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119-hr-10457119th CongressWALLET

Honoring the Sacrifice of Troops in War Act of 2026

Sponsored By: Representative Ryan, Patrick [D-NY-18]

Introduced

Summary

Prevents the Pentagon from hiding casualties or cutting benefits by renaming or reclassifying ongoing military operations. The bill would require public, operation-specific casualty counts, bar administrative redesignations that change who is counted or who gets deployment-related benefits, and force quick restoration and notice for records tied to Operation Epic Fury.

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  • Families: Next of kin must be notified when a casualty record or operation attribution changed, and all casualty records altered since Feb. 28, 2026 would be restored within 30 days of enactment.
  • Service members and civilian personnel: Deployment-related benefits and recognitions would be restored for people who supported covered operations from Feb. 28, 2026 to enactment. Covered benefits include Department of Defense awards and decorations, veterans' preference accrual, contingency military leave, and pay or leave authorities tied to titles 10, 37, and 5 U.S.C., plus related Department of State, IRS, and OPM policies.
  • Department duties and transparency: The bill would require public attribution of casualties to specific operations, frequent updates of casualty statistics, and prohibit changes to casualty records or benefit eligibility based only on renaming or reclassification. Exceptions allow documented factual corrections only.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Protect and Restore Deployment Benefits

If enacted, the bill would bar the Defense Department from taking away or shrinking deployment-related benefits just because an ongoing operation is renamed or reclassified. It would require DoD to restore covered benefits for service members and civilian personnel for actions taken from February 28, 2026 through enactment. The Secretary must complete restorations and send written notice to affected people and to primary next of kin within 30 days after enactment. Limited exceptions would allow only documented factual corrections or changes when a statute or a materially different operational condition requires it.

Define covered casualties and operations

If enacted, the bill would add clear legal definitions for key terms. It would define "covered casualty," "casualty record," and what counts as a "designated military operation." These definitions would decide who gets the bill's protections, reporting, and any restored benefits.

Public casualty reporting and attribution

If enacted, the bill would require the Defense Department to publish and update casualty statistics as frequently as practicable. Each covered casualty would be attributed by name and number to the specific operation the person was supporting. The bill would prohibit changing casualty-operation attribution just because an operation was administratively renamed or reclassified, except for narrow, documented factual corrections.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Ryan, Patrick [D-NY-18]

NY • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

  • Rep. Deluzio, Christopher R. [D-PA-17]

    PA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

  • Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7]

    VA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

  • Rep. Goodlander, Maggie [D-NH-2]

    NH • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

  • Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy [D-PA-6]

    PA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

  • Rep. Crow, Jason [D-CO-6]

    CO • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

  • Rep. Conaway, Herbert C. [D-NJ-3]

    NJ • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

  • Rep. Tran, Derek [D-CA-45]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

  • Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

  • Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

  • Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 9/16/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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