[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 15, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SUPPORT THE MISSING SERVICE PERSONNEL ACT OF 1995

  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Missing Service 
Personnel Act of 1995 to ensure fairness in resolving any further 
questions about our missing armed service personnel.
  Currently, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Defense relies on outdated 
legislation and guidelines which have not been changed over the past 50 
years in designating those who are missing in action and/or declared 
dead. As a result, those who are missing are declared dead when there 
is still a possibility that they could still be alive.
  The purpose of the Missing Service Personnel Act is to make certain 
that any members of the Armed Forces, any civilian officers or any 
employee serving with or accompanying an Armed Force in a field under 
orders will be fully accounted for by the Federal Government and may 
not be declared dead solely because of the passage of time.
  Accordingly, I am urging my colleagues to strongly support this 
legislation. It is the very least we could do to both assist the family 
members who painfully and frustratingly seek the truth about their 
loved ones and for those who have chosen to serve and fight for our 
Nation.


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