2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 117
BY SENATOR CATHEY
A RESOLUTION
To memorialize the Congress of the United States to pass the AMERICANS Act of 2023 to
reinstate any service member removed from any branch of the military for refusing
the COVID-19 vaccine.
WHEREAS, in August of 2021, United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
required COVID-19 vaccinations for all service members; and
WHEREAS, at the direction of Congress in January of 2022, Secretary Austin
rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination mandate; and
WHEREAS, during the effective period of the mandate, approximately eight
thousand two hundred service members of the armed forces were discharged for refusing to
get the vaccine for religious or other reasons; and
WHEREAS, while the passing of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act
ended the mandate, it did not go far enough to prevent a similar mandate in the future or
provide meaningful remedies for service members that were kicked out of the military; and
WHEREAS, if the AMERICANS Act of 2023 is enacted, service members that were
involuntarily separated from their service would be credited with missed retirement pay,
have their rank restored, and receive any compensation for any pay or benefits lost due to
the demotion or discharge; and
WHEREAS, the AMERICANS Act of 2023 would also change any "general"
discharge given to the unvaccinated to "honorable" and expunge the records of service
members who faced adverse action for their refusal to be vaccinated; and
WHEREAS, the enactment of the AMERICANS Act of 2023 would result in a fair
and just outcome for those loyal service members who were discharged for remaining true
to their personal convictions.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby memorialize the Congress of the United States to pass the AMERICANS Act
of 2023 to reinstate any service member removed from any branch of the military for
refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted
to the secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of the United States House of
Representatives and to each member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States
Congress.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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