PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2] · R–NE
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Sep 22, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-17 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.
This bill would give Medal of Honor recipients listed on the official Medal of Honor Roll an identification card granting unaccompanied access to any military installation and the Pentagon. It would also create a Defense Department liaison—a designated contact—to assist recipients and their families, coordinate work across federal agencies, and advise on recipients’ active-duty service.
A person whose name is entered on the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard Medal of Honor Roll shall be issued a common access card (or successor identification) that grants such person unaccompanied access to any military installation and the Pentagon.
There is in the Department of Defense a Medal of Honor Liaison, appointed by the Secretary of Defense, who shall serve as liaison to MOH recipients.
(1) To serve as a primary point of contact in the Department for MOH recipients and their families. (2) To coordinate efforts within the Department, across the armed forces, and with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and other Federal entities regarding MOH recipients.
(6) To make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense regarding service on active duty by MOH recipients, including in combat.
Section 1 would name the legislation the Medal of Honor Access and Liaison Act.
This Act may be cited as the Medal of Honor Access and Liaison Act.
Section 2(a) would require issuing a common access card, or its replacement identification, to people on the Medal of Honor Roll. The card would grant access without an escort to any military installation and the Pentagon.
A person whose name is entered on the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard Medal of Honor Roll shall be issued a common access card (or successor identification) that grants such person unaccompanied access to any military installation and the Pentagon.
Section 2(b) would establish a Medal of Honor Liaison within the Defense Department, appointed by the Secretary of Defense. For this office’s responsibilities, a Medal of Honor recipient means someone entered on the official Roll under section 1134a.
There is in the Department of Defense a Medal of Honor Liaison, appointed by the Secretary of Defense, who shall serve as liaison to MOH recipients.
In this section, the term MOH recipient means a person whose name is entered on the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard Medal of Honor Roll under section 1134a of this title.
The liaison would be a primary Defense Department contact for recipients and their families and coordinate work concerning recipients across the department, the armed forces, Veterans Affairs, and other federal entities.
(1) To serve as a primary point of contact in the Department for MOH recipients and their families. (2) To coordinate efforts within the Department, across the armed forces, and with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and other Federal entities regarding MOH recipients.
The liaison would coordinate replacement of recipients’ military decorations under existing section 1135, standardize military protocol concerning recipients, and conduct public affairs outreach about them.
(3) To coordinate replacement of military decorations under section 1135 of this title for MOH recipients. (4) To standardize protocol regarding MOH recipients across the armed forces. (5) To perform public affairs outreach regarding MOH recipients.
The liaison would recommend to the Secretary of Defense how Medal of Honor recipients should serve on active duty, including in combat. This duty is to make recommendations; it does not itself direct recipients to serve in combat.
(6) To make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense regarding service on active duty by MOH recipients, including in combat.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated September 22, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Armed Services on September 17, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-22T21:00:23Z. 2026-09-17: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services. 2026-09-17: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-17. 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 does not establish absence in 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 a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in accompanying materials or other versions.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains a narrowly targeted access entitlement directly related to the bill’s main policy. Classification as a targeted benefit is not a judgment about its justification.
People entered on the Medal of Honor Roll would receive a mandatory identification card granting unaccompanied access to any military installation and the Pentagon. This is a special access entitlement for a narrowly defined group.
A person whose name is entered on the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard Medal of Honor Roll shall be issued a common access card (or successor identification) that grants such person unaccompanied access to any military installation and the Pentagon.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 22, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI