{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/idaho-senators-colleagues-defend-servicemembers-from-vaccine-punishment-with-americans-act", "Idaho Senators, Colleagues Defend Servicemembers from Vaccine Punishment with AMERICANS Act", "2022-05-11", "2022", "2022-05", "Republican", "Senate", "ID", "Mike Crapo", "C000880", "www.crapo.senate.gov", "crapo", "https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch (both R-Idaho) joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and 11 of their colleagues in introducing the Allowing Military Exemptions, Recognizing Individual Concerns About New Shots (AMERICANS) Act of 2022. The legislation counters the Biden Administration\u2019s efforts to coerce and punish servicemembers who decline the COVID-19 vaccine, and introduces accountability measures in response to U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) efforts to undermine transparency.\n\n\u201cA one-size-fits-all COVID-19 vaccine mandate is no way to thank the women and men of our Armed Forces for their service,\u201d said Crapo. \u201cThe DOD should be seeking ways to retain servicemembers, not discharge them for politically-motivated reasons.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur service men and women, who serve to defend our democracy and individual liberties, should not be punished for their individual health decisions,\u201d said Risch. \u201cThe Department of Defense must recognize the merit and service of our military rather than their vaccination status.\u201d\n\nThis bill would:\n\nRequire the Secretary of Defense to make every effort to retain unvaccinated servicemembers;\n\nStrengthen language to ensure servicemembers receive discharge classifications commensurate with their record of service;\n\nRequire the DOD to report the number and type of COVID-19 vaccine religious exemptions that have been denied; and\n\nCreate an exemption from COVID-19 vaccine requirements for service members with natural immunity.\n\nThe measure would also protect service academy students and Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps (ROTC) members in the same way.\n\nThe bill is co-sponsored by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Mike Braun (R-Indiana) and Steve Daines (R-Montana).\n\nLast week, Senators Crapo and Risch sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raising concerns about the number and nature of military discharges for not receiving a COVID vaccine.\n\nTo see a full list of Senator Crapo\u2019s efforts to fight against the federal government\u2019s COVID-19 vaccine mandates, click HERE.\n\nRead the bill here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:29:07Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/idaho-senators-colleagues-defend-servicemembers-from-vaccine-punishment-with-americans-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6442279554903507, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}