[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17698]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     WHAT'S IN A NAME? THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to report that 304 of my 
colleagues in the House, from both parties, have joined me as 
cosponsors of H.R. 24, legislation to redesignate the Department of the 
Navy to be known as the Department of the Navy and the Marine Corps.
  I'm grateful to Chairman Ike Skelton, who included the language of 
H.R. 24 in the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the 
full House last month. This is the eighth year in a row that language 
to properly recognize the Marine Corps has been included in the House 
version of the bill. Unfortunately, each year the language has been 
stripped in the Senate.
  This year, I'm grateful to have the support of Senator Pat Roberts, a 
former Marine, who introduced the same bill in the Senate, S. 504. With 
his help, I'm hopeful that this will be the year that the Senate 
supports the House position and joins in bringing proper respect to the 
fighting team of the Navy and Marine Corps.
  Madam Speaker, some people might ask, Why is the change so important? 
Isn't renaming the Department just symbolic? What's in a name?
  Well, Madam Speaker, the name of the Marine Corps represents more 
than two centuries of service alongside the Navy.
  What's in a name? The flag raising at Iwo Jima. What's in a name? 
Scarlet and gold; honor, courage, and commitment; and Semper Fi. What's 
in a name? More than 1,000 Marines who have given their lives in 
serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  As symbolic as a change in the name might be, this is a matter of 
respect and gratitude to the Marine Corps. The Marines do not serve 
beneath the Navy. They are one fighting team. That is, the Marine Corps 
and the Navy as coequal partners.
  This legislation is not about changing the responsibilities of the 
Secretary of the Department, reallocating resources, or altering 
missions. General Carl Mundy, the 30th Commandant of the Marine Corps, 
summed up the need for this change when he said, ``This action will 
accurately align the Secretary's title with his present-day authority 
and responsibilities. As is, the title is confusing. It is inconsistent 
with the status of the four Armed Services in the Department of 
Defense. And it acknowledges only two-thirds of the uniformed 
servicemembers in the Department.''
  Over the course of the Marine Corps' history, including their 
present-day service around the world, those three words, ``and Marine 
Corps,'' have been earned through blood and sacrifice.
  When the Department of the Navy writes the families of Marines who 
have been killed, their families deserve to receive the letter from the 
Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.
  Madam Speaker, the Marines fighting today deserve this recognition, 
and those who are part of the history of the Marine Corps deserve that 
recognition as well.
  Madam Speaker, I want to close my comments by first saying to those 
in Iraq and Afghanistan, I ask God to please bless our men and women in 
uniform. I ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in 
uniform. And I ask God in his loving arms to hold the families who have 
given a child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  Madam Speaker, I close three times by asking God, please God; please 
God; please God, continue to bless America.

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