Washington D.C. – A group of Republican senators has introduced legislation aimed at reviewing the handling of religious accommodation requests related to the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have introduced the Reaffirming Every Servicemember’s Trust Over Religious Exemptions (RESTORE) Act, which would establish a Special Review Board to audit how religious accommodation requests were processed across military branches.
According to the bill’s sponsors, approximately 28,000 religious accommodation requests were submitted across all military branches during the mandate period, with fewer than 400 (less than 2%) being approved. They estimate that 18,000-20,000 service members who submitted religious exemption requests remained in service but faced various career impacts.
The Department of Defense implemented a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all U.S. service members on August 24, 2021. While exemptions were permitted for religious, medical, or administrative reasons, the bill’s sponsors contend that the religious accommodation process was applied inconsistently.
The legislation would require the Defense Secretary to establish a Special Review Board under the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. This board would be tasked with:
- Auditing all religious accommodation requests and outcomes related to the COVID-19 vaccine
- Reviewing career impacts caused by denial or retaliation following religious accommodation requests
- Authorizing corrective actions such as backdated promotions and expungement of adverse actions
- Providing quarterly reports to congressional committees
Senator Britt noted that this legislation builds upon the AMERICANS Act (Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots Act) of 2025, which she also cosponsors.
