S.Amdt. 6026

The Bring Our Heroes Home Act is an amendment to bill S. 4784. Its purpose is to ensure the review, collection, and public disclosure of records relating to the loss, fate, or status of missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel who went missing between December 7, 1941, and the date the Act is enacted.

To achieve this, the amendment adds the following to the bill:

• Establishment of a Records Collection: It requires the Archivist of the United States to create the Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Collection at the National Archives.

• Creation of a Review Board: It establishes an independent Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Review Board consisting of five Presidentially-appointed members. This board is tasked with:

  • Directing government offices to transmit records to the Archivist.
  • Deciding if records should be disclosed to the public or if disclosure should be postponed.
  • Holding hearings and issuing subpoenas to obtain relevant information.

• Government Obligations: Government offices must identify, locate, and transmit copies of relevant records to the Archivist. Officials must certify under penalty of perjury that they have conducted a thorough search.

• Disclosure Standards: The act sets rules for when information can be withheld (such as for national security or privacy) and requires periodic reviews of postponed records every five years.

• Diplomatic Efforts: It expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should contact foreign governments, specifically the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, to seek the disclosure of relevant records.