[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 153 (Tuesday, October 28, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9971-H9972]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DO RIGHT BY OUR MILITARY FAMILIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday was the bloodiest day in Iraq 
since our forces took control of the country. These latest deaths of 
humanitarian relief workers, Iraqi police and another American 
serviceman illustrate the extreme dangers that continue to confront our 
military and the civilian population in Iraq.
  When the President commands and Congress authorizes to send our sons 
and daughters, fathers and mothers into harm's way, then we have a 
special duty to take care of the families and the survivors of those 
servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives.
  This is why, Mr. Speaker, I strongly support increasing the military 
death gratuity to $12,000, restoring its tax exempt status and 
providing these funds to the families and the survivors of those Armed 
Forces personnel who have perished on or following September 11, 2001. 
I am very pleased that the House will vote on this urgent matter 
tomorrow.
  As of this morning, 350 American military personnel have lost their 
lives in Iraq. At least 67 others have perished in Operation Enduring 
Freedom, mainly in Afghanistan. Among those who have fallen are nine 
men from Massachusetts, including Marine Captain Benjamin W. Sammis, 
age 29, from the town of Rehobeth in my own Congressional District. 
They range in age from 20 to 40. They served in the Army, the Marines 
and in the Army National Guard. They were privates, specialists, 
sergeants, lieutenants and captains, and they lost their lives in 
Afghanistan, the Philippines and Iraq.
  Every day we awake to news of yet another American who has paid the 
ultimate sacrifice for service to our country. At such times, it 
matters not at all whether you are liberal or conservative, Republican 
or Democrat. In the face of such loss, we are united in sorrow and in 
our common need to express our respect and condolences to the families 
and loved ones of that soldier, sailor, airman or marine.
  We are also united in wanting to ensure that the surviving family's 
most pressing needs are provided for. Currently these families receive 
only $6,000 as a death benefit, and half of that is subject to tax. Mr. 
Speaker, that is simply wrong.
  On September 5, I introduced H.R. 3019, to increase the military 
death gratuity to $12,000, exempt it from taxes and make it retroactive 
to September 11, 2001. My colleague the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Renzi) recently introduced nearly identical legislation, H.R. 3566, and 
it is his bill that the Republican leadership will move to the floor 
tomorrow.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a cosponsor of his bill, and the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) and others will be speaking about it 
later this evening. I am pleased that the House leadership has turned 
its attention to this matter, and I urge all my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle to vote in favor of H.R. 3566 tomorrow.
  Mr. Speaker, it is no secret to the Members of this House that the 
current military death gratuity needs to be fixed. Historically, the 
death gratuity has been tax exempt. But when Congress last increased 
the death benefit to $6,000, half of this amount became subject to 
taxation. On several occasions Congress has attempted to rectify this 
mistake by passing the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act. Unfortunately, 
that bill remains stalled at the Speaker's desk.
  While efforts are underway in the defense authorizations conference 
to double the death benefit and make it retroactive to September 11, 
2001, only passage of H.R. 3566 can remedy the unfair tax burden on our 
military families.
  Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the House will do the right thing by our 
military families and pass H.R. 3566. I would urge the House majority 
leadership to ensure that the other body also approves the bill and 
sends it to the President before Congress adjourns. Only if this bill 
becomes law can we guarantee that grieving families are not burdened 
with an unexpected tax bill.
  But, Mr. Speaker, that is not enough. I also call on the House 
Republican leadership to act now to ensure the Armed Forces Tax 
Fairness Act be sent to the President so that other tax incentives that 
benefit our uniformed men and women, especially our Guard and Reserves, 
may go into effect.
  It is astonishing to me that this Congress can provide billions of 
dollars in tax relief to the wealthiest in our society, but it fails to 
move this modest set of tax incentives for the men and women who put 
their lives on the line every single day in defense of freedom. So 
while I am glad that tomorrow we will do something positive, we still 
have much more to do before the actions of this Congress match its 
rhetoric.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the record the names of the Massachusetts 
military personnel who have fallen in combat since September 11, 2001.

  Members of U.S. Armed Forces From Massachusetts Killed in Action or 
     Died While on Active Duty, September 11, 2001 to Current Date

       (Information may be partial or incomplete.)
       (Sources: CNN ``Forces: U.S. and Coalition Casualties'' and 
     Central Command Public Affairs Office/U.S. Department of 
     Defense)
       (1) Staff Sergeant Joseph P. Bellavia, Age: 28, Unit: 716th 
     Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade, 
     XVIII Airborne Corps, U.S. Army, Hometown: Wakefield, MA, 
     Date and Place of Death: October 16, 2003 in Karbala, Iraq.
       (2) Specialist Mathew G. Boule, Age: 22, Unit: 2nd 
     Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, U.S. 
     Army, Hometown: Dracut, MA, Date and Place of Death: April 2, 
     2003 in central Iraq.
       (3) Staff Sergeant Joseph Camara, Age: 40, Unit: 115th 
     Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Hometown: New 
     Bedford, MA, Date and Place of Death: May 21, 2003 in an area 
     south of Baghdad, Iraq.

[[Page H9972]]

       (4) Sergeant Justin W. Garvey, Age: 21, Unit: 1st 
     Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 101st 
     Airborne Division, U.S. Army, Hometown: Townsend, MA, Date 
     and Place of Death: July 20, 2003 in Tallifar, Iraq.
       (5) Private First Class John D. Hart, Age: 20, Unit: 1st 
     Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, 
     U.S. Army, Hometown: Bedford, MA, Date and Place of Death: 
     October 18, 2003 in Taza, Iraq.
       (6) 1st Lieutenant Brian M. McPhillips, Age: 25, Unit: 2nd 
     Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, U.S. Marines, Hometown: 
     Pembroke, MA, Date and Place of Death: July 27, 2003 in 
     central Iraq.
       (7) Captain Benjamin W. Sammis, Age: 29, Unit: Marine 
     Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, U.S. Marines, 
     Hometown: Rehobeth, MA, Date and Place of Death: April 4, 
     2003 in Ali Aziziyal, Iraq.
       (8) Sergeant First Class Daniel H. Petithory, Age: 32, 
     Unit: U.S. Army, Hometown: Cheshire, MA, Date and Place of 
     Death: December 5, 2001 in Afghanistan.
       (9) Staff Sergeant Bruce A. Rushforth, Jr., Age: 35, Unit: 
     U.S. Army, Hometown: Middleboro, MA, Date and Place of Death: 
     February 21, 2002 in the Philippines.

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