Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Republican North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop introduced amendments Thursday that build on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2023 and would reinstate service members wrongfully discharged over their COVID-19 vaccine status.
The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the amendments, which include language from legislation Cruz previously introduced to repeal the Department of Defense’s (DOD) COVID-19 vaccine mandate and required a report on how the DOD processed service members’ requests for an exemption from the mandate on religious and other grounds.
“The brave men and women who join our military to serve their country deserve respect and support, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccine status,” Cruz told the Caller before introducing the amendment. “We successfully worked to repeal the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate from the last congress, but the work is not over. This amendment would reinstate service members who were wrongfully discharged due to their COVID-19 vaccine status, and give justice to service members punished in other ways due to COVID-19 vaccine status.”
READ THE AMENDMENT HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“While the DOD’s authoritarian COVID vaccine mandate ended last year, we cannot leave behind the brave men and women who were wrongfully discharged, or otherwise punished, for refusing to take the vaccine. These service members deserve to be made whole, and our amendment would both right this historic wrong and prevent it from ever happening again,” Bishop told the Caller.
In the Senate, Cruz was joined by Sens. Roger Marshall, Rick Scott, James Risch, Rand Paul, Steve Daines, Mike Crapo, John Barrasso and Mike Braun. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Bishop Introduces Amendments To Ban All Federal Funds Promoting Critical Race Theory)
In the House, Bishop was joined by Reps. Ben Cline, Anna Paulina Luna, George Santos, Bob Good, Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, Jeff Duncan, Lauren Boebert, Keith Self and Andy Ogles. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Ted Cruz Explains How He Tanked Biden’s Nominees)
Cruz’s legislative language to repeal the DOD’s COVID vaccine mandate was included in the fiscal year 2023 NDAA. This language was part of his original AMERICANS Act of 2022. Cruz reintroduced and amended the AMERICANS Act in 2023 to help service members who experienced issues for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.