Congressional Record, Volume 147 Issue 171 (Tuesday, December 11, 2001)

[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 171 (Tuesday, December 11, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H9192-H9193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

COMMUNITY RECOGNITION ACT OF 2001

The Clerk called the bill (H.R. 1022) to amend title 4, United States
Code, to make sure the rules of etiquette for flying the flag of the
United States do not preclude the flying of flags at half mast when
ordered by city and local officials.
The Clerk read the bill, as follows:

H.R. 1022

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 ``Community Recognition Act of
2001''.

SEC. 2. FLAG CODE AMENDMENT.

Section 7(m) of title 4, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after the sentence beginning ``In the event of the
death of a present or former official of the government of
any State'' the following: ``In the event of the death of a
present or former official of any city or locality, the chief
elected official of that locality may proclaim that the
National flag shall be flown at half staff.''.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered
read for amendment.

Committee Amendment

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment
recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary.
The Clerk read as follows:

Committee Amendment:
Page 2 line 9 insert ``other.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms.
Jackson-Lee) will each control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Sensenbrenner).

General Leave

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1022, the bill
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Wisconsin?
There was no objection.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1022, which amends the flag
code to make sure that the rules of etiquette for flying the flag of
the United States do not preclude the flying of flags at half mast when
ordered by city and local officials. This is an omission in the current
flag code.
On June 28, 2001, the Corrections Day Advisory Group met and
recommended that H.R. 1022 be placed upon the Corrections Calendar and
the Judiciary Committee passed it by voice vote on November 15.
Unfortunately, as of late, we have had increased occasion to visit
the rules and etiquette in place for the honoring of public servants.
Although at the time which Mr. Doolittle of California introduced H.R.
1022 the calamity of September 11 was far off, the content of this
legislation rings more loudly after the events of that day, and affords
Congress an opportunity to visit the laws involving recognition of
those who provide public service to us all.
Currently, under the Flag Code, authority is granted only to the
President of the United States or the Governor of any State, territory,
or possession to order that the national flag be flown at half staff in
recognition of the death of a current or former official of the
government, including public safety officers.
Under this existing law, in the event of the death of a local
official who is chosen to be honored by having the national flag
lowered, direct permission must be sought by local officials from
either the President or their Governor. The result of the current
practice is a chain of communication which is not always timely and can
result in the missed opportunity to honor some of these deceased public
servants.
By passing H.R. 1022 today, we can solve this problem by granting
authority directly to the locally elected leaders to call for and
approve such recognition. Immediate authorization will be granted at
the local level, ensuring that no local hero passes without the
community support and recognition which he or she deserves. I urge all
Members to support H.R. 1022.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, H.R. 1022, and I
am delighted that the Committee on the Judiciary has taken this
legislation up to ensure a correction.
I do not believe particularly that we need this legislation, but I do
think it is important to correct and to resolve the concerns of some
local leaders who are under the mistaken impression that they cannot
now fly the flag of the United States at half-staff to honor the
passing of a local official.
In fact, as the Supreme Court has ruled on several occasions,
Congress does not have the power to prohibit any expression using the
flag. The Court has gone so far as to strike down laws prohibiting the
burning of the flag as a sign of disrespect. Certainly, if that is the
case, then a local government may honor a local official, which is
certainly an appropriate and uplifting use of the flag, who has served
his or her community by flying the flag at half-staff. We hope they
will do so.
Nonetheless, title IV of the United States Code does provide rules
for flag etiquette. While those rules have no force of law, they do
provide a guide for those seeking to display the flag in accordance
with the accepted rules of conduct.
In fact, I commend those rules to my colleagues. I think some may be
surprised to learn that using the flag on advertising and others
matters common to political campaigns are also technically prohibited
by Federal law. Although local officials are not now prohibited from
using the flag to honor a deceased local official, it will certainly do
no harm to make clear that there is no reason why my colleagues should
not support it. I would commend that to the local officials.
I hope that since we have obviously found time to pass laws
permitting that which should already be permitted, perhaps we will also
in the future be able to tackle some of our vital issues dealing with,
of course, INS reform and other issues that I think are extremely
important.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, not because there
is any great need for

[[Page H9193]]

it, but because it will resolve the concerns of some local leaders who
are under the mistakened impression that they cannot now fly the flag
of the United States at half staff to honor the passing of a local
official.
In fact, as the Supreme Court has ruled on several occasions,
Congress does not have the power to prohibit any expression using the
flag. The Court has gone so far as to strike down laws prohibiting the
burning of the flag as a sign of disrespect. Certainly, if that is the
case, then a local government may honor a local official who has served
his or her community by flying the flag at half staff.
Nonetheless, title 4 of the United States Code does provide rules for
flag etiquette. While these rules have no force of law, they do provide
a guide for those seeking to display the flag in according to accepted
rules of conduct. In fact, I commend those rules to my colleagues. I
think that some of you may be surprised to learn that using the flag on
advertising and in other manners common to political campaigns are also
technically prohibited by federal law. Although local officials are not
now prohibited from using the flag to honor a deceased local official
it will certainly do no harm to make that clear, and there is no reason
why my colleagues should not support it.
I hope that, since we have obviously found time to pass a law
permitting that which is already permitted, perhaps we can next tackle
some of the even more pressing issues affecting our constituents and
their communities: providing health insurance for working families,
extending unemployment insurance for the victims of this current
recession, and creating new jobs at living wages so that working
families can have the dignity of work without seeing their children
grow up in poverty as is too often the case these days.
I am pleased to join in voting for this measure.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Chairman Sensenbrenner and
Ranking Member Conyers.
I rise in support of H.R. 1022, which simply authorizes the chief
elected official of a locality, in the event of the death of a present
or former official of that locality, to proclaim that the national flag
shall be flown at half staff. This bill amends Title 4, United States
Code, ensuring that the important rules of etiquette for flying the
flag of the United States do not preclude the flying of flags at half
mast when ordered by city and local officials.
This Section currently gives such explicit authority only to the
President or, for certain purposes, the Governor of the state. This
language is unnecessary and technically confusing because the
subsection also reads in part that the flag may be flown at half staff
``in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent
with law.''
The U.S. Supreme Court has, on two occasions, held that display of
the flag, or the burning of the flag, are forms of expression protected
by the First Amendment to the Constitution. As such, laws that mandate
appropriate flag etiquette are unenforceable.
This bill simply clarifies that there should be no such interference
in such instances.
I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1022,
the Community Recognition Act of 2001.
As chairman of the Speaker's advisory group on corrections, it was my
pleasure to work with Congressman Doolittle, the members of the
corrections day advisory group and the Judiciary Committee to expedite
consideration of this legislation.
On June 28th, Mr. Doolittle brought H.R. 1022 before the Speaker's
advisory group, where it received unanimous support. In order for a
bill to be placed on the Corrections Calendar it must be recommended by
the advisory group and favorably reported from the committee of
jurisdiction.
I am proud that we are able to highlight the Community Recognition
Act today by using the Corrections Calendar. This is truly a technical
correction and is fitting for consideration on the Corrections
Calendar.
H.R. 1022 amends the U.S. Code, regarding rules of etiquette for
flying the flag. Current law only grants the authority to order that
the flag be flown at half mast to the President and State Governors. In
the event of the death of a current or former local official, many
communities want the flag to be lowered as a way to pay tribute to
those who so honorably served. However, it can often prove difficult to
obtain proper authority in the timely manner needed.
This oversight in the U.S. Code has prevented communities across
America from the right to honor their fellow citizens without having to
receive the express and time consuming permission of either the
President or their Governor. I urge my colleagues to join with me today
to correct this burdensome requirement.
The Corrections Calendar was created to fix small technical
corrections, such as this. I would like to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner
for moving this bill through the committee and Congressman Doolittle
for introducing the legislation and for utilizing the Corrections
Calendar.
Mr. Speaker, this is a straightforward, bipartisan bill that
``corrects'' an inefficient and burdensome law. I urge my colleagues to
support the bill.
Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the last duty
performed to honor a local hero should not be thwarted by a technical
flaw in the law. Let me explain. The Federal Flag Code provides
guidelines for the display of the U.S. flag, but grants only the
president and governors the authority to fly the flag at half-mast.
While this code does not expressly outlaw local government officials
from lowering the flag to half-staff, it does not expressly permit it.
This technicality has upset local officials across the country who
believe that communities should have the right to honor their fellow
citizens without permission from their respective governors or the
President of the United States.
This quirk in the Federal Flag Code came to my attention when my
friend and constituent, former Mayor George Magnuson of Rocklin,
California sought to honor his friend and fellow volunteer firefighter,
Cliff Graves, who died in the line of duty. Shortly after speaking to
Mayor Magnuson I realized that this needless hurdle had to be
corrected. That prompted me to introduce H.R. 1022, The ``Community
Recognition Act.'' This simple, yet important, legislation authorizes
the chief elected official of a locality, in the event of a death of a
present or former official of that locality, to proclaim that the
national flag be flown at half staff.
Mr. Speaker, at the time I introduced H.R. 1022, the tragedy of
September 11th was unfathomable. But, in light of the thousands of men
and women who perished in those barbaric attacks now more than ever
this simple correction needs to be made so they can be mourned in an
appropriate fashion without undue delay.
I thank the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Mr.
Sensenbrenner, for shepherding H.R. 1022 through his committee in an
expeditious manner, and I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support
H.R. 1022, and I yield back the balance of my time.

{time} 2215

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). Pursuant the rule, the previous
question is ordered on the amendment recommended by the Committee on
the Judiciary and on the bill.
The question is on the committee amendment.
The committee amendment was agreed to.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third
reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, three-fifths of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.

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