# 119-hr-6976: Duty Status Reform Act 119-hr-6976, Duty Status Reform Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Cisneros, Gilbert Ray [D-CA-31] (D-CA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6976 - As of: 2026-09-21 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-6976 - Congress: 119 - Title: Duty Status Reform Act - Status: in_committee - Introduced: 2026-01-08 - Sponsor: Rep. Cisneros, Gilbert Ray [D-CA-31] (D-CA) - Cosponsors: 44 - Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-09-21 ## Summary **Would reorganize and harmonize reserve and National Guard duty authorities into a single, modern framework.** It would create clear duty categories, align who counts as "active duty" for benefits, and set caps, timelines, and reporting rules for mobilizations. ## Cosponsors (44) - Rep. Bergman, Jack [R-MI-1] (R-MI), 2026-01-08T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA), 2026-01-08T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Graves, Sam [R-MO-6] (R-MO), 2026-01-08T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Strickland, Marilyn [D-WA-10] (D-WA), 2026-01-20T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17] (D-CA), 2026-01-20T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Harrigan, Pat [R-NC-10] (R-NC), 2026-01-22T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Sorensen, Eric [D-IL-17] (D-IL), 2026-01-22T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2] (R-NE), 2026-02-02T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Van Epps, Matt [R-TN-7] (R-TN), 2026-02-02T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. McGuire, John J. [R-VA-5] (R-VA), 2026-02-04T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11] (R-TX), 2026-02-04T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Finstad, Brad [R-MN-1] (R-MN), 2026-02-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Scott, Austin [R-GA-8] (R-GA), 2026-03-04T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2026-03-04T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. DeLauro, Rosa L. [D-CT-3] (D-CT), 2026-03-04T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5] (R-KY), 2026-03-04T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] (D-CO), 2026-03-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Kiggans, Jennifer A. [R-VA-2] (R-VA), 2026-03-18T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA), 2026-03-25T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4] (R-UT), 2026-03-25T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2] (D-HI), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Stauber, Pete [R-MN-8] (R-MN), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Mann, Tracey [R-KS-1] (R-KS), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Goodlander, Maggie [D-NH-2] (D-NH), 2026-04-15T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Vasquez, Gabe [D-NM-2] (D-NM), 2026-04-15T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Evans, Gabe [R-CO-8] (R-CO), 2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT), 2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13] (D-IL), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Guest, Michael [R-MS-3] (R-MS), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Crow, Jason [D-CO-6] (D-CO), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1] (D-MO), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8] (D-MA), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12] (R-FL), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Pappas, Chris [D-NH-1] (D-NH), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1] (D-NC), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] (D-CA), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Rose, John W. [R-TN-6] (R-TN), 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] (D-CA), 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Mast, Brian J. [R-FL-21] (R-FL), 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Van Orden, Derrick [R-WI-3] (R-WI), 2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Johnson, Dusty [R-SD-At Large] (R-SD), 2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7] (R-NJ), 2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - More VA loan access for veterans: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would make the expanded definition of "veteran" for VA-style home-loan purposes apply to active-duty service performed before, on, or after enactment. This would let some people whose active-duty service previously did not count become eligible for VA home-loan benefits. - More legal protections for Guard members: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act would explicitly cover reserve components and full-time National Guard duty. Bankruptcy means-test rules would treat full-time National Guard duty like active duty. The Fair Credit Reporting Act would explicitly cover members on active duty or full-ti… - More health coverage for Guard and veterans: benefit, medium. If enacted, TRICARE rules would treat orders to report for full-time National Guard duty like active-duty orders. TRICARE eligibility could begin on the order date, but not earlier than 180 days before the duty begins. The bill would also make full-time Guard duty in support of a contingency operat… - New jobs, training, and pay rules for Guard: benefit, medium. If enacted, full-time National Guard duty would count as "active duty" for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act job program rules. The bill would create a National Guard Youth Challenge Program with at least a 22-week residential phase and 12 months of mentoring; federal aid to a State program… - Student, FMLA, and education help: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would expand which Guard and reserve service counts for student aid, Higher Education Act protections, and FMLA deployment leave. Full‑time Guard duty in support of contingency operations and some active‑duty calls would qualify students and borrowers for relief and protections… - Farm loan help for deployed farmers: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would let people on active duty or full-time National Guard duty in support of a contingency operation qualify for certain farm and rural development loan assistance. This expands eligibility for farmers serving under contingency orders. - Sexual‑assault duty continuation option: benefit, low. If enacted, a reserve member who alleges sexual assault that happened while on active or full‑time Guard duty could ask to be ordered to or kept on duty to help a line‑of‑duty decision. The service must decide the initial request within 30 days and give an appeal decision within 15 days. The member… - Space Force member duty parity: benefit, low. If enacted, several reserve‑duty authorities would explicitly apply to Space Force members. The bill would let Space Force members in certain active or inactive statuses be ordered or retained on active duty with their consent, like other reserve members. - Federal employee and separation protections: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would update several federal employment rules so full‑time National Guard duty and certain reserve duty count like active duty for Title 5 benefits and protections. It would also expand which orders get statutory separation protections and clarify which duty rules apply to diff… - Guard exercise funding and local help: benefit, low. If enacted, states could set aside money from their field‑instruction allocations to pay Guard exercise costs like pay, food, and travel. The bill would also let Guard units provide certain non‑commercial services to eligible youth and charity groups during required training, if the service does no… - New training and annual duties: cost, medium. If enacted, Ready Reserve members would generally have to do at least 14 days of active‑duty training each year. They would also need to complete at least 48 training periods each fiscal year or an equivalent. The bill would authorize a one‑day annual muster treated as reserve component duty for ma… - Presidential pause on promotions: mixed, medium. If enacted, the President could suspend promotion, retirement, or separation rules for reserve members serving on certain national security active‑duty orders. The suspension would end when the member leaves that duty or when the President ends it. After the suspension ends, a Service Secretary cou… - When reserves can be ordered or released: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would update which authorities let the government order reserve, standby, or retired members to active duty without consent. It would allow ordering some Standby and Retired Reserve members in war, national emergency, or force expansion if enough Ready Reserve members are not a… - New duty categories and pay rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would create new duty categories and change who gets pay, retirement points, and legal protections. Category III and Category IV assignments would generally exclude members from many active‑duty pay and state military justice rules, with limited exceptions. The Secretary may, w… - New reserve duty terms and timing: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would standardize many older duty phrases by treating "inactive duty" and similar terms as "reserve component duty." It would replace "inactive-duty training" with the new term across many laws. The title would normally not take effect until 10 years after enactment, but it cou… ## Related bills - 119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250 - 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025 - 119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act - 119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025 - 119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act - 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act ## Sources - [119-hr-6976 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6976) ## Related - [119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9250) - [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514) - [119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2102) - [119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-909) - [119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4382) - [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6976 (as of 2026-09-21).