Restoring Merit in the Military Act
Sponsored By: Representative Mace, Nancy [R-SC-1]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would require the Department of Defense to base all military personnel decisions on _individual merit_. It would bar consideration of race, ethnicity, or national origin in accessions, promotions, assignments, command selection, and military and civilian schooling selection and training.
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- Service members and applicants: Personnel actions from recruitment to command picks would be decided strictly by merit, fitness, capability, and performance rather than race, ethnicity, or national origin.
- Combatant commanders and mission planners: A narrow exception would allow consideration of race, ethnicity, or national origin for specific unconventional overseas missions when the local operating environment makes those factors relevant. Any use of that exception must be approved by the relevant combatant commander.
- Congress and DoD transparency: The Secretary of Defense would have to report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees within 60 days after any such tasking, detailing mission location and duration, staffing and demographics that justified the tasking, the number of personnel involved, and their rank, position, race, ethnicity, and national origin.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Military careers based only on merit
If enacted, the Department of Defense would have to base military personnel decisions only on merit, fitness, capability, and performance. This would cover accessions, promotions, assignments, command selection, and military and civil schooling and training. The bill would bar considering a person’s race, ethnicity, or national origin in any such decision. A narrow exception would allow those factors for specific, unconventional missions in foreign countries, with approval by the combatant commander. After any such tasking, the Secretary of Defense would have to report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees within 60 days on the mission, staffing, why demographics mattered, and the number and rank of personnel involved.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Mace, Nancy [R-SC-1]
SC • R
Cosponsors
Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1]
GA • R
Sponsored 8/22/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov