[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 14, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H2544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RENAMING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, in 1947, when the National 
Security Act became law, Congress declared that the Department of 
Defense consists of four distinct military services, the Army, the Air 
Force, the Navy and the Marine Corps. But the act spells out the 
mission of today's Marine Corps and clearly indicates that the Corps is 
a legal distinct military service within the Department of Navy; that 
is, the Marine Corps and the Navy are coequal partners. The Marines do 
not serve beneath the Navy, they are a team. There is not a subordinate 
relationship between the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant 
of the Marine Corps. They are equal partners of the Joint Chiefs of 
Staff, and it is time the Department of Navy recognizes the equal 
status.
  Mr. Speaker, that is why I have again introduced legislation, H.R. 
346, to change the name of the Department of the Navy to the Department 
of Navy and Marine Corps. I am encouraged that this change has been 
included in the House defense authorization bill for the past several 
years, but it has not been accepted by the Senate.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the passage of this 
legislation, and I hope this year the House position will prevail in 
the Senate. This legislation is not about changing the responsibilities 
of the Secretary or reallocating resources, there is no cost to this 
change. Instead, it is about showing the Nation the true meaning of the 
department and recognizing the Marine Corps' extreme importance to our 
national security.
  When the President's top military adviser, General Peter Pace, is 
wearing the uniform of the Marine Corps, it is time to realize that 
change is long overdue. The Marines that are fighting today deserve 
this recognition. Sadly, in the past 4 years over 900 Marines have been 
killed while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. When the Department of 
the Navy writes the families of Marines who have been killed, their 
families deserve to receive that letter from the Department of the Navy 
and the Marine Corps.
  Mr. Speaker, I have on the floor this afternoon an enhancement of the 
orders for the Silver Star for Sergeant Michael Bitz of the United 
States Marine Corps who was killed in the Iraq war for freedom. He was 
cited with a Silver Star received by his family after his death. I 
brought this to the floor to emphatically show the difference of what 
it is today and what it should be tomorrow.
  The first poster is an enlargement of the actual orders from the 
Secretary of Navy. And you can see the Secretary of the Navy, 
Washington, D.C., with the zip code and the Navy flag. Again, this was 
a Marine who died for this country.
  If you look at the second poster that is beside me, you will see what 
it can be if this bill becomes law and is accepted by the Senate and 
sent to the President for signing. The order should be a flag, the Navy 
flag, the Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps with the Marine flag.
  Mr. Speaker, as I close, this is all about fairness and equality 
because there are four distinct services, the Army, the Navy, the 
Marine Corps and the Air Force. I think it is only right and befitting 
that two great services that have such a tradition and a heritage be 
treated as partners, and that is what this legislation does, the 
Department of Navy and Marine Corps.
  I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join us in this 
effort, and let's recognize two great services, the Navy and the Marine 
Corps, as partners and a team.
  With that, I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform and 
their families. And I ask God to please hold in His loving arms the 
families who have lost a loved one dying for this country. And I ask 
God to continue to bless America

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