H.R. 881: Safeguarding the U.S. Armed Forces and Service Academies Act

This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to enforce or establish a mandate requiring a member of the Armed Forces, or a cadet or midshipman at a federal service academy, to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Additionally, no such individuals may be subject to adverse action solely on the basis of a refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

At the request of an individual who was involuntarily separated from an Armed Force or federal service academy solely because of a refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, the military department concerned must

• reinstate the individual as a member of the Armed Force in the same rank and grade the individual held at the time of separation, or reinstate the individual as a cadet or midshipman with the credits the individual had completed at the time of separation;
• expunge from the individual's military service record any reference to adverse action related to the refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccination; and
• include the period between the involuntary separation and reinstatement in the computation of retired or retainer pay of the individual.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.