HR 2904 · 115th Congress 2017–2019, ended

Restore Honor to Service Members Act

Introduced Jun 15, 2017 Originated House Sponsor Mark Pocan D-WI

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Jul 17, 2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedJun 15, 2017
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Restore Honor to Service Members Act

This bill requires appropriate military record correction boards or discharge review boards to review the discharge characterization of any former members of the Armed Forces requesting a review who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Such boards to change a characterization to honorable if such characterization is any characterization except honorable.

The Department of Defense (DOD) shall ensure that any such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using specified criteria, including that: (1) the original discharge was based on the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell (as in effect before it was repealed pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010) or a similar earlier policy; and (2) the discharge characterization will be changed if, with respect to the original discharge, there were no aggravating circumstances that would have independently led to any discharge characterization except honorable.

The bill prohibits "aggravating circumstances" from including: (1) an offense of sodomy committed by the member against a consenting person of the same sex; or (2) statements, consensual sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity, or the disclosure of such statements, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at the time of discharge but that became permitted after such discharge.

Each military department shall ensure that oral historians of the department: (1) review discharges between World War II and September 2011 based on sexual orientation, and (2) receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of actual or perceived sexual orientation so that such testimony may serve as an official record of such discriminatory policies and their impact on American lives.

Specified military personnel records and discharge forms must be reissued in a manner that shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member.

Cosponsors 108

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 15, 2017 to Jul 14, 2017; 105 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-CAAdam B. SchiffOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-TXAl GreenOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-FLAl Lawson, Jr.OriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAAlan S. LowenthalOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-INAndré CarsonOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAAnna G. EshooOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MDAnthony G. BrownOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CABarbara LeeOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-TXBeto O'RourkeOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MNBetty McCollumOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-ILBill FosterOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-ILBobby L. RushOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NJBonnie Watson ColemanOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-ILBradley Scott SchneiderOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-PABrendan F. BoyleOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYBrian HigginsOriginalJun 15, 2017
R-FLCarlos CurbeloOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NHCarol Shea-PorterOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYCarolyn B. MaloneyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-FLCharlie CristOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MEChellie PingreeOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-HIColleen HanabusaOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-ILDaniel LipinskiOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MIDaniel T. KildeeOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-FLDarren SotoOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-RIDavid N. CicillineOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-GADavid ScottOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-FLDebbie Wasserman SchultzOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-WADenny HeckOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NVDina TitusOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NJDonald NorcrossOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-VADonald S. Beyer, Jr.OriginalJun 15, 2017
D-OREarl BlumenauerOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-COEd PerlmutterOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-DCEleanor Holmes NortonOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYEliot L. EngelOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CTElizabeth H. EstyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAEric SwalwellOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NJFrank Pallone, Jr.OriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAGrace F. NapolitanoOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYGrace MengOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-WIGwen MooreOriginalJun 15, 2017
R-FLIleana Ros-LehtinenOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAJ. Luis CorreaOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CTJames A. HimesOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MAJames P. McGovernOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-RIJames R. LangevinOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MDJamie RaskinOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-ILJanice D. SchakowskyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAJared HuffmanOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-COJared PolisOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYJerrold NadlerOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAJimmy PanettaOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-KYJohn A. YarmuthOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MDJohn K. DelaneyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MDJohn P. SarbanesOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYJose E. SerranoOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYJoseph CrowleyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MAJoseph P. Kennedy IIIOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-OHJoyce BeattyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAJulia BrownleyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MAKatherine M. ClarkOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYKathleen M. RiceOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-FLKathy CastorOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-ORKurt SchraderOriginalJun 15, 2017
I-AZKyrsten SinemaOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-DELisa Blunt RochesterOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-FLLois FrankelOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-TXMarc A. VeaseyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAMark DeSaulnierOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAMark TakanoOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-PAMatt CartwrightOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NMMichelle Lujan GrishamOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CANanette Diaz BarragánOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MANiki TsongasOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYNita M. LoweyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYPaul TonkoOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-VTPeter WelchOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-WAPramila JayapalOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-AZRaúl M. GrijalvaOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CARaul RuizOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MNRichard M. NolanOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CARo KhannaOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-PARobert A. BradyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-VARobert C. "Bobby" ScottOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-ILRobin L. KellyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-WIRon KindOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-AZRuben GallegoOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NVRuben J. KihuenOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CAScott H. PetersOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYSean Patrick MaloneyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MASeth MoultonOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-FLStephanie N. MurphyOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MAStephen F. LynchOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-TNSteve CohenOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CASusan A. DavisOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-WASuzan K. DelBeneOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-ORSuzanne BonamiciOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CATed LieuOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-FLTheodore E. DeutchOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-OHTim RyanOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MNTimothy J. WalzOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-CATony CárdenasOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-MAWilliam R. KeatingOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-NYYvette D. ClarkeOriginalJun 15, 2017
D-WADerek KilmerJul 14, 2017
D-CALinda T. SánchezJul 14, 2017
D-CAPete AguilarJul 14, 2017

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseArmed Services Committee
Referred Jun 15, 2017
Military Personnel Subcommittee
Referred Jul 17, 2017

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jul 17, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
  2. Jun 15, 2017Introduced in House
  3. Jun 15, 2017Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 The Congress shall have Power . . . To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 102, June 15, 2017, page H4938.

Related bills 2

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 1366Restore Honor to Service Members ActRelated billJun 15, 2017
HR 3068Restore Honor to Service Members ActReintroduction ofAug 13, 2015

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
To direct the Secretary of Defense to review the discharge characterization of former members of the Armed Forces who were discharged by reason of the sexual orientation of the member, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced
Restore Honor to Service Members Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Jun 15, 2017Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.