,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #afda ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #g1 #bjbe ,mr4 ,cruz 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,britt1 ,mr4 ,lee1 and ,mr4 ,scott of ,florida7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to restore fairness to service members who filed religious accommodation requests and ensure their career progression is justly reviewed4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,reaffirming ,every ,servicemembers' ,trust ,of ,religious ,exemptions ,act or the ,,restore ,act4 #b4 ,establishment of the special review board for impacted service members 7a7 ,establishment of review board ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall convene a special review board under the ,deputy ,under ,secretary of ,defense for ,personnel and ,readiness to audit religious accommodation requests and disposition and review the personnel records of each service member who filed a religious accommodation request specifically for the ,,covid-#ai vaccine and remained in service 7in this section referred to as the ,special ,review ,board74 7b7 ,duties of the review board ,the ,special ,review ,board shall perform the following duties3 7#a7 ,audit scope of religious accommodation decisions since #bjbj ,conduct a ,department of ,defense-wide audit to assess full number of submissions1 approvals1 and consistency of compliance with the ,religious freedom ,restoration ,act of #aiic 7,,rfra7 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;bb et seq474 7#b7 ,assess career impact ,determine whether the service member's career progression1 promotions1 assignments1 retention1 or professional development opportunities were negatively affected by their religious accommodation request or ,,covid-#ai vaccine refusal4 7#c7 ,adjudicate career restorations ,determine and take corrective action if the service member is eligible for-- 7,a7 backdated promotion to the rank they would have achieved absent the adverse impact2 7,b7 correction of their ,date of ,rank 7,,dor7 to align with their peer group2 7,c7 restoration of lost pay and benefits1 including back pay1 retirement contributions1 and applicable bonuses2 and 7,d7 reinstatement to service if they left service due to denial of religious accommodation that has since been determined as unlawful4 7#d7 ,expungement of adverse actions ,ensure that all adverse administrative actions related to refusal of the ,,covid-#ai vaccine 7or other protected religious accommodation7 are expunged from the service member's record1 including-- 7,a7 administrative reprimands2 7,b7 negative or inconsistent evaluations2 7,c7 promotion delays or denials2 7,d7 issuance of ,inactive ,duty ,training points to reserve component personnel so that if affected they shall receive a satisfactory year for participation2 and 7,e7 career assignment considerations to improve service-member competitiveness previously impacted solely due to vaccine refusal 7or religious accommodation74 7#e7 ,review process ,establish a mechanism for service members to request review of decisions if they previously submitted a religious accommodation and believe their records or career progression were adversely impacted regardless of accommodation request outcome4 7c7 ,timeline for review and reporting 7#a7 ,review ,the ,special ,review ,board shall complete a full review of all affected military personnel not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7#b7 ,report ,not later than #fj days after the review is completed1 the ,deputy ,under ,secretary of ,defense for ,personnel and ,readiness shall submit to the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,house of ,representatives a report detailing-- 7,a7 the ,special ,review ,board's findings2 7,b7 the number of cases reviewed2 and 7,c7 corrective actions taken4 7d7 ,deadline for compensation ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall ensure that service members determined by the ,special ,review ,board to be eligible for backdated reinstatements1 promotions1 pay1 and benefits receive such compensation not later than #fj days after their case-review under subsection 7c77#a7 is completed4 #c4 ,congressional oversight and accountability 7a7 ,report of initial findings ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit to the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,house of ,representatives a report with initial findings of the audit directed in section #b7;a74 ,the report should provide statistical analysis of affected service member population1 assess compliance of ,department of ,defense with ,,rfra1 and provide plans to address identified areas of opportunity4 7b7 ,quarterly reports ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall provide quarterly reports to the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,house of ,representatives detailing-- 7#a7 the number of cases reviewed by the ,special ,review ,board2 7#b7 the number of service members granted back pay1 promotions1 or restored benefits2 7#c7 the number of adverse actions expunged from military records2 7#d7 statistics on the performance of identified service member populations with respect to boards1 career progression1 and competitive assignment2 and 7#e7 recommendations for further legislative action to ensure fairness in military personnel policies4 7c7 ,inspector general audit ,not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,department of ,defense ,inspector ,general shall conduct an independent audit and compliance review of the implementation of this ,act4 ,the ,inspector ,general shall review overall data of religious accommodations and determine if ,,rfra was applied consistently across the ,department of ,defense4 #d4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,adverse action ,the term adverse action includes-- 7,a7 administrative reprimands2 7,b7 denial or delay of promotions2 7,c7 negative performance evaluations2 7,d7 forced involuntary separation2 7,e7 coerced voluntary separation2 and 7,f7 denial of career-enhancing assignments4 7#b7 ,religious accommodation ,the term religious accommodation refers to a formally submitted request for exemption from a military order1 policy1 or directive on religious grounds1 in accordance with the respective service branch's religious accommodation policies4 7#c7 ,service member ,the term service member means a member of the ,armed ,forces total force serving on active duty1 reserve 7to include ,individual ,ready ,reserve 7,,irr771 or ,national ,guard status in any branch of the ,department of ,defense4 #e4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this ,act4 ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall allocate necessary resources to support the ,special ,review ,board4