[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H912-H914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1715
AMERICAN BRAILLE FLAG MEMORIAL ACT
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4169) to authorize the placement in Arlington National
Cemetery of an American Braille tactile flag in Arlington National
Cemetery honoring blind members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and
other Americans.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4169
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 ``American Braille Flag
Memorial Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) There are more than 175,000 blind veterans.
(2) The Department of Defense estimates that 16 percent of
the members of the Armed Forces who have been injured in
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom have
severe vision loss as a result of their injuries.
(3) The American Braille tactile flag was created by the
Kansas Braille Transcription Institute in Wichita, Kansas, to
allow blind Americans and blind veterans to experience the
American flag.
(4) Arlington National Cemetery, visited by approximately
4,000,0000 people annually, is a national place of
remembrance and honor for the Nation's veterans.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF PLACEMENT OF AN AMERICAN BRAILLE
TACTILE FLAG IN ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
HONORING BLIND MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES,
VETERANS, AND OTHER AMERICANS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Army is authorized to
place in Arlington National Cemetery an American Braille
tactile flag in Arlington National Cemetery honoring blind
members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and other Americans.
(b) Approval of Design and Site.--The Secretary of the Army
shall have exclusive authority to approve an appropriate
design and site within Arlington National Cemetery for the
memorial authorized under subsection (a).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4169.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of the American Braille
Flag Memorial Act, H.R. 4169. I would like to thank my colleague, Mr.
Tiahrt, for drafting this important piece of legislation and for his
leadership in this area.
Today, there are nearly 1.3 million blinded and visually impaired
Americans, and approximately 187,000 of those are veterans. It is
estimated that 16 percent of these veterans have sustained injuries in
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom,
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leaving them with some form of severe visual loss and impairment. These
veterans, due to their disability, are often not afforded the
opportunity to cherish and witness the American flag as those without
visual impairment are. That is why passing the American Braille Flag
Memorial Act is so important. It would authorize the Secretary of the
Army to place an American Braille tactile flag on the grounds of the
Arlington National Cemetery to honor the sacrifice of our Nation's
blind veterans and members of the Armed Forces.
This legislation would also allow the Secretary of the Army to
approve the appropriate design of the flag, as well as the site in the
Arlington National Cemetery that would be most appropriate for the
memorial, which I understand is likely to be at the visitors center.
The bronze Braille American flag, generously donated by the Kansas
Braille Transcription Institute, would include the Pledge of
Allegiance, and allow the blind and visually impaired to feel the Stars
and Stripes and colors of the American flag placed near Arlington
National Cemetery Visitors Center.
I am pleased that the Blind Veterans Association, the American
Council and American Foundation of the Blind wholeheartedly support
this piece of legislation. Our efforts today will show the over 4
million visitors who come to the Arlington National Cemetery each year
that we remember and honor the blind veterans who died in service to
our Nation, as well as all veterans and servicemembers who live today
with blindness and vision loss.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation provides a way to include all Americans
in this wonderful patriotic experience when visiting Arlington National
Cemetery and seeing the American flag where heroes are laid to rest. I
am told that when feeling miniature mock-up versions of the Braille
flag, blinded veterans and servicemembers often break down and cry.
It would only be appropriate to allow our blind and visually impaired
veterans and servicemembers to share this experience by paying tribute
and honoring them with the recognition they deserve at the hallmark of
American memorials, the Arlington National Cemetery.
I urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 4169 without
delay.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise also in strong support for H.R. 4169, which would authorize
the placement in Arlington National Cemetery of an American Braille
tactile flag honoring blind members of the Armed Forces, veterans and
other Americans.
My colleagues, our Nation's veterans have fought for our freedom,
many at the expense of their health and well-being. Some of our
veterans have not just lost use of an arm or a leg as a consequence of
service, but now live in darkness from the loss of their sight.
In order to serve the needs of blind Americans, the Kansas Braille
Transcription Institute created and designed a tactile American flag in
Braille which would enable these blind veterans and other blind
Americans the simple ability to see through the use of their hands the
beauty of our American flag.
The flag has been specifically designed in a way that informs the
blind of the full color of the American flag, 13 stripes and 50 stars
on the blue field. Additionally, the tactile flag bears the Pledge of
Allegiance in both raised print and grade one Braille. It is a plaque.
It is not a traditional flag.
Mr. Speaker, I offer my full support of this great bill, the American
Braille Flag Memorial Act. By placing the Braille American flag at
Arlington National Cemetery, we do indeed bring honor to our Nation's
blind veterans community and allow our blind veterans to see the
American flag.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he
may consume to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Tiahrt), the author of
the bill.
Mr. TIAHRT. I thank the gentleman from Florida and the gentleman from
Texas for their assistance in helping me with this very fine piece of
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, last summer, one of my constituents, Randy Cabral,
president of the Kansas Braille Transcript Institute, e-mailed me with
an idea, to place an American Braille flag at Arlington National
Cemetery. Today, we see the fruition of one man's idea.
Prior to the creation of the American Braille flag, the American flag
was not accessible to the blind. This flag was created by the Kansas
Braille Transcript Institute in Wichita, Kansas.
As you can see on this poster to my left, the flag has been specially
designed in a way that informs the blind of the full color of the
American flag, the 13 stripes and the 50 stars on a blue field.
Additionally, this tactile flag bears the Pledge of Allegiance, both in
raised print and in grade one Braille.
Few know that our Nation has more than 1 million blind and low-vision
veterans, and those numbers continue to rise. The Department of Defense
estimates that 16 percent of those injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom
and Operation Enduring Freedom suffer from severe vision loss. An
additional 10 to 12 million Americans are blind or of low vision.
The American Braille Flag Memorial Act authorizes the placement of an
American Braille flag at Arlington National Cemetery, a national place
of remembrance and honor for our Nation's veterans. The cemetery is
visited by an estimated 4 million people annually. The American Braille
Flag Memorial will bring honor to our Nation's blind community and
allow our blind veterans to see the American flag again.
In order to ensure that this effort will enhance and not detract from
the cemetery, I have worked with the superintendent of the Arlington
National Cemetery, John Metzler. Mr. Metzler believes that a 15-inch by
17-inch bronze replica of the American Braille flag would be a
wonderful addition to the visitors center at the cemetery.
This is a unique bronze replica, and, as such, this new drawing and
special casting had to be commissioned. The drawings for the bronze
replica were completed by Kevin West, a student at Wichita Area
Technical College. Kevin is a specialist in the Kansas Army National
Guard. He is also a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation
Enduring Freedom. He served in the 778th Combat Heavy Equipment
Transport Group, or HET, out of Kansas City, Kansas, as both a convoy
security and a HET operator. Let me take this moment to thank Kevin for
his service to the Nation.
The actual bronze flag memorial will be cast free of charge by the
Truxes Company of Oswego, Illinois. The Truxes Company was founded by
another American hero, Mr. Bill Truxes. Mr. Truxes joined the Army Air
Corps during World War II and served as a B-24 pilot. While serving in
World War II, he was shot down during the Battle of the Bulge and
became a POW in Germany in 1944. He was liberated at the end of the
war. I greatly appreciate Mr. Truxes' patriotism and generosity in
agreeing to donate the bronze casting, and I also want to thank him for
his service.
With Mr. West and Mr. Truxes both donating their service, and the
Kansas Braille Transcription Institute donating the transportation,
this entire project will be provided to the government free of charge.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my 16 cosponsors and the Blind Veterans
of America for their endorsement and support of this effort. But more
importantly, I want to thank those who served this Nation. We owe a
huge debt of gratitude to our veterans, and this simple action will
mean much more to our patriotic blind veterans.
I encourage my colleagues to join with me in supporting this effort
and placing the Braille flag at Arlington National Cemetery.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to again congratulate my colleague from Kansas
for introducing this bill. It clearly shows a special sense of
sensitivity to the needs of disabled veterans. I commend my
distinguished colleague for doing this and for the support of the
institute for their offering this to the government at the Arlington
National Cemetery.
Again, it is a lot of hard work by Mr. Tiahrt, and I commend him. I
urge my colleagues to support and pass this bill, H.R. 4169.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity also to
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thank both the gentleman from Florida as well as the author, Todd
Tiahrt, on their efforts in this area.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4169.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. STEARNS. 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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