HR 3397 113th Congress House Armed Forces and National Security Administrative law and regulatory procedures Department of Defense Fires Government information and archives Military personnel and dependents Missouri Personnel records Veterans' organizations and recognition

To require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to develop guidelines regarding the use by the Secretaries of the military departments and the Secretary…

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To require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to develop guidelines regarding the use by the Secretaries of the military departments and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of unofficial sources of information to determine the eligibility of a member or former member of the Armed Forces for benefits and decorations when the member's service records are incomplete because of damage to the records, including records damaged by a 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Introduced: October 30, 2013 See on congress.gov

Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Jan 24, 2014

Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Nov 12, 2013

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

Oct 30, 2013

Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Oct 30, 2013

Introduced in House

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Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to develop guidelines for the use by the Secretaries of the military departments and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) of unofficial sources of information, including eyewitness statements, to determine the eligibility of a member or former member of the Armed Forces for benefits and decorations when the member's service records are incomplete because of damage to the records as a result of the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, or any subsequent incident while the records were in DOD's possession.

What's happening now January 24, 2014

Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Bill text 1 version

Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 4

Armed Services Committee
House of Representatives
Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee
House of Representatives · subcommittee of Veterans' Affairs Committee
Military Personnel Subcommittee
House of Representatives · subcommittee of Armed Services Committee
Veterans' Affairs Committee
House of Representatives

Cosponsors 16

Gabbard, Tulsi

· Jul 31, 2014

Johnson, Henry C. "Hank"

Georgia · Mar 6, 2014

MCCARTHY, CAROLYN

· Mar 6, 2014

Schneider, Bradley Scott

Illinois · Mar 6, 2014

New York · Mar 6, 2014

Cohen, Steve

Tennessee · Dec 10, 2013

Vermont · Dec 2, 2013

Brownley, Julia

California · Nov 13, 2013

Maffei, Daniel

· Nov 13, 2013

Van Hollen, Chris

Maryland · Nov 13, 2013

Cite this page click to expand

APA

U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3397: To require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to develop guidelines regarding the use by the Secretaries of the military departments and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of unofficial sources of information to determine the eligibility of a member or former member of the Armed Forces for benefits and decorations when the member's service records are incomplete because of damage to the records, including records damaged by a 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.. 113th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-3397/

MLA

"H.R. 3397: To require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to develop guidelines regarding the use by the Secretaries of the military departments and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of unofficial sources of information to determine the eligibility of a member or former member of the Armed Forces for benefits and decorations when the member's service records are incomplete because of damage to the records, including records damaged by a 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.." 113th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-3397/.

Bluebook (legal)

H.R. 3397, 113th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-3397/.

Markdown link

[H.R. 3397: To require the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to develop guidelines regarding the use by the Secretaries of the military departments and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of unofficial sources of information to determine the eligibility of a member or former member of the Armed Forces for benefits and decorations when the member's service records are incomplete because of damage to the records, including records damaged by a 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.](https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-3397/)