To provide remedies to members of the Armed Forces discharged or subject to adverse action under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

SA 421. Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Scott of Florida,
Mr. Risch, Mr. Paul, Mr. Daines, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Braun,
Ms. Lummis, and Mrs. Blackburn) submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the appropriate place in title V, insert the following:

SEC. __. REMEDIES FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES DISCHARGED
OR SUBJECT TO ADVERSE ACTION UNDER THE COVID-19
VACCINE MANDATE.

(a) Limitation on Imposition of New Mandate.--The Secretary
of Defense may not issue any COVID-19 vaccine mandate as a
replacement for the mandate rescinded under section 525 of
the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2023 absent a further act of Congress expressly
authorizing a replacement mandate.
(b) Remedies.--Section 736 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117-81; 10
U.S.C. 1161 note prec.) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``to obey lawful
order to receive'' and inserting ``to receive'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``a lawful order'' and inserting ``an
order''; and
(B) by striking ``shall be'' and all that follows through
the period at the end and inserting ``shall be an honorable
discharge.'';
(3) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (e); and
(4) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsections:
``(b) Prohibition on Adverse Action.--The Secretary of
Defense may not take any adverse action against a covered
member based solely on the refusal of such member to receive
a vaccine for COVID-19.
``(c) Remedies Available for a Covered Member Discharged or
Subject to Adverse Action Based on COVID-19 Status.--At the
election of a covered member discharged or subject to adverse
action based on the member's COVID-19 vaccination status, and
upon application through a process established by the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary shall--
``(1) adjust to `honorable discharge' the status of the
member if--
``(A) the member was separated from the Armed Forces based
solely on the failure of the member to obey an order to
receive a vaccine for COVID-19; and
``(B) the discharge status of the member would have been an
`honorable discharge' but for the refusal to obtain such
vaccine;
``(2) reinstate the member to service at the highest grade
held by the member immediately prior to the involuntary
separation, allowing, however, for any reduction in rank that
was not related to the member's COVID-19 vaccination status,
with an effective date of reinstatement as of the date of
involuntary separation;
``(3) for any member who was subject to any adverse action
other than involuntary separation based solely on the
member's COVID-19 vaccination status--
``(A) restore the member to the highest grade held prior to
such adverse action, allowing, however, for any reduction in
rank that was not related to the member's COVID-19
vaccination status, with an effective date of reinstatement
as of the date of involuntary separation; and
``(B) compensate such member for any pay and benefits lost
as a result of such adverse action;
``(4) expunge from the service record of the member any
adverse action, to include non-punitive adverse action and
involuntary separation, as well as any reference to any such
adverse action, based solely on COVID-19 vaccination status;
and
``(5) include the time of involuntary separation of the
member reinstated under paragraph (2) in the computation of
the retired or retainer pay of the member.
``(d) Retention and Development of Unvaccinated Members.--
The Secretary of Defense shall--
``(1) make every effort to retain covered members who are
not vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide such members with
professional development, promotion and leadership
opportunities, and consideration equal to that of their
peers;
``(2) only consider the COVID-19 vaccination status of a
covered member in making deployment, assignment, and other
operational decisions where--
``(A) the law or regulations of a foreign country require
covered members to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to
enter that country; and
``(B) the covered member's presence in that foreign country
is necessary in order to perform their assigned role; and
``(3) for purposes of deployments, assignments, and
operations described in paragraph (2), create a process to
provide COVID-19 vaccination exemptions to covered members
with--
``(A) a natural immunity to COVID-19;
``(B) an underlying health condition that would make COVID-
19 vaccination a greater risk to that individual than the
general population; or
``(C) sincerely held religious beliefs in conflict with
receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.
``(e) Applicability of Remedies Contained in This
Section.--The prohibitions and remedies described in this
section shall apply to covered members regardless of whether
or not they sought an accommodation to any Department of
Defense COVID-19 vaccination policy on any grounds.''.
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