IA
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. J. RES. 209
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 3, 2026
Mr. Johnson of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, Mr. Kelly of Mississippi, and Mr. Thompson of Mississippi) submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
JOINT RESOLUTION
Supporting the designation of November 9 of each year as Gold Star Father’s Day
.
Whereas thousands of men and women have laid down their lives to defend the liberty and soul of the Nation, and families of fallen members of the Armed Forces have lost their loved ones in service to the United States;
Whereas families of members of the Armed Forces demonstrate a different kind of heroism, supporting children and family members while loved ones are deployed, sacrificing holidays with members who are serving overseas, and facing each day knowing their loved one might be in danger and could never return home;
Whereas, before the Iraq war, the United States had lost over 1,300,000 members of the Armed Forces during wartime, and, since October 2001, over 4,400 members of the Armed Forces have lost their lives serving this country, leaving thousands of family members behind;
Whereas, in 2015, the Gold Star Fathers Act was signed into law to ensure Gold Star Fathers were eligible for the same benefits guaranteed to mothers of fallen or permanently disabled members of the Armed Forces, honoring their sacrifice and loss, but this legislation did not designate a Gold Star Father’s Day;
Whereas, in 1936, Congress designated the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother’s Day;
Whereas President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., designated September 25, 2022, as Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day, President Donald Trump designated September 24, 2017, as Gold Star Mother’s and Family Day, and President Barack Obama proclaimed September 25, 2016, as Gold Star Mother’s and Family Day;
Whereas, on March 24, 2017, the Georgia House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 723, recognizing November 9 as Georgia Gold Star Father’s Day;
Whereas, on March 10, 2025, the Mississippi House of Representatives adopted House Concurrent Resolution 48, recognizing November 9, 2025, as Gold Star Father’s Day;
Whereas, on May 5, 2026, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed HB2438/SB2275, recognizing November 9 of each year as Gold Star Father’s Day;
Whereas Father’s Day honors and celebrates fatherhood and the unique bonds between a father and his children; and
Whereas the goals of Gold Star Father’s Day
on November 9 are to—
honor and celebrate fathers who have lost children in service to the United States;
honor fathers of fallen members of the Armed Forces and recognize that they, as parents, have experienced extraordinary and unimaginable loss;
recognize the need to support families of members of the Armed Forces throughout the United States; and
honor the courage of fathers who understand the true price of freedom and now face Father’s Day without their child or children: Now, therefore, be it
That Congress supports the designation of Gold Star Father’s Day
.