Sponsors (13)
Official title: Provide for the creation of the missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel Records Collection at the National Archives, to require the expeditious public transmission to the Archivist and public disclosure of missing Armed Forces and civilian personnel records, and for other purposes.
Introduced November 19, 2025 by Michael Dean Crapo · Last progress November 19, 2025
The bill greatly expands and centralizes public access to historical military and civilian personnel records—providing families, researchers, and the public faster transparency and accountability—while imposing substantial federal costs and administrative burdens and raising real national‑security, privacy, and oversight trade‑offs that will require careful implementation.
Families of missing service members and civilians will gain much faster, formalized access to records that can clarify the fate or status of loved ones through defined review processes and Board actions.
Creates a centralized National Archives 'Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Collection' and indexing/guide materials that preserve records, make them searchable, and improve public and scholarly research access.
Significantly increases government transparency and mandatory disclosure of historical personnel records (with narrow exceptions), including presumption of declassification, clearer agency duties to transmit records, and public posting of Board determinations and schedules.
Requires substantial searching, review, redaction, transfer, and ongoing Board operations that will raise federal administrative costs and workloads — increasing taxpayer expense and potentially adding to deficits.
Increases national-security and diplomatic risks by pressuring foreign governments for records, potentially exposing sensitive intelligence or operational details, and complicating relations with adversary states.
Raises privacy and civil‑liberties risks because a presumption of declassification, broad disclosure rules, and expanded Board powers could lead to unintended release of personal or operational information about individuals.
Based on analysis of 15 sections of legislative text.
Creates a Review Board and a National Archives collection requiring federal offices to find, certify, and transmit records about missing U.S. military and civilian personnel and sets standards for public disclosure or postponement.
Creates a new independent Review Board and a dedicated archival collection at the National Archives to locate, gather, review, and publicly disclose U.S. government records about missing U.S. Armed Forces members and civilian personnel from World War II (Dec. 7, 1941) through enactment. It requires federal offices to search for, preserve, certify under penalty of perjury, and transmit those records to the Archivist; gives the Review Board authority to direct transmission and decide disclosure or postponement; sets standards and narrow exceptions for withholding or redaction; and authorizes necessary funding and staff for the Board and collection.