H.R. 453 · 118th Congress
AMERICANS Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 118th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
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BishopSponsor18 cosponsors · 18 R
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Boebert
AB
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Biggs
JD
R
Duncan
PG
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Gosar
MG
R
Gaetz
AH
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Harris
WH
R
Hunt
MJ
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Johnson
AL
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Luna
VB
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Buchanan
AO
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Ogles
BC
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Cline
KS
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Self
EB
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Burlison
BG
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Good
GS
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Santos
BD
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Donalds
SP
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Perry9 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots Act of 2023 or the AMERICANS Act
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Jan 24, 2023
Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots Act of 2023 or the AMERICANS Act
This bill prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from issuing any COVID-19 vaccine mandate as a replacement for the rescinded vaccine mandate of August 24, 2021, unless the mandate is expressly authorized by Congress. The bill also provides that DOD must establish an application process for remedies for members of the Armed Forces who were discharged or subject to adverse action under the rescinded mandate.
Any administrative discharge of a member on the sole basis of a failure to receive a COVID-19 vaccine must be categorized as an honorable discharge, and DOD is prohibited from taking any adverse action against such a member for that reason.
Under the bill, DOD must try to retain unvaccinated members and provide such members with professional development, promotion and leadership opportunities, and consideration equal to that of their peers.
Additionally, DOD may only consider the COVID-19 vaccination status of members in making certain decisions (e.g., deployments in countries where it is the law) and must establish a process to provide exemptions to certain members for such decisions.
This bill applies to all members of the Armed Forces, regardless of whether they sought an accommodation to any DOD COVID-19 vaccination policy.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: AMERICANS Act
Also known as: Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots Act of 2023
Latest action (Jan 24, 2023): Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security · Origin: House · Introduced: Jan 24, 2023
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.