FDA fully-approved vaccines, yet, members were forced to get the experimental vaccines before licensure.

 

Bill Location: United States Senate 118th Congress 

Voted down in last amendment.

*Current status to be determined in last voting session for NDAA 2024 this December. Combined bill from House and Senate could cause Schumer to bring to the floor for vote.

Committee Contacts: 

Senate Armed Services Committee: 202-224-3871

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair and Ranking Member for this bill are:

Senator John Reed-D-Rhode Island: 224-3121-4642

Senator Roger Wicker-R-Mississipi: 224-3121-6253

 

Also sign the petitiion here.