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HR 5201 117th Congress House Armed Forces and National Security Administrative law and regulatory procedures Department of Defense Government information and archives Military command and structure Military personnel and dependents Personnel records

To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish and maintain a database that contains up-to-date contact information for the next of kin of members of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the…

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To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish and maintain a database that contains up-to-date contact information for the next of kin of members of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretaries of the military departments.

Introduced: September 10, 2021 Introduced by: Bacon, Don Republican · Nebraska See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 117th Congress ended
It never became law before the 117th Congress (2021–2022) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Sep 10, 2021
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Sep 10, 2021
Introduced in House
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

This bill requires the Department of Defense to establish and maintain a database that contains current contact information for the next of kin of members of the Armed Forces. A commander of the service member's unit in a grade higher than O-5 must be authorized to access the contact information, regardless of whether the member served under the commander. Individuals named in the database are authorized to elect whether or not they want to be contacted by an officer.

What's happening now September 10, 2021

Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • HR 4350 Related bill National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5201: To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish and maintain a database that contains up-to-date contact information for the next of kin of members of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretaries of the military departments.. 117th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-5201/
MLA
"H.R. 5201: To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish and maintain a database that contains up-to-date contact information for the next of kin of members of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretaries of the military departments.." 117th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-5201/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5201, 117th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-5201/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5201: To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish and maintain a database that contains up-to-date contact information for the next of kin of members of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretaries of the military departments.](https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-5201/)
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