Florida, Texas senators want to help ‘COVID mandate victims’: “Biden placed a ridiculous vaccine mandate”
Florida – Earlier this week, a group of Republican senators presented the RESTORE Act, an initiative meant to address what they call unjust career setbacks experienced by service members under the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Formally presenting the bill would be Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, and Utah Sen. Mike Lee.
Its goal: to examine how religious accommodation requests were handled across all branches and to correct any adverse measures taken against service members who were denied or faced penalties for their faith-based objections.
The proposal gives the Special Review Board power to review situations involving poor evaluations, dismissals, non-selection for promotion, or other career-harming outcomes following requests for religious exemptions. Findings of unfair treatment could set off corrective actions like backdating promotions, recovering lost benefits, and making sure personnel records correctly show the status of the service member.
Senator Scott, a leading advocate for the bill, criticized the prior administration’s mandate as overreaching.
“Biden’s DOD placed a ridiculous vaccine mandate on the great men and women who served our nation, kicking American heroes out of our service for refusing to comply for health or religious reasons,” he said in a release, adding that “every service member who lost their livelihood due to this overreaching mandate has the chance to serve their nation once again. I’m proud to support the RESTORE Act and will always be grateful to those willing to serve our nation.
Senator Cruz underlined continuing effects for people who sought religious relief, therefore reflecting such concerns. Including being denied promotions and getting unfavorable performance assessments, Texas Sen. Cruz said American servicemembers are still suffering unfair results for personal religious beliefs that led them to oppose the Biden administration’s forceful COVID-19 vaccination orders. He underlined that “for the men and women in uniform,” the RESTORE Act will “correct these wrongs.”
Senator Britt framed the bill as a continuation of earlier efforts to protect religious freedom within the armed forces. “This legislation builds upon the AMERICANS Act, of which I am also a proud cosponsor. 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.”
Senator Lee underlined the constitutional aspect, noting that “protected by the Constitution” describes religious objections. He said the RESTORE Act would “correct these injustices by giving the promotions and pay taken from our brave men and women in uniform back to them.”
Representative Ronny Jackson has proposed companion legislation on the House side. Jackson praised the program as a required action to “fix what Joe Biden and Lloyd Austin did to our brave men and women in uniform” and pushed Congress to provide Secretary Hegseth the “authorities and tools he needs to make it right.” Jackson said the measure will allow a comprehensive inquiry and eventually provide justice for service personnel penalized for being steadfast in their religious beliefs.
Supporters of the RESTORE Act are urging colleagues on both sides of the aisle to assist what they say a crucial attempt to preserve religious freedom and restore jobs damaged by the previous mandate as it passes through committee hearings.
