Gold Star Mothers Family Monument Extension Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2365) 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. 2365

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 Family Monument Extension Act''. SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMEMORATIVE WORK.

Notwithstanding section 8903(e) of title 40, United Sates 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, 2027. 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.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2365, introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Kim), would extend the authorization for the establishment of a commemorative work to Gold Star Mother Families until January 2, 2027.

The Gold Star Mothers Family National Monument would honor the mothers and families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service of our Nation.

The Gold Star is a widely recognized tradition that dates back to World War I when families would display service flags bearing a blue star for each family member serving abroad and a gold star for each family member who had been lost in combat.

Although this commemorative work was originally authorized in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2013, the authorization expired in January 2020. In November 2015, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved a location for the memorial on the National Park Service property west of the Arlington National Cemetery visitor center.

Following that approval, the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission has engaged in consultation with the Gold Star Mothers National Monument Foundation regarding the memorial's design.

This bill would build on these efforts by extending the authorization needed to establish the monument. While we can never truly repay the debt that America owes to our Gold Star Mothers and their families, H.R. 2365 would bring us closer toward fully honoring the sacrifices that they have made.

I would like to thank Representative Kim for introducing this important legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and the Gold Star families, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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