ICYMI: DPAA Director Kelly McKeague expresses support for the Bring Our Heroes Home Act

Washington, D.C.--Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Director Kelly McKeague publicly expressed strong support for U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Jeanne Shaheen's (D-New Hampshire) bipartisan legislation, the Bring Our Heroes Home Act, during the 2026 Vietnam Annual Government Briefings.

Director McKeague highlighted the systemic delays caused by government bureaucracy and the unnecessary over-classification of decades-old records, emphasizing the critical need for the Senators' bill to streamline the declassification process:

Click the photo above or here to watch Director McKeague's remarks.

Director McKeague urged families to continue pushing Congress to pass the measure, noting that the DPAA has "no objections" to the legislation.

"For decades, government bureaucracy and red tape have stood in the way of providing long-overdue answers to thousands of families who have sacrificed so much," said Crapo. "Director McKeague's comments reaffirm why the Bring Our Heroes Home Act is urgently needed, and I will continue working alongside Senator Shaheen to get this bipartisan bill signed into law."

"Military families often wait years, sometimes even decades, to access information about their lost loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country," said Senator Shaheen. "I'm pleased to hear Director McKeague's support for our bipartisan legislation to ensure the records of service members are properly collected and shared, removing unnecessary bureaucracy and enabling our lost soldiers' loved ones to get the closure they need to heal."

Background:

Introduced by Senator Crapo and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), S. 3226, the Bring Our Heroes Home Act, recently advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with unanimous, bipartisan support.

According to the DPAA, more than 80,000 Americans--including 358 Idahoans--remain unaccounted for from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and other conflicts.

Specifically, S. 3226 would:

1. Establish the Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Collection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to consolidate all government records related to missing personnel;
2. Direct all federal agencies to transfer relevant records to NARA; and
3. Create an independent Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Review Board to facilitate public disclosure and review agency decisions to withhold or postpone declassification.

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