[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19010-19011]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE PURPLE HEART

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Armed 
Services Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. 
Res. 39 and that the Senate then proceed to its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the concurrent resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 39) to express the 
     sense of Congress on the Purple Heart.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent 
resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider 
be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating thereto be 
printed in the Record, without further intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 39) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 39

       Whereas the Purple Heart is the oldest military decoration 
     in the world in present use;
       Whereas the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the 
     President of the United States to members of the Armed Forces 
     who are wounded in conflict with an enemy force or are 
     wounded while held by an enemy force as prisoners of war, and 
     posthumously to the next of kin of members of the Armed 
     Forces who are killed in conflict with an enemy force or who 
     die of a wound received in conflict with an enemy force;
       Whereas the Purple Heart was established on August 7, 1782, 
     during the Revolutionary War, when General George Washington 
     issued an order establishing the Honorary Badge of 
     Distinction, otherwise known as the Badge of Military Merit;
       Whereas the award of the Purple Heart ceased with the end 
     of the Revolutionary War, but was revived in 1932, the 200th 
     anniversary of George Washington's birth, out of respect for 
     his memory and military achievements; and
       Whereas National Purple Heart Recognition Day is a fitting 
     tribute to George Washington and to the more than 1,535,000 
     recipients of the Purple Heart, approximately

[[Page 19011]]

      550,000 of whom are still living: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Purple Heart 
     Recognition Day;
       (2) encourages all people of the United States to learn 
     about the history of the Purple Heart and to honor its 
     recipients; and
       (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the people of the United States to conduct 
     appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs to 
     demonstrate support for people who have been awarded the 
     Purple Heart.

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