[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 624-626]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   STAFF SERGEANT SALVATORE A. GIUNTA MEDAL OF HONOR FLAG RESOLUTION

  Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 49) providing Capitol-flown flags for 
recipients of the Medal of Honor.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                               H. Res. 49

       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This resolution may be cited as the ``Staff Sergeant 
     Salvatore A. Giunta Medal of Honor Flag Resolution''.

     SEC. 2. PROVIDING CAPITOL-FLOWN FLAGS FOR RECIPIENTS OF MEDAL 
                   OF HONOR.

       (a) In General.--At the request of a recipient of the Medal 
     of Honor or an immediate family member of a recipient of the 
     Medal of Honor, the Representative of the recipient or the 
     Representative of the family member (as the case may be) may 
     provide the recipient or the family member with a Capitol-
     flown flag, together with the certificate described in 
     subsection (c), except that not more than one flag may be 
     provided under this resolution with respect to the Medal of 
     Honor recipient involved.
       (b) No Cost to Family.--A flag provided under this section 
     shall be provided at no cost to the individual receiving the 
     flag.
       (c) Certificate Described.--The certificate described in 
     this subsection is a certificate which is signed by the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 
     Representative providing the flag, and which reads as 
     follows: ``This flag has been flown over the United States 
     Capitol, in honor of the service and sacrifice of recipients 
     of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor awarded to members 
     of the Armed Forces for valor in combat, with profound 
     gratitude on behalf of the United States House of 
     Representatives.''.
       (d) Definitions.--In this section--
       (1) the term ``Capitol-flown flag'' means a United States 
     flag flown over the United States Capitol in honor of the 
     Medal of Honor recipient involved; and
       (2) the term ``Representative'' includes a Delegate or 
     Resident Commissioner to the Congress.

     SEC. 3. REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
     the date of the adoption of this resolution, the Clerk of the 
     House of Representatives shall issue regulations for carrying 
     out this resolution, including regulations to establish 
     procedures (including any appropriate forms, guidelines, and 
     accompanying certificates) for requesting a Capitol-flown 
     flag.
       (b) Approval by Committee on House Administration.--The 
     regulations issued by the Clerk under subsection (a) shall 
     take effect upon approval by the Committee on House 
     Administration of the House of Representatives.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Iowa (Mr. Latham) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brady) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I ask that all Members have 5 legislative 
days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Iowa?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 49, providing 
Capitol-flown flags for recipients of the Medal of Honor.
  Madam Speaker, the resolution is simple, its language is succinct, 
but it is so much more significant than mere symbolism. This resolution 
provides a family member or the Medal of Honor recipient themselves a 
U.S. flag flown over this Capitol, along with a certificate which 
reads, ``This flag has been flown over the United States Capitol, in 
honor of the service and sacrifice of recipients of the Medal of Honor, 
the highest honor awarded to members of the Armed Forces for valor in 
combat, with profound gratitude on behalf of the United States House of 
Representatives.''
  Madam Speaker, the Medal of Honor is the highest honor awarded to 
members of the Armed Forces. And to these Medal of Honor recipients, 
we, as a country, as one Nation, and as this collective House are 
immeasurably thankful for their service, their sacrifice, and their 
bravery, which sometimes has meant giving that last full measure of 
devotion.

                              {time}  1220

  I am especially proud of Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, a native of 
Clinton, Iowa, who is the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor 
since the Vietnam War and is here in the Capitol for the State of the 
Union Address this evening and a recognition ceremony tomorrow.
  Sergeant Giunta's service embodies a spirit of selflessness, 
humility, and determination that Iowans are known for, both in the 
military and civilian life.
  We pass this resolution as a heartfelt and profoundly sincere ``thank 
you'' to those receiving the highest of honors, the Medal of Honor. 
Madam Speaker, this resolution should garner overwhelming bipartisan 
support, and I

[[Page 625]]

 urge all of my colleagues to support H. Res. 49.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, this resolution recognizes the courage and sacrifices 
of Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta and other Medal of Honor 
recipients in defending their country in the line of duty. The Medal of 
Honor is the highest award of bravery that can be given to a member of 
the United States Armed Forces.
  This resolution will acknowledge members of our Armed Forces that 
receive the Medal of Honor by providing them with a flag flown over the 
Capitol along with a certificate signed by the Speaker of the House. 
The flag would be provided at no cost to the recipient or family of the 
recipient.
  May this small gesture serve as a constant reminder of our Medal of 
Honor recipients who act selflessly and heroically in defense of the 
freedoms that we, the American people, enjoy. I am pleased to support 
this resolution and urge all of my colleagues to vote ``aye.''
  Madam Speaker, I now yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Loebsack).
  Mr. LOEBSACK. I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I am particularly honored today to join my friend and 
colleague, Congressman Latham, in offering this resolution.
  Tomorrow, the Iowa delegation will join the Chief of Staff of the 
Army, General George Casey, and Senator Inouye to honor and recognize 
Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, the first living Medal of Honor 
recipient since the Vietnam War.
  Staff Sergeant Giunta is from Hiawatha, Iowa, at the moment--although 
he was born and raised in Clinton. Hiawatha is a town I am proud to 
represent in the Second District. I first had the honor of meeting 
Sergeant Giunta--or Sal--while visiting our troops stationed overseas 
during the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday, and I was able to have 
Thanksgiving dinner with him at Vicenza.
  What immediately struck me about Sergeant Giunta was his humility. He 
made sergeant in just 4 years. He was a veteran of two tours in 
Afghanistan by the time he was 22 years old. And while surrounded by 
Taliban fighters in the Korengal Valley in 2007 and having been hit 
twice himself, he ran directly into gunfire in order to save his 
wounded comrades and prevent a U.S. soldier from being captured.
  Yet since being awarded the Medal of Honor, Sergeant Giunta has 
insisted that what he did to save his fellow paratroopers was nothing 
any other soldier wouldn't have done. He has insisted time and again, 
whether at the White House, the Pentagon, or at the State house in Des 
Moines, that he holds the Medal of Honor on behalf of his fellow 
servicemembers.
  After being inducted into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes, Sergeant 
Giunta refused to let the spotlight rest on him alone. Instead, he 
saluted those who had come before him and those who have made the 
ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedom.
  He said, ``To all the ones that can't be here--not just one or two, 
but all of them--not just from the 173rd, not just from Battle Company, 
but from all services, from the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the 
Marines, the Coast Guard, the National Guard, the Reserves: Everyone 
who has ever given so much more than I ever know, I want to say thank 
you, right now, to those men and those women because without them, I'm 
nothing. I haven't given anything compared to those who have given 
everything.''
  So I think it is especially appropriate that we have come together to 
pay tribute not just to Sergeant Giunta, and not just to his fellow 
Medal of Honor recipients of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but to 
each of the 3,448 men and one woman who have received the highest 
military honor since President Lincoln signed into law legislation 
offered by a fellow Iowan to create the medal in 1861.
  The Medal of Honor is reserved for those who are distinguished 
``conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life 
above and beyond the call of duty.'' It seems only appropriate that we, 
the people's House, honor their bravery, their service, and their 
sacrifice today by directing that the United States flag be flown over 
the Capitol in their honor.
  For nearly a decade, the men and women of our All-Volunteer Force, as 
well as their families, have answered the call of duty and have served 
our Nation on two fronts often making great sacrifices and carrying out 
acts of unimaginable bravery that those of us here at home never read 
about here on the front page.
  So even as we come together to honor the bravest of the brave, let us 
also honor every man and every woman who wears our Nation's uniform and 
who has deployed time and again, in many instances, to defend our 
Nation, missing moments large and small with their families in order to 
ensure that our freedom endures.
  While he may not think of himself as such, to me, Sergeant Giunta is 
a true American hero. He is who I want my grandkids to grow up looking 
up to. And that is a sentiment shared by thousands of Iowans who are so 
tremendously proud of the soldier we've come to think of as our 
hometown hero.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation as a small token of 
our appreciation for the incredible bravery demonstrated by Medal of 
Honor recipients of today and those of past times and past conflicts.
  Mr. LATHAM. I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Loebsack from Iowa, for 
joining me in this resolution and his lead cosponsorship on this.
  The Medal of Honor, like the gentleman just referred to, has quite a 
history with Iowa in that back on December 9, 1861, Iowa Senator James 
W. Grimes first introduced the concept of a medal of honor to promote 
the efficiency of the Navy at that time. And later on, there was 
another bill to also recognize people in the Army for their outstanding 
service and heroic actions.
  I was very pleased back in 2002 to introduce a bill; I don't know how 
many people were aware at the time, but there was never a Medal of 
Honor flag. We had in Jefferson, Iowa, a memorial for Captain Darrell 
Lindsey, who was a Medal of Honor winner from World War II; and a man 
named Bill Kendall, an Army veteran from Jefferson, felt that it was 
inappropriate that we didn't have a flag there. So I introduced 
legislation. Bill Kendall from Jefferson, Iowa, actually designed what 
is the Medal of Honor flag today, and I am still so appreciative of 
what he did.
  And now at the ceremony down at the White House when the Medal of 
Honor was given to this next great Iowan to see that flag there, it 
made me feel very, very proud of the contributions that so many people, 
Iowans, people all across this country have made and sacrificed for a 
country for the kind of honor they deserve. So I'm just very proud of 
the history we have, and I think this is a very appropriate way of 
recognizing those contributions.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Boswell).

                              {time}  1230

  Mr. BOSWELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor of House 
Resolution 49, the Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta Medal of Honor 
Flag Resolution. As the first living Medal of Honor winner since the 
Vietnam War, Staff Sergeant Giunta richly deserves to be honored by 
this House.
  The resolution is simple: It provides every Medal of Honor winner or 
their family with a flag flown over the Capitol in tribute to their 
service. In addition to this resolution, tomorrow we all have the 
opportunity to join the Chief of Staff of the Army and distinguished 
guests at a ceremony and reception in the Congressional Auditorium to 
honor this soldier of whom all Iowans and Americans are incredibly 
proud.
  I am not surprised that, in spite of this praise, Sergeant Giunta has 
humbly refused to be seen as exceptional.

[[Page 626]]

He has at every moment sought to deflect recognition onto his fellow 
soldiers, men and women in uniform, who serve us bravely every day to 
support and defend our country and the Constitution. I know all too 
well that Sergeant Giunta is right and that every day our men and women 
in uniform, and their families, offer courageous service that deserves 
to be recognized.
  My hope is that as we honor Sergeant Giunta for gallantry above and 
beyond the call of duty, we may by extension offer to every member of 
our Armed Forces and their families our profound gratitude on behalf of 
the country, his country, our country, and the United States House of 
Representatives.
  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I would just like to say what an honor it 
is for me to be part of the ceremony tomorrow to honor Staff Sergeant 
Giunta. Really, he is a model for what people in the military today, 
the service that they give, the humility that he possesses in the 
statements that Mr. Loebsack made about the fact that in his acceptance 
he talked about this was not an award and Medal of Honor for him, but 
for all of his comrades in arms, and how it should be given to everyone 
who acted so bravely that day. But that certainly is part of what Staff 
Sergeant Giunta is all about.
  The fact that he is such a humble person, someone who believes in the 
mission, someone who willingly was there to sacrifice himself to save 
one of his comrades, I think it is so appropriate that we have this 
recognition today and that we honor all the people in the service 
today.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham) that the House suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution, H. Res. 49.
  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. LATHAM. Madam 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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