H.R. 511 — AMERICANS Act

This section prohibits the Secretary of Defense from issuing a replacement COVID-19 vaccine mandate without express congressional authorization and amends Section 736 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (10 U.S.C. 1161 note prec.)—previously providing honorable discharge only to members refusing to obey a lawful order to receive the COVID-19 vaccine—as follows: (1) revises the section heading from one referencing "to obey lawful order to receive" to "to receive" and revises subsection (a) to provide an honorable discharge to any member separated for refusing an order to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; (2) prohibits adverse actions against covered members (i.e., Armed Forces members) based solely on COVID-19 vaccine refusal; (3) authorizes elected remedies, upon application, including upgrading discharges to honorable (if the discharge would have been honorable absent vaccine refusal), reinstating separated members to their prior highest grade (excluding unrelated reductions) effective as of separation, restoring grades and compensating lost pay for other adverse actions, expunging vaccine-related adverse actions from records, and crediting separation time toward retired pay for reinstated members; (4) directs retention efforts and equal professional opportunities for unvaccinated covered members, consideration of vaccination status only for required foreign deployments with an exemption process for natural immunity, health conditions, or religious beliefs, and reimbursement or relief from repaying bonuses for vaccine-related separations; and (5) applies remedies regardless of prior accommodation requests.