RESCUE Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
Introduced
Summary
Preserve a dedicated Army aeromedical evacuation capability. The RESCUE Act of 2025 would require the Army Medical Service Corps to maintain a distinct aeromedical evacuation force with assigned personnel, training, doctrine, and aircraft configured for aeromedical missions.
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- Service members and patients: Would keep the Medical Service Corps as the primary joint-service provider for intra-theater aeromedical evacuation and preserve medical command, patient-care responsibilities, and clinical standards under the Surgeon General.
- Army aviation and force structure: Would require the aviation branch to organize, train, and equip AE assets and would bar restructuring AE into general-purpose or dual-use aviation without notifying congressional defense committees and providing a formal risk assessment and reports. This section would take effect 180 days after enactment.
- Mission coverage: Would require the AE capability to support combatant commanders, contingency operations, civil authorities, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear response, humanitarian assistance, and garrison emergency medical response operations.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Protect Army aeromedical evacuation capability
This bill would require the Secretary of the Army to keep a dedicated aeromedical evacuation (AE) capability in the Army Medical Service Corps. It would make Army aviation responsible for organizing, training, and equipping AE aircraft. The Army medical department, under the Surgeon General, would keep medical command, patient care, staffing, and clinical standards for AE units. The Secretary could not restructure AE into general-purpose aviation without notifying Congress and providing a formal risk assessment and force-structure report based on current Army documents. This section would take effect 180 days after enactment. In contingency or humanitarian operations, the Secretary of Defense could allow combatant, commercial, or allied assets to augment patient movement as needed.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
TX • R
Cosponsors
Peter Welch
VT • D
Sponsored 9/15/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov