Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for an event to honor military personnel who have died in service to the United States and to acknowledge the sacrifice of the families of those individuals as part of the National Weekend of Remembrance.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure be discharged from further consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 171) authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for an event to honor military personnel who have died in service to the United States and to acknowledge the sacrifice of the families of those individuals as part of the National Weekend of Remembrance, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 171, authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for an event to honor military personnel who have died in service to the United States and to acknowledge the sacrifice of the families of those individuals as part of the National Weekend of Remembrance.

This concurrent resolution will permit the use of the Capitol Grounds for a Time of Remembrance tribute for military families who have lost loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan, including 72 Minnesota families (with 12 families from my Congressional District). This event will be held on September 26, 2009, on the West Front of the Capitol and will be sponsored by the White House Commission on Remembrance and Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission, a non-profit organization.

The White House Commission on Remembrance was established by Congress in 2000, under the National Moment of Remembrance Act (P.L. 106-579). This law directed the Commission to unite the nation in a National Moment of Remembrance, to be held at 3:00 p.m. each Memorial Day. Since 2006, the Commission has also sponsored an annual Time of Remembrance ceremony to ``honor all those who have died in service to our country, with a special tribute to America's fallen in Afghanistan and Iraq and the families they left behind.''

Passing this resolution will ensure that this year's ceremony, and a picnic to follow, will be allowed to go forward on the Capitol Grounds on September 26, 2009. Activities on the Capitol Grounds conducted under H. Con. Res. 171 will be coordinated with the Architect of the Capitol and the Capitol Police Board, and will be free of charge.

This ceremony is an opportunity to demonstrate to military families that their fellow Americans join them in mourning their loss, and to express our sincere and immeasurable gratitude for the service of their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers to our nation. While we can never adequately thank those who have died for the sacrifice they have made, taking time to remember these brave men and women and celebrating their lives with their families is an appropriate tribute.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Con. Res. 171.

The concurrent resolution was agreed to.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 171, at the desk, and just received from the House.

I ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table and any statements be printed in the Record.