Sfc Sean Cooley and Spc Christopher Horton Congressional Gold Star Family Fellowship Program Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 107) establishing the Congressional Gold Star Family Fellowship Program for the placement in offices of Members of the House of Representatives of children, spouses, and siblings of members of the Armed Forces who are hostile casualties or who have died from a training-related injury, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 107
Resolved, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ``SFC Sean Cooley and SPC Christopher Horton Congressional Gold Star Family Fellowship Program Act''. SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD STAR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the House of Representatives the Congressional Gold Star Family Fellowship Program (hereafter in this resolution referred to as the ``Program'') under which, under the direction of the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, an eligible individual may serve a 12-month fellowship in the office of a Member of the House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress).
(b) Exclusion of Appointees for Purposes of Limit on Number of Employees in Member Offices.--Any individual serving a fellowship under the Program in the office of a Member shall not be included in the determination of the number of employees employed by the Member under section 104(a) of the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act (2 U.S.C. 5321(a)).
(c) Placement in Member Offices in District of Columbia or Congressional District of Member.--An individual may serve a fellowship under the Program at the Member's office in the District of Columbia or the Member's office in the congressional district the Member represents.
(d) Eligible Individual Defined.--In this section, the term ``eligible individual'' means the child (including a stepchild), spouse, or sibling of--
(1) a person who dies in the line of duty while serving as a member of the Armed Forces (including the reserve components and the National Guard), regardless of the duty status of the member while serving, unless such death was the result of the willful misconduct of the member; or
(2) a veteran who dies from a service-connected disability (as defined in section 101 of title 38, United States Code) during the 4-year period beginning on the date of the last discharge or release of the veteran from the Armed Forces.
(e) Regulations.--The Program shall be carried out in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Committee on House Administration.
This resolution establishes the Congressional Gold Star Family Fellowship Program, which will provide fellowships in congressional offices for immediate family members of the Armed Forces who have given their lives in service to this country.
Members of the Armed Forces do not serve by themselves. They are supported by children, spouses, siblings, and others who often go months or longer without seeing their loved one while that loved one is deployed.
It is incumbent on all Americans, but particularly those of us who have the privilege of serving in Congress, to support military families, and none more so than our Gold Star families.
Gold Star families have experienced the worst type of heartbreak, sacrifice, and loss, and they deserve our unwavering recognition, compassion, and support. The Congressional Gold Star Family Fellowship Program is one small way for us in Congress to provide that support.
This program will offer an opportunity for members of Gold Star families to gain firsthand experience in Congress through a yearlong fellowship in a congressional office. These fellowships can take place either here in Washington or back home in a district office and will allow Gold Star families to both participate in and learn about the democracy their loved one gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect.
Nothing can ever fill the void left by the loss of a loved one who was killed serving the Nation, but we in Congress should be doing everything we can to help lift up those who have suffered this unfathomable loss.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support the establishment of this program. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairperson Lofgren for, again, working with me on this issue--it is such a very important piece of legislation--because I am proud to rise with her today in support of H. Res. 107, the SFC Sean Cooley and SPC Christopher Horton Congressional Gold Star Family Fellowship Program Act.
Since being elected to Congress in 2013, my team has worked over 1,000 cases on behalf of veteran constituents in central-southwestern Illinois, including when the USS John McCain collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Singapore in 2017, killing 10 sailors, including Petty Officer Logan Palmer from my district. My office was able to help this Gold Star family navigate the confusing Department of Defense policies relating to next-of-kin travel for noncombat-related deaths and other important procedures that follow a tragedy like this.
Over the years since that tragedy, I have become friends with Petty Officer Palmer's parents, Theresa and Sid, and deeply value our friendship, which is one of the reasons why I am so honored to be on the floor advocating for the passage of this bill.
I have also worked to change the next-of-kin family travel policies at the DOD and am currently working in a bipartisan way with Members across the aisle to codify those changes that are already in existence. Let's codify them into law so they don't change again when administrations change.
I will continue to use my office to assist those who have given so much. That is why I believe in this program that will allow Gold Star spouses, children, and siblings the opportunity to work for a congressional office in D.C. or a district office.
We already have a model for success in Congress to shape this program after. It is the Wounded Warrior Fellowship Program that lies within the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer and has provided many opportunities over the years for veterans to serve in the House of Representatives.
Currently, there is a Wounded Warrior fellow who works in my Maryville, Illinois, office, Peter Arsenault. He is doing a great job. Peter helps veterans in my district every day and understands the assistance and the help that they need to navigate the bureaucracy within the Federal Government.
Mr. Speaker, I do want to give a special thank-you and a shout-out to our colleague and my very good close friend, Trent Kelly, the gentleman from Mississippi, for his work on taking this fellowship program from an idea into a reality. Trent did everything to make sure that this became law, that this bill passed the House and made it on its way to become law.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank the Gold Star families for their participation in making this process a reality, too, and for those family members who could be here in the gallery to see this important program come to fruition.
Mr. Speaker, I am glad that the ranking member has mentioned the Wounded Warrior Program that, I believe, has been enormously successful.
Practically every week, I am signing little termination letters. And why? Because these wounded warriors have gotten jobs, promotions, permanent positions, exactly what we wanted.
So not only will this help the families, Gold Star families, gain insight into the workings of the United States Congress, but it will also be a platform for them to, if they wish, expand their employment opportunities, just as our Wounded Warrior Program has done so.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the author of the bill. I thank the ranking member for moving this forward. I am glad that this is bipartisan, as well the prior bill.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to take this opportunity to offer one of our great colleagues from the great State of Nebraska the opportunity to speak in favor--like Trent Kelly from Mississippi--one of the former generals, or current generals, who serves in our Nation's military, but whom we also have the great privilege of serving with here in this institution, General Don Bacon.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains. I am sure I talked longer than I thought.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois.
Mr. Speaker, again, this is one of those rare opportunities where we get to talk about our heroes.
The worst vote I think any of us would ever have to take is a vote to authorize to send young men and women off to war, off to battle, to protect the freedoms and the liberties that many of us in this country take for granted every single day. We expect freedom and liberty to exist in the United States of America, but it doesn't happen without the courage and the sacrifice of so many families throughout our Nation's history. I cannot imagine. I have never had the chance to take that vote in 6\1/2\ years, and I hope and pray every day that I don't personally ever have to take it. But many in this institution, who have been here and have served here, have had to make that vote.
I could not imagine what our Gold Star families go through when they get that knock on the door. But to know that the legacy of their young sons and daughters is going to live on in a fellowship program here in the United States House of Representatives--because General Trent Kelly and his team and an idea from his constituents is now moving forward in the next step to become law--that is one thing that we can do here in the House of Representatives to honor those families who have sacrificed so much.
We often imagine the future of what would have happened if these young men and women would have been able to come back home, families torn apart by tragedy at a time when their sacrifice gave us the freedoms and liberties that we enjoy being able to serve here.
We have an opportunity today to say thank you again. This is our opportunity to show those families that their sons and daughters perishing during battle, or noncombat-related deaths, like Petty Officer Logan Palmer from Harristown, Illinois, in my district, let's say thank you to them. Let's let their memory go on.
Let's let the next generation of people who, like Chairperson Lofgren and I, we started out as congressional staffers. Do you know what, I think both of us are here because of that experience. And to have this program, this Gold Star Fellowship Program, allow young men and women, who have been affected by so much, come into our institution, who knows, maybe they will be the next chairperson and ranking member of the House Administration Committee, and maybe their constituents, like General Kelly's constituents, will give them a great idea like this, and maybe they will be able to move it on the next step in becoming law.
Mr. Speaker, like Mr. Davis, I do believe that this fellowship will provide a rewarding experience for the families who decide to participate, whether it is in Washington, to participate and observe in the making of legislation, or whether it is in our district offices, going to bat for veterans, standing up for people who need help from a congressional office. It is very rewarding, but also very educational. And I know that it will be a rewarding experience for those families who participate.
I thank the author of the bill, Mr. Kelly, for his persistence in getting this done and making adjustments as input came in so that we can have consensus and proceed on this.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains?
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Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I think this has been an excellent debate highlighting the bipartisan support for this fellowship, a bipartisan gratitude to those who served and those who gave their lives for this country and for the families they left behind. There is no honor big enough that we could possibly give to them, but this fellowship is a token. It is a token that is important, and it is something that we have done in a bipartisan way.
Mr. Speaker, I hope that every Member of this body will be supportive of it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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