| Norton Leads Delegates in Sending Letter Calling for Equal Respect for D.C., the Territories, and Their Service Members |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released the letter she and the other delegates sent to the House and Senate Armed Services committee chairs and ranking members, calling on them to include in the final fiscal year 2013 Defense Authorization bill a House-passed provision that would require the armed services to display the D.C. flag and the flags of the territories any time the flags of the 50 states are displayed, as negotiations begin on the final bill. Norton began this fight on Veterans Day by holding a press conference with Tomi Rucker, a D.C. resident and fire investigator, who wrote to Norton after attending her son’s graduation from boot camp at Naval Station Great Lakes. During the ceremony, each graduate’s state flag was raised to honor the graduate, but no flag was raised for her son, Seaman Jonathan Rucker. In the letter, Norton and the other delegates mentioned the possibility that some Senators had raised the cost of the flags as a reason for dropping the House provision last year. “Collectively, our constituents have served in every war this country has fought, beginning with the Revolutionary War, and our residents have suffered thousands of casualties on the battlefield while defending this country,” Norton and the other delegates wrote. “In the scope of the Pentagon’s budget, the cost of purchasing and displaying the flags would be de minimis, and our constituents’ contributions to the defense of this nation have been invaluable.” The full text of Norton’s letter is below. December 7, 2012 The Honorable Carl Levin The Honorable Buck McKeon Chairman Chairman U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services House Armed Services Committee
The Honorable John McCain The Honorable Adam Smith Ranking Member Ranking Member U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services House Armed Services Committee
Dear Chairmen Levin and McKeon and Ranking Members McCain and Smith: As you begin conference negotiations on the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (H.R. 4310), we urge you to adopt the provision in the House-passed bill that requires the armed services to display the flags of the District of Columbia and the territories whenever the flags of the 50 states are displayed. The absence of the D.C. and territorial flags at military ceremonies has proven profoundly disrespectful to our constituents, particularly our active duty military, veterans, and their families, who have contacted all of us about feelings of rejection, bordering on humiliation. Collectively, our constituents have served in every war this country has fought, beginning with the Revolutionary War, and our residents have suffered thousands of casualties on the battlefield while defending this country. We have all individually heard stories directly from our constituents about the deep disappointment they have felt when their home flags were excluded while others were being recognized in military ceremonies. We have searched but can find no reason why the committee should reject the House-passed provision. In the scope of the Pentagon’s budget, the cost of purchasing and displaying the flags would be de minimis, and our constituents’ contributions to the defense of this nation have been invaluable. Moreover, the Army already has an existing policy of displaying all flags, including the flags of the District of Columbia and the territories, and the Department of Defense recently issued a memorandum encouraging all the branches to display the flags of D.C. and the territories. We ask that you right this wrong and end the unintentional humiliation of our constituents. We therefore request that you include the House-passed provision in the final bill. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Eni F.H. Faleomavaega Eleanor Holmes Norton Donna M. Christensen Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan Pedro R. Pierluisi CC: Members of the Conference Committee Published: December 7, 2012 |
