United States 115th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 14 R · 1 D cosponsors

HR 4437 — To amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to prohibit the payment of back pay and allowances to certain members of the Armed Forces who are guilty of desertion and to use the amount of any such unpaid pay and allowances to provide additional compensation to other members of the Armed Forces who were killed or wounded during missions to search for the missing members.

Last action — Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 115th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

In plain language

The bill prohibits back pay for soldiers guilty of desertion and reallocates it to compensate others harmed during search missions.

This legislation seeks to amend military justice rules by stopping back pay for deserters and using those funds to aid service members injured or killed during efforts to find them. It applies to members of the Armed Forces guilty of desertion within a specific time frame.

Summary

This bill amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to deny back pay and allowances to any person who is guilty of desertion. The Department of Defense shall use payments and allowances denied to a deserter under this bill to provide compensation to any members of the Armed Forces who were wounded while searching for the deserter or to representatives of any members who were killed while searching for the deserter.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

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Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill amends existing law to prohibit back pay for certain deserting members of the Armed Forces and reallocates that pay to compensate members who searched for them.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 885

    (d)(1) In addition to the punishments authorized under subsection (c), any person who is guilty of desertion, and who in connection with the person's absence without authority was also listed in the duty status of missing-captive, is not entitled to any pay and allowances otherwise payable under subsection (a) of section 552 of title 37 for any period during which the person was listed in any missing status, including such missing-captive, after the date on which the person was first determined to be absent from the person's post of duty without authority. As provided in subsection (c) of such section 552, the person is indebted to the United States for payments from amounts credited to the person's account for that period.

    This adds a new provision that denies back pay to deserting members who were also classified as missing-captive.

  • 10 U.S.C. § 885

    (2) The Secretary of Defense shall use amounts unpaid or recovered by reason of operation of paragraph (1) to provide compensation, in such amounts as the Secretary considers appropriate, to-- (A) any members of the armed forces who were wounded while searching for the person guilty of desertion; and (B) the designated representatives of any members of the armed forces who were killed while searching for the person.

    This establishes a mechanism for redistributing unpaid back pay to compensate service members involved in operations to find deserters.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

  4. Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 14 co-sponsors · 532 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (14)

Not signed on (532)

532 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Subjects

veterans
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Frequently asked questions

What does HR 4437 do?
This bill amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to deny back pay and allowances to any person who is guilty of desertion. The Department of Defense shall use payments and allowances denied to a deserter under this bill to provide compensation to any members of the Armed Forces who were wounded while searching for the deserter or to representatives of any members who were killed while searching for the deserter.
Who sponsors HR 4437?
HR 4437 is sponsored by Graves, Garret (Republican), Walz, Timothy J. (Democratic), Abraham, Ralph Lee (Republican), Babin, Brian (Republican), Crawford, Eric A. "Rick" (Republican), Kinzinger, Adam (Republican), Smith, Jason (Republican), Hartzler, Vicky (Republican), McSally, Martha (Republican), Norman, Ralph (Republican), Bost, Mike (Republican), Palazzo, Steven M. (Republican), Rooney, Francis (Republican), Brooks, Susan W. (Republican), and Barletta, Lou (Republican).
What is the current status of HR 4437?
This bill died with 115th Congress. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HR 4437?
Track HR 4437 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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