Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 5, 2025
Specialist Joey Lenz Act of 2025
This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure that periodic health assessments of members of the Armed Forces include specified elements. DOD must ensure that annual assessments include a sports physical, an electrocardiogram, and specified blood work. Other periodic assessments must include certain testing related to burn pit exposure, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure, and other tests or evaluations determined to be appropriate by DOD.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 19, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Read the proposal in plain language
AI-generated · Source-checked by AI · Oct 22, 2026
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-05 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
What it would do
The proposed Specialist Joey Lenz Act of 2025 would require military members’ periodic health assessments to include annual physical exams, heart electrical-activity tests, and specified blood tests starting in 2026. Additional blood tests would be required if necessary. Assessments would also include tests and evaluations required by law or determined appropriate by the Secretary of Defense.
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This Act may be cited as the Specialist Joey Lenz Act of 2025.
Beginning in 2026, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that periodic health assessments provided to a member of the armed forces include the following: (1) On an annual basis— (A) a sports physical; (B) an electrocardiogram; and (C) blood work that includes— (i) a comprehensive metabolic panel and complete blood count; and (ii) if necessary— (I) a thyroid stimulating hormone test; and (II) a brain natriuretic peptide test.
(2) Any test or evaluation required by law with respect to such member, including an evaluation required by section 704 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 10 U.S.C. 1074f note) and a test required by section 707 of such Act (10 U.S.C. 1074 note). (3) Any other test or evaluation determined appropriate by the Secretary.
The bill would add section 1074p to title 10 of the United States Code. It would make the Secretary of Defense responsible for ensuring the required content of military members’ periodic health assessments beginning in 2026.
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Chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1074o the following new section (and conforming the table of sections accordingly): 1074p. Periodic health assessments Beginning in 2026, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that periodic health assessments provided to a member of the armed forces include the following:
Annual blood work would have to include a comprehensive metabolic panel and a complete blood count. Thyroid stimulating hormone and brain natriuretic peptide tests would be required only if necessary.
(C) blood work that includes— (i) a comprehensive metabolic panel and complete blood count; and (ii) if necessary— (I) a thyroid stimulating hormone test; and (II) a brain natriuretic peptide test.
Assessments would also have to include any test or evaluation required by law for the member. The bill specifically references an evaluation under section 704 and a test under section 707 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020.
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(2) Any test or evaluation required by law with respect to such member, including an evaluation required by section 704 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 10 U.S.C. 1074f note) and a test required by section 707 of such Act (10 U.S.C. 1074 note).
The supplied actions snapshot, updated September 19, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Armed Services on February 5, 2025.
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Source snapshot updated 2026-09-19T23:21:59Z.
2025-02-05: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
2025-02-05: Introduced in House
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-05. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents of other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; earmark disclosures and committee or conference materials were not supplied.
Other targeted benefits
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential treatment, carve-out, or special exemption was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Coverage of the policy’s intended population alone is not a targeted benefit under this review. This conclusion is limited to the supplied version.
What this analysis cannot establish
The supplied full text is the introduced version dated February 5, 2025. The actions snapshot does not establish later passage or enactment; its limited entries do not prove that the bill never advanced or became law.
Existing title 10 provisions and the referenced sections 704 and 707 are not reproduced. The bundle therefore does not establish their detailed requirements or how much the proposal would change existing assessment practices.
The bill does not define when the conditional blood tests are necessary or identify who makes that determination.
The text specifies a 2026 start but no exact implementation date, termination condition, dedicated funding amount, or separate enforcement mechanism. The bundle does not establish implementation costs or health outcomes.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 19, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI