Gold Star Mothers Families National Monument Extension Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2819) to extend the authority for the establishment of a commemorative work in honor of Gold Star Families, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2819
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Gold Star Mothers Families National Monument Extension Act''. SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMEMORATIVE WORK.
Notwithstanding section 8903(e) of title 40, United States Code, the authority provided by section 2859 of the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (division B of Public Law 112-239; 126 Stat. 2164; 40 U.S.C. 8903 note) shall continue to apply through January 2, 2024. SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 2819, introduced by Representative Kim, would extend the authorization for the establishment of the commemorative work to Gold Star Families until 2024.
I thank my freshman colleague, Representative Kim, for bringing forward this critically important bill and for his leadership in the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Small Business.
The Gold Star Families National Monument would honor the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifices for our country. This commemorative work was initially authorized in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, but the authorization expired in January 2020.
Madam Speaker, the Gold Star is a widely recognized tradition that dates back to World War I, when families displayed service flags bearing a blue star for each family member serving in combat. If a relative was lost in combat, the star's color would be changed to gold.
In November 2015, the Commission of Fine Arts approved a location for the memorial on National Park Service property immediately west of the Arlington National Cemetery visitor center. Since then, the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission has consulted with the Gold Star Mothers National Monument Foundation on design concepts for the memorial.
While we can never repay the debt that we owe our Nation's Gold Star families, extending the authorization for this memorial helps take a step toward fully honoring the sacrifices they have made, which is why this bill is so important and why I would like to, again, thank Representative Kim for his leadership in introducing it.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Kim).
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. I thank Representative Kim and Representative Ratcliffe for bringing the bill forward.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
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