Bring Our Heroes Home Act
Sponsored By: Senator Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
Introduced
Summary
A national effort to locate and publicly disclose missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel records. This bill would create a Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Collection at the National Archives and establish an independent Review Board to compel searches, review classified files, authorize disclosures, and publish releasable material.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
7 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Act overrides other secrecy rules
If enacted, the bill would say its transmission and disclosure requirements take precedence over any other law, court decision, or common-law rule that would block sending records to the Archivist or making them public. Two exceptions would remain: tax return privacy under Internal Revenue Code section 6103 and deed restrictions limiting access to donated records. This would reduce some legal obstacles to sharing missing personnel records.
Agency duties to find and protect records
If enacted, every government office would have to search for missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel records in its custody and prepare copies in the Archivist's required format. Transmissions would have to start within 270 days after the Review Board has a quorum and finish within one year, with limited exceptions. Heads would file sworn certifications about the searches and any records not transmitted. The bill would bar destroying, altering, or mutilating missing records and would stop agencies from reclassifying information that was already public before enactment. Any agency that wants to substantially redact or withhold a record would have to submit an unclassified, evidence-based justification.
Funding for missing records work
If enacted, the bill would authorize Congress to appropriate 'such sums as are necessary' to carry out the Act. Authorized funds would remain available until expended. The funding would support the Review Board, Archivist work, and agency compliance to find, review, and disclose missing records.
Independent Missing Records Review Board
If enacted, the bill would create a five-member Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Review Board. Members would be Presidential appointees who must get security clearances and include at least one historian and one attorney. The Board would be able to hold hearings, require testimony, issue subpoenas, and order agencies to send missing records or public summaries. The Board would publish a review schedule within 90 days after members are sworn in and start reviews within 180 days, and it would post unclassified explanations and notify agencies and Congress within 30 days when it postpones or substitutes disclosures.
National Archives Missing Records Collection
If enacted, the Archivist would set up a Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Collection within 90 days after the Review Board has a quorum. The Archivist would prepare a subject guide, an index, and rules on file formats, required metadata, and privacy protections for agency transmissions. By 270 days after the Board quorum, the Archivist would identify classified missing records already in the Archives and make them available to agencies for review through the National Declassification Center. Records already public on the date of enactment would be added to the Collection without additional review.
Ten-year public disclosure deadline
If enacted, most missing personnel records would have to be publicly disclosed in full no later than 10 years after the Review Board has a quorum. An originating office could seek postponement by sending an unclassified recommendation at least 180 days before the 10-year date and showing clear and convincing evidence that release would cause serious harm. The Archivist would forward postponement requests to the President 90 days before the date, and the President would have to certify any continued postponement by the 10-year date. Records postponed would be reviewed at least every five years after the Board terminates and public explanations must be posted when postponement continues.
Narrow exemptions for active investigations
If enacted, the bill would allow the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency not to declassify or send records that relate to specific cases it is actively investigating to locate or identify missing service members. Department of Defense and State casualty offices would also be allowed not to declassify or send documents for individual cases where they are directly helping families. These narrow exemptions are meant to protect ongoing investigations and family-support activities.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
ID • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
NH • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID]
ID • R
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA]
CA • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Amy Klobuchar
MN • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]
IL • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV]
NV • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
NH • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
HI • D
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
HI • D
Sponsored 11/20/2025
Raphael Warnock
GA • D
Sponsored 12/18/2025
Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ]
AZ • D
Sponsored 2/2/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov