[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1951 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1951
To ensure the preservation and operational integrity of the aeromedical
evacuation capabilities of the Department of the Army within the
Medical Service Corps and to maintain the role of the Medical Service
Corps as the primary joint service provider for intra-theater
aeromedical evacuation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 4, 2025
Mr. Cruz introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
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A BILL
To ensure the preservation and operational integrity of the aeromedical
evacuation capabilities of the Department of the Army within the
Medical Service Corps and to maintain the role of the Medical Service
Corps as the primary joint service provider for intra-theater
aeromedical evacuation, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Retaining Essential Support for
Combat and Unified Evacuation Act of 2025'' or the ``RESCUE Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. PRESERVATION OF DEDICATED AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION CAPABILITY OF
MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS OF THE ARMY.
(a) In General.--The Medical Service Corps of the Army shall
maintain a dedicated aeromedical evacuation capability, including
personnel, training, doctrine, and aircraft specifically configured for
aeromedical evacuation missions.
(b) Clarification of Authority.--The Secretary of the Army shall
ensure that--
(1) the aviation branch of the Army has the authority to
organize, train, and equip aviation assets in accordance with
operational requirements; and
(2) the medical department of the Army, under the authority
delegated to such department by the Surgeon General of the
Army, has the authority for medical command and control,
patient care responsibilities, and clinical standards for
aeromedical evacuation operations.
(c) Elements of Capability.--The Secretary of the Army shall
maintain the capability required under subsection (a)--
(1) in alignment with the sufficiency analysis of the
Surgeon General of the Army;
(2) consistent with medical evacuation doctrine and
operational planning assumptions of the Army; and
(3) in support of--
(A) the commanders of the combatant commands;
(B) contingency operations and operational plans;
(C) civil authorities;
(D) chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear
response force missions;
(E) humanitarian assistance and disaster response
operations; and
(F) garrison emergency medical response operations
at installations of the Department of Defense.
(d) Change in Structure.--
(1) In general.--The capability required under subsection
(a) shall remain a distinct component within the Medical
Service Corps of the Army and may not be restructured into
general-purpose aviation elements or dual-use configurations
without prior notification to the congressional defense
committees (as defined in section 101(a) of title 10, United
States Code), which shall--
(A) be accompanied by a formal risk assessment on--
(i) operational medical readiness of the
Medical Service Corps; and
(ii) readiness of the Medical Service Corps
to support the joint force and missions
specified under subsection (c)(3); and
(B) contain a report that--
(i) is based on the force structure
authorizations outlined in the most current
Army Structure Message;
(ii) is informed by the most current Total
Army Analysis approved by the Secretary of the
Army; and
(iii) does not propose or assume any
changes to the aircraft authorizations
reflected in the documents specified in clauses
(i) and (ii).
(2) Operational medical requirements and joint force
needs.--Any adjustments made to the force structure of the
aeromedical evacuation capability of the Army must account for
operational medical requirements and joint force needs where
the Surgeon General of the Army retains authority over the
medical force structure, staffing, clinical oversight, and
doctrinal development for aeromedical evacuation units.
(e) Change to Allocations.--The Secretary of the Army may not make
any changes to allocations for the Medical Service Corps of the Army
that is inconsistent with the requirements of this section without
prior consultation with the Surgeon General of the Army, who shall
certify that the proposed changes are supported by a sufficiency
analysis and that the revised platform levels remain adequate to
support all mission categories requiring aeromedical evacuation,
consistent with medical evacuation doctrine and operational planning
assumptions of the Army.
(f) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the date
that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit augmentation of military patient movement
operations with combatant, commercial, or allied assets in contingency
or humanitarian operations, as determined necessary by the Secretary of
Defense.
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