A Republican bill with 11 Democratic cosponsors · See all 14 cosponsors
Last activity — Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 693.
Cleared committee, waiting for its first floor vote
A committee approved it and it is on the calendar of the chamber it started in.
This is further than most bills get, and still no promise of a vote: the calendar is a queue, and the majority leadership decides what is called. A bill can sit here until the Congress ends.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- On Calendar
What this bill would do
This bill creates a new collection at the National Archives for records related to missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel dating from December 7, 1941, onward. It requires federal government offices to search for, preserve, and quickly send these records to the Archivist for public disclosure. The legislation establishes a temporary Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Review Board to oversee the review and public release of these documents. It sets strict rules and limited grounds for postponing the public disclosure of sensitive records. Finally, the bill ensures oversight by congressional committees and mandates periodic reviews of any withheld information.
Yes
- Scored +8
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?
The bill mandates the identification and public disclosure of previously classified missing personnel records.
- Scored +7
Would veterans be better off under this, taking everything together?
The act provides families and veterans a systematic way to seek the truth regarding missing service members.
- Scored +5
Does this increase the pay, pensions or support veterans receive?
The bill provides accountability and historical clarity for missing personnel, which benefits veterans and their families.
The opposite
- Scored -3
Does this protect people from being watched or searched?
The bill includes provisions that may override some privacy protections to facilitate the release of historical records.
- Scored -2
Does this strengthen ties with allied countries?
The mandate for transparency could create friction with foreign governments regarding sensitive historical records.
- Scored -1
Does this shorten or soften prison sentences?
The bill focuses on record disclosure rather than criminal justice or sentencing reform.
How the text last changed
Reported to Senate (11/9/2026), compared with Introduced in Senate. Each change is on the Text tab.
The newer version of the bill adjusts procedures for handling records of missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel, specifically changing reporting requirements, agency exemptions, and how the Review Board operates. It clarifies that no additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Act, replacing a previous provision that would have authorized such sums as necessary. The newer text shifts oversight duties for records discovered after the Review Board terminates from the Armed Services committees to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Oversight and Government Reform committees. The termination timeline for the Review Board is now set at 4 years after all members are sworn in, rather than referencing enactment.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Section 2(a) and Section 4(a) establish the Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Collection at the National Archives, which directly benefits families seeking to learn the ultimate fate of their loved ones by preserving and disclosing historical records.
-
Section 5(a)(3) and Section 5(a)(4) protect records from being destroyed, altered, or mutilated, and ensure that previously disclosed information cannot be withheld, redacted, postponed, or reclassified, keeping government officials accountable to the public.
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Section 7(a) creates an independent Review Board to facilitate the public disclosure of records, giving families and researchers an objective body to ensure that missing personnel records are made available.
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Section 9(b)(1) directs that all records related to the loss, fate, or status of missing personnel be disclosed to the public unless clear and convincing evidence proves they do not qualify as missing personnel records, promoting government transparency.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Section 5(a)(5) and Section 6 permit government offices to substantially redact or withhold records from public access if releasing them would cause specific harms, such as threats to national security, intelligence methods, or foreign relations, which may keep families from getting complete answers immediately.
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Section 5(b)(5) exempts the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Department of Defense Military Service Casualty Offices, and Department of State Service Casualty Offices from declassifying and transmitting documents that pertain to specific active investigations or cases where they are actively supporting families, which temporarily delays the public release of those specific files.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would veterans be better off under this, taking everything together? — The act provides families and veterans a systematic way to seek the truth regarding missing service members.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The bill mandates the identification and public disclosure of previously classified missing personnel records. Does this protect people from being watched or searched? — The bill includes provisions that may override some privacy protections to facilitate the release of historical records.
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Does this increase the pay, pensions or support veterans receive? — The bill provides accountability and historical clarity for missing personnel, which benefits veterans and their families. Does this strengthen ties with allied countries? — The mandate for transparency could create friction with foreign governments regarding sensitive historical records.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this shorten or soften prison sentences? — The bill focuses on record disclosure rather than criminal justice or sentencing reform.
A committee approved it and sent it to the floor
What changed from Introduced in Senate
The newer version of the bill adjusts procedures for handling records of missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel, specifically changing reporting requirements, agency exemptions, and how the Review Board operates. It clarifies that no additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Act, replacing a previous provision that would have authorized such sums as necessary. The newer text shifts oversight duties for records discovered after the Review Board terminates from the Armed Services committees to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Oversight and Government Reform committees. The termination timeline for the Review Board is now set at 4 years after all members are sworn in, rather than referencing enactment.
Each change
- Changed Section 3(14) to define the Review Board using section 7(a) instead of section 5.
- Changed Section 4(a) to refer simply to the Review Board instead of the full name of the Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Review Board.
- Changed Section 5(a)(1)(A) to replace shorthand terms like POW, MIA, and KIA with "Prisoner of War" and "Prisoners of War," and added specific conjunctions.
- Changed Section 5(a)(1)(B) to remove the phrase specifying that copies are of records not previously transmitted to the Archivist.
- Changed Section 5(a)(2)(B) to add that the certification regarding records not transmitted applies specifically to records in the custody, possession, or control of the Government office.
- Changed Section 5(a)(5)(A) regarding withheld or substantially redacted records to specify that congressional reports go to committees of the Senate or the House of Representatives with jurisdiction over the relevant program, project, or activity, rather than using the word "and."
- Changed Section 5(a)(5)(A) and (B) exemptions for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Military Service Casualty Offices, and Department of State Service Casualty Offices to replace "missing individuals" and "missing" members with the phrase "who is a missing person" or "persons."
- Changed Section 5(c)(2) to explicitly include records in "custody" alongside possession or control for the 1-year transmission deadline.
- Changed Section 5(d)(D)(i) to specify that an Executive agency or "another" Government office (instead of "other") can recommend continued postponement.
- Changed Section 6(c)(1) to add that determinations regarding revealing the identity of a living confidential source shall be made in accordance with section 552(b)(7)(D) of title 5, United States Code.
- Changed Section 7(b)(1) to specify that Presidential appointments are made by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
- Changed Section 7(d) to clarify that nominations under subsection (b)(1) are referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Changed Section 7(b)(3) to include the "Government" Reform committee of the House in removal reporting requirements.
- Changed Section 7(h)(1)(D) from singular to plural regarding whether additional information, records, or testimony "are" required.
- Changed Section 7(h)(1)(I) to state that the Review Board's final determination overrides a determination by "a Government office" rather than "an Executive agency."
- Changed Section 7(k)(1)(A), (2), and (3) to explicitly include information contained within a missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel record alongside the record itself in Presidential postponement authority, periodic review, and records of postponement.
- Changed Section 7(p)(2) to state that the Review Board terminates 4 years after "all" members are sworn in.
- Changed Section 8(a)(4)(B) and (b)(5)(B) regarding security clearances to refer to an individual who is a candidate for appointment as Executive Director or employee, rather than an individual nominated.
- Changed Section 8(b)(1) and (b)(3)(B) to update civil service reference wording and terminology regarding staff conflict of interest appointments.
- Changed Section 8(b)(5)(A) to clarify that employees are appointed "to a position as an employee."
- Changed Section 9(b)(5) to redirect post-termination referrals of newly discovered records from the Armed Services committees to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
- Changed Section 9(c)(3)(D) to specify that addendums containing copies of postponed record reports are those "submitted" to the Archivist.
- Removed Section 9(c)(4), which previously required the Review Board to provide written notice to Congress 90 days before expecting to complete its work and terminate.
- Changed Section 14 to state that no additional funds are authorized to be appropriated, replacing the prior authorization of necessary sums.
Written by an AI model from a comparison of this version’s text with the one before it, not by a person. .
- 11/9/2026
- Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Paul with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 693.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 8/6/2026
- Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- 7/29/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 6/2/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 2/2/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 12/18/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 11/20/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 11/19/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 8 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Kevin CramerRepublican · North Dakota
Tammy DuckworthDemocrat · Illinois
Ruben GallegoDemocrat · Arizona
Mazie HironoDemocrat · Hawaii
Maggie HassanDemocrat · New Hampshire
Amy KlobucharDemocrat · Minnesota
Mark KellyDemocrat · Arizona
Angus KingIndependent · Maine
Alex PadillaDemocrat · California
James RischRepublican · Idaho
Jacky RosenDemocrat · Nevada
Jeanne ShaheenDemocrat · New Hampshire
Brian SchatzDemocrat · Hawaii
Raphael WarnockDemocrat · Georgia