A legislative package of three bills recently sponsored by U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) aims to support and honor United States military veterans, active duty service members, and those killed in action.
“Too many heroes return home to a country unprepared to support the weight of their sacrifices or give them the proper recognition,” Rep. Mast said. “These bills not only honor their service, but move us towards accountability and efficiency in the systems designed to protect our nation’s heroes.”
The package includes three bills — The Final Honors Act, the Oath of Exit Act, and the Wounded Warrior Bill of Rights Act — to expand recognition, improve mental health, and strengthen protections for injured service members in the medical separation process, according to a summary provided by Rep. Mast’s office.
The Final Honors Act of 2025 would allow the remains of service members who died in the line of duty to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda upon the request of their family. The honor is one of the nation’s highest ceremonial tributes, and it would ensure the fallen receive recognition commensurate with their sacrifice, according to the text of the bill.
Because the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is aggressively undertaking measures to prevent suicides among veterans, which “remain unacceptably high,” the Oath of Exit Act would allow service members to voluntarily take a Separation Oath when they depart the U.S. Armed Forces.
In this oath, they would “solemnly swear (or affirm) to continue to be the keeper of my brothers- and sisters-in-arms and protector of the United States and the Constitution; to preserve the values I have learned; to maintain my body and my mind; to give help to, and seek help from, my fellow veterans; and to not bring harm to myself or others,” the text of the measure says.
Lastly, the Wounded Warrior Bill of Rights Act would clarify and improve accountability for certain members of the Armed Forces during consideration for medical separation in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Specifically, this bill would reaffirm that decisions on medical separation and disability evaluations must remain under the authority of a service member’s direct chain of command and not solely the Defense Health Agency, and would guarantee service members a right to due process, including a fair hearing upon request while ensuring that wounded warriors are not denied protections during the medical review process, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Mast.