[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 31 (Thursday, February 16, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     MISSING SERVICE PERSONNEL ACT

                                 ______


                         HON. KAREN L. THURMAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 16, 1995
  Mrs. THURMAN. Mr. Speaker, because I proudly display a POW/MIA flag 
outside my office door, I am reminded on a daily basis of the 
importance and immediate need for the Missing Service Personnel Act. 
This bill is long overdue.
  This legislation will provide a procedure for handling the difficult 
question of how and when a member of the Armed Forces who is considered 
missing in action can be declared legally dead.
  Important provisions of this legislation include: bringing family 
members into the review process; giving families access to information 
gained during the investigation; and establishing a definite timeframe 
for the review process. Families will know what to expect from the 
process and would be spared years of waiting under this legislation.
  The evidence is clear that soldiers from past wars were declared dead 
when they were very much alive. This act will assure that our military 
personnel will be accounted for without question.
  There is strong bipartisan consensus in support of this bill. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues in assuring that this legislation 
quickly becomes law. Finally, the hard work of many fine people and 
veterans' groups have gone into creating this legislation. We should 
all be working for the welfare of the men and women in our armed 
services. By supporting this bill we are telling them that yes, the 
time has come to answer the tough questions that the families of 
missing members of the Armed Forces face every day.


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