[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 189 (Wednesday, October 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7426-S7427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3928. Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr. Blunt) submitted an amendment 
intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and 
intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military activities of the 
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense 
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel 
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1064. APPOINTMENT OF ULYSSES S. GRANT TO GRADE OF 
                   GENERAL OF THE ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) On March 3, 1799, Congress created the grade of 
     ``General of the Armies of the United States'' as the 
     commander of the Army of the United States (5th Congress, 
     Session III, Chap. 48, Section 9).
       (2) On March 16, 1802, Congress effectively dissolved the 
     grade of General of the Armies of the United States when it 
     passed the Military Peace Establishment Act without reference 
     to the grade (7th Congress, Session I, Chap. 9, Sec. 3).
       (3) On July 1, 1843, Ulysses S. Grant graduated from the 
     United States Military Academy at West Point, and, on July 
     31, 1854, Grant resigned from the Army at the grade of 
     Captain.
       (4) Following President Abraham Lincoln's April 15, 1861, 
     proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteers to suppress 
     Confederate forces, Ulysses S. Grant rejoined the Army and 
     helped recruit and train volunteer soldiers for the Union.
       (5) Over the course of the American Civil War, Ulysses S. 
     Grant commanded a cumulative total of more than 600,000 Union 
     soldiers and achieved major victories including Fort Henry 
     (February 1862), Fort Donelson (February 1862), Shiloh (April 
     1862), the Vicksburg Campaign (November 1862-July 1863), 
     Chattanooga (November 1863), the Wilderness Campaign (May 
     1864-June 1864), the Petersburg Campaign (June 1864-April 
     1865), and the Appomattox Campaign (April 1865).
       (6) On February 29, 1864, Congress reestablished the grade 
     of ``Lieutenant-General of

[[Page S7427]]

     the United States Army'' and authorized the President to 
     appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, an 
     officer who was ``most distinguished for courage, skill, and 
     ability'' (38th Congress, Session I, Chap. 14, Sec. 1); that 
     same day, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Ulysses S. 
     Grant to be Lieutenant-General.
       (7) On March 10, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln formally 
     appointed Ulysses S. Grant to the grade of Lieutenant-General 
     of the Army, a position previously held by only George 
     Washington and Winfield Scott, although Scott's promotion was 
     a brevet appointment.
       (8) On July 25, 1866, Congress established the grade of 
     ``General of the Army of the United States'' (39th Congress, 
     Session I, Chap. 232), and Ulysses S. Grant was appointed, by 
     and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to General of 
     the Army of the United States for his role in commanding the 
     Union armies during the Civil War.
       (9) On March 4, 1869, Ulysses S. Grant was sworn in as the 
     18th President of the United States.
       (10) Throughout his two terms as President, Ulysses S. 
     Grant secured the ratification of the 15th amendment to the 
     Constitution, the creation of the Department of Justice, and 
     the passage and implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 
     1875.
       (11) On October 11, 1976, Congress enacted Public Law 94-
     479, which re-established the grade of ``General of the 
     Armies of the United States'' to posthumously request the 
     appointment of George Washington to General of the Armies of 
     the United States and made clear that this grade has 
     ``precedence over all other grades of the Army, past or 
     present''.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to--
       (1) honor Ulysses S. Grant for his efforts and leadership 
     in defending the union of the United States of America;
       (2) recognize that the military victories achieved under 
     the command of Ulysses S. Grant were integral to the 
     preservation of the United States of America; and
       (3) affirm that Ulysses S. Grant is among the most 
     influential military commanders in the history of the United 
     States of America.
       (c) Appointment.--The President is authorized and requested 
     to appoint Ulysses S. Grant posthumously to the grade of 
     General of the Armies of the United States, such appointment 
     to take effect on April 27, 2022.
                                 ______