Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Federal Flag Code Amendment Act of 2007

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 692) to amend title 4, United States Code, to authorize the Governor of a State, territory, or possession of the United States to order that the National flag be flown at half-staff in that State, territory, or possession in the event of the death of a member of the Armed Forces from that State, territory, or possession who dies while serving on active duty, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials in the Record.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As author of H.R. 692, the Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Federal Flag Code Amendment Act of 2007, I urge my colleagues to support its passage.

Madam Speaker, those who make the ultimate sacrifice for our country deserve our country's utmost respect. H.R. 692 will ensure that our fallen troops and their families are provided the appropriate respect due.

The Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Federal Flag Code Amendment Act of 2007 would require all Federal Government agencies in a State to comply with a Governor's proclamation to fly the national flag at half- staff in honor of those who lose their lives serving our country.

H.R. 692 is named after Joseph P. Micks, a soldier from Rapid River, Michigan, who was killed in Iraq last July at the age of 22. Specialist Micks was an all-American soldier and citizen. He was an altar server at church, an Eagle Scout from Troop 466 in Gladstone, Michigan, loved to collect sports memorabilia, and fixed the computers of his neighbors. He joined the Army to help others, to make a difference.

His death was not only mourned by his family and friends, but also by the citizens of the rural communities which make up and comprise Delta County, Michigan. As his funeral procession progressed through several rural communities in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, citizens were upset to note that some Federal agencies had not lowered their flags based on the Governor's proclamation in honor of Specialist Micks.

There have been several other instances in my district, unfortunately, when a Federal agency has not lowered its flag in accordance with Governor Granholm's proclamation.

When I have learned of Federal agencies, offices and buildings that have not lowered their American flags, I have contacted the agencies. I have been told that the directive to lower the flag has not come from the district office or the regional office or from Washington headquarters. It is regrettable that this legislation is even necessary. Last year I wrote the President asking him to issue an executive order to have the flags lowered. He has not responded. However, as there have been not one but multiple instances where Federal agencies have ignored the Governor's request to lower flags, it is important that Congress address this issue.

In a recent example, when Navy SEAL Joe Schwedler was killed recently in Iraq, it was the Veterans Affairs hospital that refused to lower its flag. Veterans presented officials with the article from the local newspaper, the Daily News from Iron Mountain. It says: ``Flags Lowered for Crystal Falls Hero,'' and still the Veterans Administration refused to lower the flag.

I include this article for the Record.

[From the Daily News, April 12, 2007]

Flags Lowered for Crystal Falls Hero

Half-staff on Friday

Lansing.--Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm has ordered United

States flags throughout Michigan and on Michigan waters

lowered for one day on Friday, April 13, in honor of Navy

Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph C. Schwedler of Crystal Falls

who died April 6 while on active duty in Iraq.

Flags should return to full staff on Saturday, April 14.

Schwedler, 27, died from enemy action while conducting

combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned

to the East Coast Navy SEAL Team.

When flown at half-staff or half-mast, the United States

flag should be hoisted first to the peak for an instant and

then lowered to the half-staff or half-mast position. The

flag should again be raised to the peak before it is lowered

for the day.

A military funeral will be conducted at 1 p.m. Saturday,

April 14, at the Forest Park High School gymnasium in Crystal

Falls.

A scholarship fund will be established with the Crystal

Falls Area Community Fund, Post Office Box 269, Crystal

Falls, Michigan 49920.

The Jacobs-Plowe Funeral Home, Crystal Falls is in charge

of arrangements.

The inconsistent patchwork display of respect is particularly hurtful to rural communities where the funeral processions of fallen troops often travel by several Federal facilities, some with flags lowered, others without.

Rural Americans disproportionately fill the ranks of our armed services and have disproportionately paid the ultimate sacrifice. Almost half of U.S. military casualties have hailed from towns fewer than 25,000 people; one in five from towns smaller than 5,000 people. It is important that when one of our own perishes serving our Nation they receive the proper respect.

I am joined today in support of this legislation by the Military Order of the Purple Heart and Society of Military Widows. In endorsing the legislation, the Society of Military Widows stated: ``We strongly feel that Federal agencies within the State should comply with this order to honor fallen native sons and daughters. As military widows, we can especially appreciate this visible show of respect.''

I would like to thank my colleagues who have cosponsored this legislation and those who have helped champion its passage, including Chairman Conyers, Chairman Nadler, Ranking Member Franks, as well as Congressman Pastor, Congressman Visclosky, and Congressman Lamborn.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers).

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I would like to close.

I close by saying there is no more powerful way to honor the death of an American than flying our Nation's flag at half-staff. Recognizing this, Governors across this great country have issued proclamations to honor servicemembers from their States who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This quiet sign of respect is a powerful message to the family that a grateful Nation and a grateful community mourns and honors the sacrifice made by their fallen hero. It is also representative of the shared loss felt by our communities who mourn a family member, a friend, a neighbor and a colleague.

The Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Flag Code Amendment Act will ensure that each of our fallen heroes receives the ultimate honor due to Joe and his family; his wife, Romona; and parents, Ken and Amy Micks. To them we owe a great debt of gratitude. I hope this legislation passes the House today and moves to the Senate, and we can get it completed by Flag Day on June 14.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 7, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., in open session to consider the nomination of Lieutenant General Douglas E. Lute, USA, to be assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 7, 2007, at 2 p.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

The hearing will serve as an investigation of NASA Inspector General, Robert W. Cobb.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 10 a.m. in Room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``An Examination of the Views of Religious Organizations Regarding Global Warming.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, June 7, 2007, at 10 a.m. in Dirksen Room 226.

Agenda

I. Bills: S. 185, Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007 (Specter, Leahy, Feinstein, Feingold, Whitehouse, Durbin, Biden); S. 720, Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Federal Flag Code Amendment Act of 2007 (Levin); H.R. 692, Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks Federal Flag Code Amendment Act of 2007; S. 535, Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act (Dodd, Leahy, Schumer, Kennedy); S.456, Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2007 (Feinstein, Hatch, Schumer, Specter, Biden, Kyl, Cornyn, Kohl).

II. Nominations: Leslie Southwick to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit; Robert James Jonker to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of Michigan.

III. Resolutions: S. Res. 171, Memorializing fallen firefighters by lowering the U.S. flag (Collins, Biden, Kennedy); S. Res. 82, Designating August 16, 2007 as National Airborne Day (Hagel, Graham, Sessions, Feinstein, Feingold); S. Res. 173, Designating August 11,2007 as National Marina Day (Stabenow).

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing entitled ``Prevention of Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation in Federal Elections: S. 453'' on Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 2 p.m. in Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226.

Witness list

Panel I: The Honorable Charles Schumer, United States Senator [D-NY]; The Honorable Barack Obama, United States Senator [D-IL].

Panel II: The Honorable Douglas F. Gansler, Attorney General, State of Maryland, Baltimore, MD; The Honorable Jack B. Johnson, County Executive, Prince George's County, MD, Upper Marlboro, MD.

Panel III: Hilary O. Shelton, Director, Washington Bureau, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP], Washington, DC; John Trasvina, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund [MALDEF], Los Angeles, CA; Richard Briffault, Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation, Columbia Law School, New York, NY.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 7, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on National Parks of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on Alternate Energy-Related Uses on the Outer Continental Shelf: Opportunities, Issues and Implementation of Section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs' Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia be authorized to meet on Thursday, June 7, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled, DHS' Acquisition Organization: Who is Really in Charge?

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 692, which authorizes Governors of the several States to order the National Flag to be flown at half-staff in the event of the death of a member of the Armed Forces. Section 2(a) would add ``or the death of a member of the Armed Forces from any State, territory, or possession who dies while serving on active duty'' to the list of persons under 4 D.S.C. Sec. 7(m) for whom the Flag should be flown at half-staff for a period of ten days from the date of death.

Under section 2(b), the bill authorizes the Governor of a State, territory, or possession to issue a proclamation under section 7(m), as amended by the Act, ordering the Flag to be flown at half-staff in honor of a member of Armed Forces who dies while on active duty.

Madam Speaker, it is a privilege for me to support a bill that honors the service of our fallen members of the Armed Forces who die while serving on active duty. These brave men and women have given great contributions and have made incredible personal sacrifices so that all of us in this country might live in a safe and secure Nation and world. In my State of Texas, 287 service members have already given the last full measure of devotion in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I think everyone of these fallen heroes deserve recognition for their supreme sacrifice.

Flying the Federal Flag at half staff to honor the service of fallen members of the Armed Forces is only a small step towards repaying

the insurmountable debt that all of us owe to all veterans. For, what is the price of freedom?

As President Kennedy once said, ``The price of freedom is high, but Americans have always paid it.'' And no one has paid a higher price than the brave men and women through the years who gave the last full measure of devotion to their country. Whether it is the ultimate sacrifice of life or the loss of limb or the loss of time with family and friends, we owe our veterans and in this case, those who have died during their service, an enormous outstanding debt of gratitude.

From Bunker Hill to Yorktown, from Washington, DC to the Battle of New Orleans, from Bull Run to Gettysburg and Antietam to Appomattox, brave Americans gave their lives so that the Nation might live. And from Alsace Lorain to Verdun, and Normandy to Berlin and Pearl Harbor to Okinawa, from Inchon and Correigidor to Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq, Americans have nobly sacrificed their lives so that the world may live in freedom.

The debt of gratitude we owe to all of the soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who answered their Nation's call and made the supreme sacrifice can never be repaid. But we can give these fallen service men and women the recognition and honor they deserve by flying the National Flag at half-staff.

Madam Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in honoring our fallen heroes by supporting H.R. 692.

Mr. President, it is critically important that each time a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine is lost in battle, their families, friends, and communities are shown the respect and support of a grateful nation. Tragically, Michigan has lost more than 135 heroes in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the most powerful ways we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country is to fly the flag they fought under at half-staff.

On many occasions during the course of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Governors around the country have issued proclamations for State agencies and residents to lower our Nation's flag to honor fallen servicemembers from their States. Many Federal agencies in those States comply with such proclamations, but some have not. To those mourning the death of a loved one, this inaction can be hurtful and interpreted as indifference to their loss. I know my colleagues will agree that this is certainly not the message our Government wants to send to the families of our men and women in uniform.

This legislation would prevent this situation by giving Governors the explicit authority to order our Nation's flag lowered to half-staff when a member of the Armed Forces from their State dies while serving on active duty. It would also require federal agencies in that State to lower their flags consistent with a Governor's proclamation. The House of Representatives passed identical legislation on May 15. I am pleased that my colleagues support this legislation so that all levels of our Government will send a clear and consistent message when members of our military are killed in the course of their service to our country.

One of my greatest honors as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee is to spend time with our troops, and they are as courageous, honorable, and capable a fighting force as the world has ever known. These men and women have made a commitment to protect our Nation. We need to make an equally strong commitment to honor them when they make the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We owe our fallen soldiers, their families, and their communities a unified showing of respect.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 692 authorizes State Governors to fly the American flag at half- staff upon the death of a member of the Armed Forces who dies while serving on active duty.

We all honor the service of the brave men and women who defend our Nation. When they make the ultimate sacrifice, Governors of the State should be allowed to recognize and pay tribute to them by lowering the flag.

I am also pleased the majority included a Republican proposal to add a simple congressional finding to this legislation that states the following: ``Congress finds that members of the Armed Forces of the United States defend the freedom and security of our Nation.'' It is fitting to include this finding to recognize not just the loss of a member of our Armed Forces, but also to honor the reasons they serve.

Madam Speaker, members of our Armed Forces deserve our deepest respect. They put their lives between us and hostile enemies around the world; they sacrifice stability with their own families so ours may sleep easier. They persevere in the most extreme conditions so we can lead ordinary lives.

The flag code is designed to honor public service. When we lower the flag to half-staff, we remind ourselves that the United States is not merely preserved by lofty ideals, but by the service and sacrifice of a great many men and women.

I support this legislation and encourage all of my colleagues to do so as well.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, once again I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.