New bill proposes compensation for veterans affected by COVID-19 vaccine mandate

EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) is introducing a bill that would compensate veterans for vaccine injuries developed under the Defense Department‘s “unjust” COVID-19 mandates.

The bill, the Justice For Vaccine Injured Veterans Act, would grant disability compensation to veterans who suffered side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. Veterans and service members who received the COVID-19 vaccine during the Defense Department’s mandate — from August 2021, when the memo came out, until January 2023, when Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rescinded the measure — and developed myocarditis, pericarditis, Guillan-Barre syndrome, or thrombosis within one year of their vaccinations will be eligible for disability compensation.

“COVID-19 posed limited risks to young, fit, healthy people,” Davidson said in a statement. “Nevertheless, Joe Biden’s Department of Defense mandated that our nation’s warriors be vaccinated or forced out. Sadly, some of them have become vaccine-injured veterans due to adverse effects. Our nation has a moral obligation to care for them. This bill makes that happen.”

If signed into law, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough and his successors would be granted the option to add other conditions if they notify appropriate congressional committees. McDonough would be required to report on the total number of claims for disability compensation that are submitted, as well as the status of the claims, every 60 days.

The bill from Davidson, a Freedom Caucus member, has several co-sponsors from both the hard-line caucus and other Republicans. Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Bill Posey (R-FL), Barry Moore (R-AL), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Randy Weber (R-TX), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Greg Steube (R-FL), Brian Mast (R-FL), Eric Burlison (R-MO), Mary Miller (R-IL), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Mike Carey (R-OH), Pat Fallon (R-TX), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) have signed on to the bill.

The legislation extends from a 2021 memo from Austin that required the full vaccination of all members of the U.S. armed forces. The secretary announced a 98% vaccination rate by December 2021. Roughly 8,400 service members were discharged from the military for refusing to get the vaccine — despite some requesting “reasonable” exemptions, such as over religious beliefs, according to a release from Davidson’s office.

House Republicans, in recent years, have attempted to pass several bills to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent vaccine mandates on service members and veterans.

In January 2023, shortly after Austin rescinded the mandate, a group of GOP members in the new House Republican majority cosponsored the Vaccine Discharge Parity Act to provide discharged service members eligibility for the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), the lead author of the bill, introduced it in the 117th Congress, but it did not pass. In the 118th Congress, the bill’s latest action was subcommittee hearings in March 2023.

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In December 2023, Luna and her husband sued the Defense Department over his discharge from the National Guard after he refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine over “sincerely held religious beliefs.” As a result, the two incurred “significant financial injury,” including the “loss of healthcare, spousal benefits, and survivor benefits as provided for by the military.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments for comment.

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