[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19048]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 NATIONAL PURPLE HEART RECOGNITION DAY

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Armed 
Services Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. 
Res. 27 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 assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 27) supporting the 
     goals and ideals of ``National Purple Heart Recognition 
     Day.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. REED. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment at the desk be 
considered and agreed to, the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the 
preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table 
en bloc, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2269) was agreed to, as follows:

       On page 2 line 8 strike ``requests that the President issue 
     a proclamation calling on'' and insert ``calls upon''.

  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 27), as amended, was agreed 
to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, as amended, with its preamble, reads as 
follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 27

       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 a conflict with an enemy force or are 
     wounded while held by an enemy force as prisoners of war, and 
     is awarded posthumously to the next of kin of members of the 
     Armed Forces who are killed in a conflict with an enemy force 
     or who die of wounds received in a 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 observing 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 
     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 in the United States to learn 
     about the history of the Purple Heart and to honor its 
     recipients; and
       (3) calls upon the people of the United States to conduct 
     appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs to 
     demonstrate support for members of the Armed Forces who have 
     been awarded the Purple Heart.

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