[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,

[[Page H913]]

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

[[Page H914]]

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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