SOFA Act
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Safeguarding Our Forces Abroad Act or the SOFA Act
This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to reduce, at a rate of 1% each month, the number of members of the Armed Forces stationed in foreign countries where (1) at least 1,000 members of the Armed Forces were stationed in the previous fiscal year, and (2) there are not enforceable Status of Forces Agreements in place that contain specified elements.
Specifically, the bill applies to countries that do not have enforceable Status of Forces Agreements in place that
prohibit pretrial detention of any member of the Armed Forces who has been accused of committing a non-violent crime,
guarantees an accused member of the Armed Forces immediate access to legal counsel and language translation services during the legal process,
guarantees an accused member of the Armed Forces may not be compelled to be a witness against themselves, and
guarantees an accused member of the Armed Forces will be protected from confessions obtained through torture, coercion, threats, violence, or any means of improper influence.
The requirement to reduce force numbers may be waived if DOD certifies to Congress that it is in the national security interests of the United States to avoid a reduction in forces.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 28, 2023. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 28, 2023: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Nick LaLota (R-NY) introduced it on April 28, 2023, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 28, 2023, 1231 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1231 days ago, on April 28, 2023.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers