[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H3208-H3211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RESPECT FOR AMERICA'S FALLEN HEROES ACT

  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the 
Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 5037) to amend titles 38 and 18, 
United States Code, to prohibit certain demonstrations at cemeteries 
under the control of the National Cemetery Administration and at 
Arlington National Cemetery, and for other purposes.

[[Page H3209]]

  The Clerk read as follows:

       Senate amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Respect for America's Fallen 
     Heroes Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN DEMONSTRATIONS AT CEMETERIES 
                   UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE NATIONAL CEMETERY 
                   ADMINISTRATION AND AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL 
                   CEMETERY.

       (a) Prohibition.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 24 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 2413. Prohibition on certain demonstrations at 
       cemeteries under control of the National Cemetery 
       Administration and at Arlington National Cemetery

       ``(a) Prohibition.--No person may carry out--
       ``(1) a demonstration on the property of a cemetery under 
     the control of the National Cemetery Administration or on the 
     property of Arlington National Cemetery unless the 
     demonstration has been approved by the cemetery 
     superintendent or the director of the property on which the 
     cemetery is located; or
       ``(2) with respect to such a cemetery, a demonstration 
     during the period beginning 60 minutes before and ending 60 
     minutes after a funeral, memorial service, or ceremony is 
     held, any part of which demonstration--
       ``(A)(i) takes place within 150 feet of a road, pathway, or 
     other route of ingress to or egress from such cemetery 
     property; and
       ``(ii) includes, as part of such demonstration, any 
     individual willfully making or assisting in the making of any 
     noise or diversion that disturbs or tends to disturb the 
     peace or good order of the funeral, memorial service, or 
     ceremony; or
       ``(B) is within 300 feet of such cemetery and impedes the 
     access to or egress from such cemetery.
       ``(b) Demonstration.--For purposes of this section, the 
     term `demonstration' includes the following:
       ``(1) Any picketing or similar conduct.
       ``(2) Any oration, speech, use of sound amplification 
     equipment or device, or similar conduct that is not part of a 
     funeral, memorial service, or ceremony.
       ``(3) The display of any placard, banner, flag, or similar 
     device, unless such a display is part of a funeral, memorial 
     service, or ceremony.
       ``(4) The distribution of any handbill, pamphlet, leaflet, 
     or other written or printed matter other than a program 
     distributed as part of a funeral, memorial service, or 
     ceremony.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new item:

``2413. Prohibition on certain demonstrations at cemeteries under 
              control of National Cemetery Administration and at 
              Arlington National Cemetery.''.

       (b) Construction.--Nothing in section 2413 of title 38, 
     United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), shall be 
     construed as limiting the authority of the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs, with respect to property under control of 
     the National Cemetery Administration, or the Secretary of the 
     Army, with respect to Arlington National Cemetery, to issue 
     or enforce regulations that prohibit or restrict conduct that 
     is not specifically covered by section 2413 of such title (as 
     so added).

     SEC. 3. PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF PROHIBITION ON UNAPPROVED 
                   DEMONSTRATIONS AT CEMETERIES UNDER THE CONTROL 
                   OF THE NATIONAL CEMETERY ADMINISTRATION AND AT 
                   ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY.

       (a) Penalty.--Chapter 67 of title 18, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

     ``Sec. 1387. Demonstrations at cemeteries under the control 
       of the National Cemetery Administration and at Arlington 
       National Cemetery

       ``Whoever violates section 2413 of title 38 shall be fined 
     under this title, imprisoned for not more than one year, or 
     both.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new item:

``1387. Demonstrations at cemeteries under the control of the National 
              Cemetery Administration and at Arlington National 
              Cemetery.''.

     SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STATE RESTRICTION OF 
                   DEMONSTRATIONS NEAR MILITARY FUNERALS.

       It is the sense of Congress that each State should enact 
     legislation to restrict demonstrations near any military 
     funeral.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Buyer) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening in great anticipation that we will 
pass H.R. 5037, as amended, and send the Respect for America's Fallen 
Heroes Act to the President for his signature by Memorial Day.
  Each family of the United States military now attends to their loved 
ones funeral with a wrenching worry that it will be met possibly with a 
protest or a demonstration. With the approach of our Nation's annual 
day of remembrance, it is altogether fitting that we approve this bill 
to protect the sanctity of our military funerals at our national 
cemeteries and Arlington National Cemetery.
  H.R. 5037, as amended, reflects a compromise agreement with the 
Senate that would prohibit demonstrations taking place within 150 feet 
of a road, pathway or other routes of ingress or egress from the 
national cemeteries and Arlington National Cemetery 60 minutes before 
and 60 minutes after the military funeral.
  On May 9 the House voted 408-3 to pass H.R. 5037, thus demonstrating 
overwhelming bipartisan support for protecting military funerals. This 
bill does not unconstitutionally draw distinctions on what 
demonstrations are and are not allowed based on the content of the 
speech. It would not interfere with the VA Secretary's existing ability 
to regulate on VA property other conduct that is not specifically 
referenced in this legislation.
  Penalties associated with the violations of this legislation are fair 
and proportionate. A violation would be a class A misdemeanor under 
title 18 of the United States Code and result in fines of up to 
$100,000 and imprisonment of not more than one year or both. The 
penalty balances proportionality with the need for deterrence that has 
been demonstrated in outrageous disruptions that we as a Nation can no 
longer tolerate.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to first of all thank our chairman, Mr. 
Buyer, as well as Senator Craig and Senator Akaka for their speedy work 
in finalizing this legislation before the Memorial Day recess. I would 
also like to thank my good friend and colleague, Mr. Rogers, for co-
sponsoring this legislation and being a really moving force behind this 
effort.
  Mr. Speaker, as we gather to mourn our honored dead, passage of H.R. 
5037, the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, will send a clear 
message to those who have lost a loved one in service to our Nation 
that their right to grieve in peace will be respected.
  Organized protests have disrupted the sanctity of funerals conducted 
throughout the United States for our military men and women killed 
while serving in our current military operations in Iraq and 
Afghanistan. Servicemembers who have made the ultimate sacrifice 
deserve to be buried with honor and dignity. The families of these 
courageous men and women deserve funerals that allow them to say 
goodbye to their loved ones and to mourn their loss in peace.
  H.R. 5037 is narrowly tailored to protect military families at this 
sacred time from verbal attacks while also protecting our freedom of 
speech. Furthermore, provisions in this legislation are in line with 
judicial precedents specific to time, to place and manner of 
demonstrations.
  The Senate amendments to this bill limit the area in which 
demonstrations are restricted to within 150 feet of methods of ingress 
and egress from cemetery property or within 300 feet of such cemetery 
in a manner that impedes the access to or egress from the cemetery. The 
Senate version of the bill is more narrowly drafted to ensure free 
speech is protected, but it still fulfills the original intent of the 
House passed bill.
  In my congressional district of El Paso, Texas, our community has 
mourned the loss of 20 servicemembers who have given their lives while 
serving in our current missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a Vietnam 
combat veteran myself and member of the House Veterans' Affairs and 
House Armed Services Committees, I want to assure the families of our 
deceased servicemembers that this Congress will ensure our Nation's 
heroes are given the dignified burial that they deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, next Monday, our Nation will come together to remember 
and to honor our servicemembers who have made the ultimate sacrifice 
while in service to our country.
  I want to commend the House and the Senate leadership for moving this 
bipartisan legislation so quickly so that it can be signed into law 
before Memorial Day. I ask all of my colleagues to join us in honoring 
our fallen servicemembers by voting in favor of H.R. 5037.

[[Page H3210]]

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Rogers), a fellow comrade of mine, a former Army captain.
  Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend 
and colleague, a former veteran and great servant to his country, Mr. 
Reyes, for your help and your impetus and your leadership on this 
particular bill. We could not have done it without you and your 
leadership. Thank you, sir.
  To Chairman Buyer, thank you very much for your time and counsel and 
your hard work and dedicating your staff to making this happen here 
this evening.
  To Senators Frist and Craig, thank you very, very much for your quick 
action, your good work, your wise counsel and actually improving the 
bill a tad bit as they send it back to this Chamber.
  The majority leader and the Speaker deserve our thanks as well for 
understanding the importance of this. We do not do things fast around 
here, and I think our Founding Fathers thought this was a pretty good 
idea. But this is one that we came together on a bipartisan effort and 
realized this we must quickly rise up to stand with the families who 
are grieving with the loss of great American patriots.
  I just want to tell quickly, Mr. Speaker, the story of why this 
happened and why we got here, at least one example of many examples.
  I visited a young family down at Brook Army Medical Center in Texas. 
Three great American soldiers who were from Michigan, a National Guard 
unit, were attacked by an IED and were recovering from some very severe 
wounds. You go down and you get to meet their families, and they are 
bonding together to support their loved ones who are literally fighting 
for their lives every single day.
  Unfortunately, of course, at that time, SGT Joshua Youmans succumbed 
to his wounds and died. Prior to that, just a week before, after he had 
come back, he got to hold in his hands for the first time his daughter 
before he passed away. His wife was the most courageous woman I have 
ever met during that whole time. So we gather up to go to the 
celebration of the life of SGT Joshua Youmans, a time to celebrate his 
service, his sacrifice, the family's grieving, a community's thanks and 
appreciation for service given to their country.
  When you pull up, you see this pretty hateful stuff. On the outside 
of the church were protestors who were taunting and harassing the 
family, this young widow, her young daughter McKenzie, their family, 
trying to walk in and give some dignity and respect and celebration to 
a life of a great American who signed up on his own to defend this 
Nation because he believed and a family's celebration of their love for 
him and the joys that they experienced in his short time on this Earth.
  What a contrast it was. When she got up to give the eulogy for her 
husband, protesters outside yelling hateful chants, harassing, saying, 
``Thank God for the death of SGT Joshua Youmans,'' flags wrapped around 
their feet as they paraded and shouted.
  Through all of that, this very courageous woman who had just lost the 
love of her life gets up to eulogize her husband. One side of the 
church is packed with the National Guard unit, some of the toughest, 
greatest Americans you will ever have the privilege to meet. Without a 
dry eye in the house, she proceeded to tell of her love for her husband 
and how proud she was that she was an Army wife and how she could not 
wait to look in the eyes of her daughter and tell her about the great 
patriot, a great American, a great hero, her father, the one she would 
never get to know.
  We knew that day that we must do better by those families. They 
deserve the right to bury their loved ones in peace and with dignity. 
This is really America's time to stand up and say to every member of 
the United States military, to every family who worries every single 
day, this is America's time to put their arms around those families and 
protect them and give them the right that they deserve to peacefully 
and with dignity pay their last respects to great American heroes.
  I want to thank all of the folks who have worked so hard on this, 
even my staff member Andy Keiser, who dedicated an immense amount of 
time to make this happen. This happens shortly before Monday. What 
Monday is, is that day where we stand up and say, we remember and we 
are thankful for all the sacrifices for all of those who came before us 
to make this country great and have given their lives in defense of our 
Nation.
  This bill is important for so many reasons. It protects the families 
here. It certainly protects the first amendment here as well. But it 
also sends a very clear signal to the men and women risking their lives 
today that we will not forsake you. We will stand by you. And we will 
give you your last rights, God forbid it should happen. And we will 
stand with the families of America who have lost so much and deserve 
our love, our respect and America's dignity.
  Thank you all for participating in this. And again, I just want to 
thank you, Mr. Reyes, for your hard work, your dedication and your 
passion for this issue and your passion for America's soldiers. Thanks 
for doing it.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we have had regrettably over 2,400 causalities; 2,400-
plus stories like the one my colleague from Michigan just related; over 
2,400 courageous stories of Americans that have paid the ultimate 
sacrifice so that people can have the right to freedom of speech.
  It is very ironic that we have to pass this kind of legislation. But 
it is also very necessary so that communities around our great Nation 
can mourn their dead.

                              {time}  2130

  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Baca), who has been a true leader on veterans issues and especially 
from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of H.R. 5037.
  First of all, I want to thank the chairman, Mr. Buyer, for his 
support and his leadership and his vision in protecting and speaking on 
behalf of our veterans. I think it is important that we have someone 
who has served in the military who will stand up for a lot of our 
veterans. As you see in Congress today, we do not have a lot of 
individuals who have served in the military or are willing to stand up 
with it.
  The other individual I would like to thank is Sylvestre Reyes, 
because he truly has served as a veteran, has served in the committee 
and stands up for important legislation that talks about the Fallen 
Heroes Act. Right now, that is important for a lot of us.
  I want to thank both of you for standing up and your leadership on 
behalf of all veterans of America, because we owe it to our veterans.
  Many of our veterans who serve our country serve with honor and 
dignity. They believe in this country. They believe in standing up for 
the freedoms we enjoy today. A lot of them do not know what is going to 
happen to them, but they serve with honor and dignity because they 
believe in the freedoms that we enjoy today and the freedoms that we 
will enjoy tomorrow.
  But if a fallen hero falls, we have the responsibility as Americans 
to make sure that we protect them and that they have the right to bury 
their families with honor and with dignity. As Americans, we have that 
responsibility because, ultimately, they give the sacrifice for us so 
that we can enjoy those freedoms, those freedoms that we take for 
granted every day of our life, whether to buy a home, go to school, go 
to college, enjoy the freedom of speech, enjoy whatever we need. We 
have the same responsibility to those individuals who have fallen.
  To the parents and the relatives, to a wife or anyone else who is 
there, I think this bill is the right thing to do because we need to 
respect with honor and dignity those who are willing to sacrifice for 
us. Too often, we forget.
  As we look at the flag right behind you, Mr. Speaker, it is a flag 
that we honor. It is a flag that many individuals have stood for. It is 
our veterans who have done that, and when they receive that flag, and 
many of them receive that flag, it should be done with honor and 
dignity, without any disruption of anyone picketing, and too often we 
forget that.

[[Page H3211]]

  Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of this important legislation on 
behalf of all veterans who are willing to serve now and will serve us 
in the future. We owe it to them, and I appreciate what Mr. Reyes has 
done and Mr. Buyer has done.
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any additional requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 5037, as amended, is well-considered legislation that carefully 
follows the United States Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit Court 
of Appeals precedents.
  We have worked also cooperatively with the White House on this bill, 
and I would like to specifically thank Alex Mistri for his hard work. I 
thank the chief sponsors of the bill, Mr. Rogers of Michigan and 
Sylvestre Reyes of Texas, my comrade in arms, and Joe Baca, a veteran, 
Jeff Miller of Florida, as well as our colleagues in the United States 
Senate, namely, Senators Graham and Chambliss, Senator Frist, Senator 
Vitter, Jim Inhofe, Larry Craig, the ranking member Daniel Akaka, for 
working with all of us to ensure that families contending with this 
most painful of tragedies does not face the sights and sounds of 
hateful disruption.
  I also want to take this moment to thank Chairman James Sensenbrenner 
and the ranking member, John Conyers, of the House Judiciary Committee 
and Chairman Steve Chabot and Ranking Member Jerry Nadler on the 
Subcommittee on the Constitution for their cooperation and assistance 
on the bill's drafting and the constitutional considerations.
  I agree with the comment earlier of Mr. Rogers of Michigan that the 
Founders created this bicameral legislature to make things very 
difficult and challenging. When you look back, the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs, we conducted our hearing back on April 6. We brought 
this legislation, after careful consideration, to the floor on May 9. 
It was sent over to the Senate. They worked their magic. They improved 
the bill. We bring it back and adopt it; and, hopefully, the President 
signs this into law Memorial Day. That is good work. That is the 
bipartisan cooperation that we have, and it is necessary to move 
veterans legislation.
  I also want to take this moment to thank the National Commander Jeff 
Brown of the Patriot Guard Riders. These are individuals that saw an 
injustice and said that we will not permit people to dance on sacred 
ground and we will not wait for the government to act. We will defend 
these families and set the standards of dignity in our country with 
regard to military funerals.
  I thank them. They have over 33,000 riders on motorcycles. When one 
of our soldiers falls, they grab the guidon and the American flag and 
they take on a mission, and the mission is to protect these military 
families.
  Well, it is also now our responsibility to help these Patriot Riders 
to set forth a law so that they will not interfere with our VA national 
cemeteries and Arlington National Cemetery. This is the right thing to 
do.
  So I ask my colleagues to support this legislation to preserve the 
sanctity of our patriots' funerals at our national cemeteries and 
Arlington and to ensure that the only sound echoing over a grieving 
family are the bugler's notes, calling upon us to remember a life well-
lived and a Nation well-served.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Price of Georgia). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) that the 
House suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, 
H.R. 5037.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and Senate amendment was concurred 
in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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