[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6723 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6723
To provide for the creation of the missing Armed Forces and civilian
personnel Records Collection at the National Archives, to require the
expeditious public transmission to the Archivist and public disclosure
of missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel records, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 15, 2025
Mr. Pappas (for himself and Mr. Fulcher) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the creation of the missing Armed Forces and civilian
personnel Records Collection at the National Archives, to require the
expeditious public transmission to the Archivist and public disclosure
of missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel records, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Bring Our Heroes Home Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that all records of the Federal
Government relating to missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel
should--
(1) be preserved for historical and governmental purposes
and for public research, including for families seeking to
learn the ultimate fate of their loved ones;
(2) carry a presumption of declassification; and
(3) be disclosed under this Act to enable the fullest
possible accounting for missing Armed Forces and civilian
personnel.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to provide for the creation of the Missing Armed Forces
and Civilian Personnel Records Collection at the National
Archives; and
(2) to require the expeditious public transmission to the
Archivist and public disclosure of missing Armed Forces and
civilian personnel records, subject to narrow exceptions, as
set forth in this Act.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Archivist.--The term ``Archivist'' means the Archivist
of the United States.
(2) Collection.--The term ``Collection'' means the Missing
Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Collection
established under section 4(a).
(3) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency''--
(A) means an agency, as defined in section 552(f)
of title 5, United States Code;
(B) includes any Executive department, military
department, Government corporation, Government
controlled corporation, or other establishment in the
executive branch of the Federal Government, including
the Executive Office of the President, any branch of
the Armed Forces, and any independent regulatory
agency; and
(C) does not include any non-appropriated agency,
department, corporation, or establishment.
(4) Executive director.--The term ``Executive Director''
means the Executive Director of the Review Board.
(5) Government office.--The term ``Government office''
means an Executive agency, the Library of Congress, or the
National Archives.
(6) Missing armed forces and civilian personnel.--The term
``missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel''--
(A) means 1 or more missing persons; and
(B) includes an individual who was a missing person
and whose status was later changed to ``missing and
presumed dead''.
(7) Missing armed forces and civilian personnel record.--
The term ``missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel record''
means a record that relates, directly or indirectly, to the
loss, fate, or status of missing Armed Forces and civilian
personnel that--
(A) was created or made available for use by,
obtained by, or otherwise came into the custody,
possession, or control of--
(i) any Government office;
(ii) any Presidential library; or
(iii) any of the Armed Forces; and
(B) relates to 1 or more missing Armed Forces and
civilian personnel who became missing persons during
the period--
(i) beginning on December 7, 1941; and
(ii) ending on the date of enactment of
this Act.
(8) Missing person.--The term ``missing person'' means--
(A) a person described in paragraph (1) of section
1513 of title 10, United States Code; and
(B) any other civilian employee of the Federal
Government or an employee of a contractor of the
Federal Government who serves in direct support of, or
accompanies, the Armed Forces in the field under orders
and who is in a missing status (as that term is defined
in paragraph (2) of such section 1513).
(9) National archives.--The term ``National Archives''--
(A) means the National Archives and Records
Administration; and
(B) includes any component of the National Archives
and Records Administration (including Presidential
archival depositories established under section 2112 of
title 44, United States Code).
(10) Official investigation.--The term ``official
investigation'' means a review, briefing, inquiry, or hearing
relating to missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel
conducted by a Presidential commission, committee of Congress,
or agency, regardless of whether it is conducted independently,
at the request of any Presidential commission or committee of
Congress, or at the request of any official of the Federal
Government.
(11) Originating body.--The term ``originating body'' means
the Government office or other initial source that created a
record or particular information within a record.
(12) Public interest.--The term ``public interest'' means
the compelling interest in the prompt public disclosure of
missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel records for
historical and governmental purposes, for public research, and
for the purpose of fully informing the people of the United
States, most importantly families of missing Armed Forces and
civilian personnel, about the fate of the missing Armed Forces
and civilian personnel and the process by which the Federal
Government has sought to account for them.
(13) Record.--The term ``record'' has the meaning given the
term ``records'' in section 3301 of title 44, United States
Code.
(14) Review board.--The term ``Review Board'' means the
Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Review
Board established under section 5.
SEC. 4. MISSING ARMED FORCES AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL RECORDS COLLECTION
AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.
(a) Establishment of Collection.--Not later than 90 days after a
quorum of the Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records
Review Board has been established under section 7, the Archivist
shall--
(1) commence establishment of a collection of records to be
known as the ``Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel
Records Collection'';
(2) commence preparing the subject guidebook and index to
the Collection; and
(3) establish criteria and acceptable formats for Executive
agencies to follow when transmitting copies of missing Armed
Forces and civilian personnel records to the Archivist, to
include required metadata, including applicable information
privacy safeguards.
(b) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
swearing in of the Review Board members, the Review Board shall
promulgate rules to establish guidelines and processes for the
disclosure of records contained in the Collection, including applicable
information privacy safeguards.
(c) Oversight.--
(1) Senate.--The Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate shall have continuing
jurisdiction, including legislative oversight jurisdiction, in
the Senate with respect to the Collection.
(2) House of representatives.--The Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform of the House of Representatives shall
have continuing jurisdiction, including legislative oversight
jurisdiction, in the House of Representatives with respect to
the Collection.
SEC. 5. REVIEW, IDENTIFICATION, TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES,
AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF MISSING ARMED FORCES AND
CIVILIAN PERSONNEL RECORDS BY GOVERNMENT OFFICES.
(a) In General.--
(1) Preparation.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, and sufficiently in advance of the
deadlines established under this Act, each Government office
shall--
(A) identify and locate any missing Armed Forces
and civilian personnel records in the custody,
possession, or control of the Government office,
including intelligence reports, congressional
inquiries, memoranda to or from the White House and
other Federal departments and agencies, Prisoner of War
(POW) debriefings, live sighting reports, documents
relating to POW camps, movement of POWs, exploitation
of POWs, experimentation on POWs, or status changes
from Missing in Action (MIA) to Killed in Action (KIA);
and
(B) prepare for transmission to the Archivist in
accordance with the criteria and acceptable formats
established by the Archivist a copy of any missing
Armed Forces and civilian personnel records that have
not previously been transmitted to the Archivist by the
Government office.
(2) Certification.--Each Government office shall submit to
the Archivist, under penalty of perjury, a certification
indicating--
(A) whether the Government office has conducted a
thorough search for all missing Armed Forces and
civilian personnel records in the custody, possession,
or control of the Government office; and
(B) whether a copy of any missing Armed Forces and
civilian personnel record has not been transmitted to
the Archivist.
(3) Preservation.--No missing Armed Forces and civilian
personnel record shall be destroyed, altered, or mutilated in
any way.
(4) Effect of previous disclosure.--Information that was
made available or disclosed to the public before the date of
enactment of this Act in a missing Armed Forces and civilian
personnel record may not be withheld, redacted, postponed for
public disclosure, or reclassified.
(5) Withheld and substantially redacted records.--
(A) In general.--For any missing Armed Forces and
civilian personnel record that is transmitted to the
Archivist which a Government office proposes to
substantially redact or withhold in full from public
access, the head of the Government office shall submit
an unclassified and publicly releasable report to the
Archivist, the Review Board, and each appropriate
committee of the Senate and the House of
Representatives justifying the decision of the
Government office to substantially redact or withhold
the record by demonstrating that the release of
information would clearly and demonstrably be expected
to cause an articulated harm, and that the harm would
be of such gravity as to outweigh the public interest
in access to the information.
(B) Rulemaking.--The Archivist shall promulgate
regulations to define the term ``substantially redacted
record'' for purposes of subparagraph (A).
(b) Review.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided under paragraph (5),
not later than 270 days after a quorum of the Review Board has
been established under section 7, each Government office shall,
in accordance with the criteria and acceptable formats
established by the Archivist--
(A) identify, locate, copy, and review each missing
Armed Forces and civilian personnel record in the
custody, possession, or control of the Government
office for transmission to the Archivist and disclosure
to the public or, if needed, review by the Review
Board; and
(B) cooperate fully, in consultation with the
Archivist, in carrying out paragraph (3).
(2) Requirement.--The Review Board shall promulgate rules
for the disclosure of relevant records by Government offices
under paragraph (1).
(3) National archives records.--Not later than 270 days
after a quorum of the Review Board has been established under
section 7, the Archivist shall--
(A) locate and identify all missing Armed Forces
and civilian personnel records in the custody of the
National Archives as of the date of enactment of this
Act that remain classified, in whole or in part;
(B) notify a Government office if the Archivist
locates and identifies a record of the Government
office under subparagraph (A); and
(C) make each classified missing Armed Forces and
civilian personnel record located and identified under
subparagraph (A) available for review by Executive
agencies through the National Declassification Center
established under Executive Order 13526 (50 U.S.C. 3161
note; relating to classified national security
information), or any successor order.
(4) Records already public.--A missing Armed Forces and
civilian personnel record that is in the custody of the
National Archives on the date of enactment of this Act and that
has been publicly available in its entirety without redaction
shall be made available in the Collection without any
additional review by the Archivist, the Review Board, or any
other Government office under this Act.
(5) Exemptions.--
(A) Department of defense pow/mia accounting
agency.--The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is
exempt from the requirement under this subsection to
declassify and transmit to the Archivist documents in
its custody or control that pertain to a specific case
or cases that the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is
actively investigating or developing for the purpose of
locating, disinterring, or identifying a missing member
of the Armed Forces.
(B) Department of defense military service casualty
offices and department of state service casualty
offices.--The Department of Defense Military Service
Casualty Offices and the Department of State Service
Casualty Offices are exempt from the requirement to
declassify and transmit to the Archivist documents in
their custody or control that pertain to individual
cases with respect to which the office is lending
support and assistance to the families of missing
individuals.
(c) Transmission to the National Archives.--Each Government office
shall--
(1) not later than 270 days after a quorum of the Review
Board has been established under section 7, commence
transmission to the Archivist of copies of the missing Armed
Forces and civilian personnel records in the custody,
possession, or control of the Government office, except for
records described in subsection (a)(5); and
(2) not later than 1 year after a quorum of the Review
Board has been established under section 7, complete
transmission to the Archivist of copies of all missing Armed
Forces and civilian personnel records in the possession or
control of the Government office.
(d) Periodic Review of Postponed Missing Armed Forces and Civilian
Personnel Records.--
(1) In general.--All missing Armed Forces and civilian
personnel records, or information within a missing Armed Forces
and civilian personnel record, the public disclosure of which
has been postponed under the standards under this Act shall be
reviewed by the originating body--
(A)(i) periodically, but not less than every 5
years, after the date on which the Review Board
terminates under section 7(p); and
(ii) at the direction of the Archivist; and
(B) consistent with the recommendations of the
Review Board under section 9(b)(3)(B).
(2) Contents.--
(A) In general.--A periodic review of a missing
Armed Forces and civilian personnel record, or
information within a missing Armed Forces and civilian
personnel record, by the originating body shall address
the public disclosure of the missing Armed Forces and
civilian personnel record under the standards under
this Act.
(B) Continued postponement.--If an originating body
conducting a periodic review of a missing Armed Forces
and civilian personnel record, or information within a
missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel record, the
public disclosure of which has been postponed under the
standards under this Act, determines that continued