Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) unveiled a bill on Friday that would reinstate troops booted from the military for refusing the coronavirus vaccine and bar the military from punishing those who object in the future.
The bill comes after Republicans successfully repealed the coronavirus vaccine mandate for service members, thousands of whom were discharged for refusing the shots. The repeal, tucked into Congress’s annual defense bill last year, faced opposition from the Pentagon and White House.
“Thanks to the hard work of many of my Republican colleagues, the Biden administration’s disastrous COVID-19 vaccine mandate was finally ended. But there is more work to be done. Republicans must fight to permanently end these mandates and make whole all the service members harmed by President Biden’s senseless policies,” Roy said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “I’ve introduced the Service Restoration Act to do just that.”
Roy’s legislation would reinstate troops at their former pay grade and rank and expunge from their record any disciplinary action stemming from their refusal. It would bar “adverse actions” based on a soldier’s vaccination status, such as demotion, involuntary separation, face mask requirements, or travel restrictions. . . . (read more on Washington Examiner)
No more Marine Corps discharges or mandate for COVID-19 vaccine (Military News, 19 JAN 23)
It’s official: After Congress forced the Defense Department to roll back its controversial order that all troops receive COVID-19 vaccines, the Marine Corps on Wednesday dropped its mandate.
“Commanders will immediately discontinue administrative separation processing of Marines solely on the grounds that they refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” a Marine administrative message stated.
As of Dec. 1, 2022, 96% of both active-duty and reservist Marines were fully vaccinated, according to a COVID-19 update from the Corps. But when the vaccines first became available to Marines, in spring 2021, only 61% of them took it, according to Pentagon data.
And as of December 2022, 3,717 Marines had been separated for refusing the vaccine, according to the update from the Corps. . . . (read more)
The Agent Orange precedent is helping the military come to terms with the potential health issues created by the COVID vaccine mandate (American Thinker, 21 JAN 23)
Despite the good intentions of two American presidents, United States military personnel have been exposed to substances that later proved to be potentially harmful to their health. Thanks to the decades of struggle to recognize the nation’s obligation to care for veterans injured by this exposure, there is a solid precedent for addressing the potential harm that mandatory COVID vaccination may have inflicted on our military personnel. . . . (read more)
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