Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 5, 2014
Save our Military Shopping Benefits Act - Prohibits, until January 1, 2017, the Secretary of Defense (DOD) from: (1) closing any commissary or exchange store located within the United States, or (2) developing or implementing any plan that would result in the closure of all commissaries in the United States as part of a cost-saving effort.
Defines "close" to include any action that has the effect of: (1) reducing the operating hours or size of a commissary or exchange store below FY2014 levels, or (2) changing the location of such a store. Excepts a change in the size or location of such a store if the Secretary determines that the change is required for upgrading or modifying an existing structure for safety or health reasons.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 12, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze H.R.3996 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine H.R.3996 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine H.R.3996 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine H.R.3996 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.