(Idaho State) U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) lauded committee passage of the Bring Our Heroes Home Act (BOHHA), which was reported out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously. BOHHA would eliminate obstacles preventing families and caseworkers from accessing the records needed for recovering America’s prisoners of war (POWs) and missing in action (MIA). According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, more than 81,500 Americans–including 361 Idahoans–remain unaccounted for from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, the Gulf Wars and other conflicts.
“This commonsense legislation tells every family and survivor that their loved ones are not forgotten,” said Crapo. “We owe it to our nation’s heroes and their families to cut the bureaucratic red tape and continue the effort to identify and recover those who have not yet made it home.”
“Service members who went missing abroad made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. Their families deserve the closure of bringing their loved ones home for good,” said Shaheen. “I’m pleased that the Bring Our Heroes Home Act is moving forward with broad bipartisan support, and I look forward to our commonsense bill becoming law.”
The legislation would consolidate all records related to missing personnel within a newly instituted Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Collection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and require all government agencies to transmit any missing servicemember and civilian records to NARA. The measure would also establish an independent government office, the Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Review Board, to identify missing personnel records, facilitate the transmission and disclosure of these records, and review any decisions by federal agencies to postpone declassification.
Co-sponsors include Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Thune (R-South Dakota), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Alex Padilla (D-California), Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada), Angus King (I-Maine), Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) and Margaret Hassan (D-New Hampshire).
Crapo and Shaheen previously introduced the legislation in the 116th and 117th Congress and have long-supported various efforts to identify and recover all missing and unaccounted for American military personnel.
Full bill text can be found HERE.