# 119-hr-6490: To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program to provide certain members of the Armed Forces with timely and relevant information via text message, and for other purposes.

119-hr-6490, To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program to provide certain members of the Armed Forces with timely and relevant information via text message, and for other purposes., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy [D-PA-6] (D-PA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6490
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-6490
- Congress: 119
- Title: To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program to provide certain members of the Armed Forces with timely and relevant information via text message, and for other purposes.
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-12-05
- Sponsor: Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy [D-PA-6] (D-PA)
- Cosponsors: 8
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**A Push-Text Initiative to deliver targeted text messages to service members and adult dependents in Okinawa.** This bill would create a Department of Defense pilot that automatically enrolls members assigned to Marine Corps Installations Pacific and their adult dependents while allowing recipients to opt out at any time. - Families: Spouses and adult dependents would receive timely info on spouse employment and career support, childcare availability and fee assistance, and general TRICARE health benefits. Messages are limited to 5 covered information categories and any other resources the Secretary finds relevant. - Service members: Eligible service members are automatically enrolled using all available text contact information. The pilot focuses outreach on enrollment deadlines, policy changes that affect members or dependents, and health-related resources. - Department of Defense: The Secretary must stand up the pilot within one year and report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees by Oct. 1, 2027 on implementation, participation metrics (for example number enrolled and opt-out rate), outcomes, cost analysis, and recommendations on expanding DoD-wide. The sources do not identify a dedicated funding authorization for the pilot.

## Cosponsors (8)

- Rep. Kiggans, Jennifer A. [R-VA-2] (R-VA), 2025-12-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2] (R-NE), 2025-12-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Horsford, Steven [D-NV-4] (D-NV), 2025-12-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wittman, Robert J. [R-VA-1] (R-VA), 2025-12-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goodlander, Maggie [D-NH-2] (D-NH), 2025-12-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1] (D-NC), 2025-12-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2026-01-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA), 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Okinawa military text-message pilot: benefit, low. If enacted, the Department of Defense would start a "Push-Text Initiative" pilot within one year. It would automatically enroll service members assigned to Marine Corps Installations Pacific in Okinawa, Japan, and their adult dependents using available text contact information. Recipients could opt…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1004: Love Lives On Act of 2025
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-6490 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6490)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1229)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-1004: Love Lives On Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1004)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6490 (as of 2026-04-21).