U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) joined U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) in introducing the Reaffirming Every Servicemember’s Trust Over Religious Exemptions (RESTORE) Act on Thursday.
The legislation 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 during the Biden administration. The board would be charged with identifying those who were unjustly penalized and correcting the career and personnel records of affected service members, according to Britt's office.
In introducing the bill, Alabama's junior U.S. Senator emphasized the effort to "restore fairness and justice for military service members harmed by the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate."
“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,” Britt said in a release. “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.”
In August 2021, the DoD implemented a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all U.S. service members. While exemptions were permitted for religious, medical or administrative reasons, the process for religious accommodation requests was applied inconsistently and with overwhelming rejection, Britt's office noted, as fewer than 400 of approximately 28,000 religious exemption requests were approved.
It's estimated that 18,000–20,000 service members who had submitted religious exemption requests remained in service and were denied promotions, received negative performance evaluations, or forced into vaccination despite acting in good faith under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
"Specifically, the RESTORE Act would require the Defense Secretary to establish a Special Review Board under the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to audit all religious accommodation requests and outcomes related to the COVID-19 vaccine. The Senators’ bill would also mandate a DoD-wide review of career impacts caused by denial or retaliation following religious accommodation requests, including stalled promotions, negative evaluations, and restricted assignments," Britt's office said in a release.
"Additionally, the bill would authorize corrective action such as backdated promotions, restoration of Date of Rank (DOR), lost pay and retirement contributions, and expungement of adverse actions from personnel records, and require compensation and remedies to be delivered within 60 days of case resolution," the release added. "Lastly, the RESTORE Act would ensure transparency and congressional oversight through quarterly reporting to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees and a final Inspector General audit."
Read the full text of the bill here.
Britt also cosponsors the Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots (AMERICANS) Act of 2025, which provides assistance for military service members affected by the DoD’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
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