[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6455-6457]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     FALLEN HEROES FLAG ACT OF 2015

  Mr. NUGENT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 723) to provide Capitol-flown flags to the immediate family 
of fire fighters, law enforcement officers, members of rescue squads or 
ambulance crews, and public safety officers who are killed in the line 
of duty.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 723

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Fallen Heroes Flag Act of 
     2015''.

     SEC. 2. PROVIDING CAPITOL-FLOWN FLAGS FOR FAMILIES OF LAW 
                   ENFORCEMENT AND RESCUE SQUAD WORKERS KILLED IN 
                   THE LINE OF DUTY.

       (a) In General.--At the request of the immediate family of 
     a fire fighter, law enforcement officer, member of a rescue 
     squad or ambulance crew, or public safety officer who died in 
     the line of duty, the Representative of the family may 
     provide the family with a Capitol-flown flag, together with 
     the certificate described in subsection (c).
       (b) No Cost to Family.--A flag provided under this section 
     shall be provided at no cost to the family.
       (c) Certificate.--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 contains an expression of sympathy from 
     the House of Representatives for the family involved, as 
     prepared and developed by the Clerk of the 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 
     deceased individual for whom such flag is requested; 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 enactment of this Act, the Clerk shall issue 
     regulations for carrying out this Act, 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.

     SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated for each of the 
     fiscal years 2015 through 2020 such sums as may be necessary 
     to carry out this Act, to be derived from amounts 
     appropriated in each such fiscal year for the operation of 
     the Capitol Visitor Center, except that the aggregate amount 
     appropriated to carry out this Act for all such fiscal years 
     may not exceed $30,000.

     SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act shall take effect on the date of its enactment, 
     except that no flags may be provided under section 2 until 
     the Committee on House Administration of the House of 
     Representatives approves the regulations issued by the Clerk 
     of the House of Representatives under section 3.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Nugent) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brendan 
F. Boyle) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. NUGENT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material in the Record on the consideration of this 
bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NUGENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 723, the Fallen Heroes 
Flag Act. The bill before us would allow Members of Congress to honor a 
firefighter, law enforcement officer, member of a rescue squad or 
ambulance crew, or public safety officer who died in the line of duty 
by providing the family of the deceased individual, at their request, a 
United States flag flown over this Capitol.
  Our Nation's flag would be accompanied by a certificate containing an 
expression of sympathy for the family of the individual who passed 
away, signed by both the Speaker of the House and the individual's 
Representative here in Congress.
  This measure, authored by the distinguished gentleman from New York 
(Mr. King) allows our House to express its gratitude and recognition 
for an individual who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of public 
service to this great country.
  Many in our country put their lives on the line every day to serve 
others. They are the firefighters who charge into burning buildings in 
order to save life or property; they are the police officers and other 
law enforcement officers who respond to incidents and through their 
actions shield others from harm; they are the members of rescue squads 
or ambulance crews who spend countless hours perfecting lifesaving 
skills and rush to the scene of a disaster; and they are the public 
safety officers who work to patrol our roads, man the dispatch 
communication lines, and work within our justice system to accomplish 
countless other safety services for our communities.
  Our Nation is exceedingly blessed to have individuals who answer the 
call to

[[Page 6456]]

dedicate their lives serving others. We are very grateful to be 
surrounded by individuals who work hard each day to save and protect 
lives. Each swore an oath to uphold our laws, and each sacrifices 
safety in the defense of others.
  These individuals are our daily heroes. The rescue workers and law 
enforcement officers are our sons and daughters, they are our mothers 
and fathers, they are our sisters and brothers who each day rise up and 
stand in the defense of others. And in some cases, these heroes pay the 
ultimate sacrifice, and they are killed in the line of duty, just as we 
heard earlier. It is a tragedy in the truest sense of the word when one 
of these extraordinarily fine individuals loses their life, most 
especially while in the act of saving the life of another.
  I stand here, Mr. Speaker, not just as a Member representing my 
congressional district but also as someone who knows firsthand the 
sacrifices that these men and women put forward to serve their 
communities. Before I came to Congress, I served my community as a 
police officer, as a deputy sheriff, and eventually as a sheriff in a 
county in Florida. I know what it means for so many men and women to 
come to work every day not knowing--you can never predict the events of 
the day and what those events may hold for you. But one thing is 
certain: you will answer the call for help with everything you have 
got. When you kiss your wife or husband goodbye or your children 
goodbye, when you start your shift, they want to know you are going to 
come home. But they also know that the realities of life are it is 
possible that you may make the ultimate sacrifice for your community.
  So, Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that we recognize their selfless 
efforts of sacrifice and offer this meaningful token as an expression 
of our Nation's gratitude. It is an honor to stand here today in 
support of this legislation. Each Member of Congress should have the 
ability to recognize these brave individuals for their heroism and to 
extend a gesture of sympathy and gratitude to their immediate families.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleague across the aisle, 
Congressman Nugent, in support of H.R. 723, the Fallen Heroes Flag Act.
  This sensible bill provides for Capitol-flown flags in memory of 
firefighters, police, and emergency response personnel who are 
tragically killed in the line of duty.
  While we can never fully convey our gratitude to public safety and 
emergency personnel who risk their lives practically every day, it is 
my hope that this small gesture brings some level of comfort to the 
families of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in the line of 
duty.
  We recognize their sacrifice and that of their families and loved 
ones. We are eternally grateful. As Members of Congress, we often have 
the sad duty and solemn responsibility of expressing condolences to 
families who have lost a loved one in the line of duty. At no expense 
to these families, this is one small way to express our condolences and 
gratitude for their service.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 723, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. NUGENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. King). He is the distinguished sponsor of this bill.
  Mr. KING of New York. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank 
him for his years of service in law enforcement and for his dedication 
here in the United States Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation. I think it 
is particularly appropriate that this bill will be passed during 
National Police Week at a time when we honor those who put their lives 
on the line every day. This isn't just an abstraction. This is really 
very real, as we saw tonight with the delegation from Mississippi 
acknowledging their two police officers who were murdered on Saturday 
night. And just last week in New York a neighbor and constituent of 
mine, Brian Moore, a member of the NYPD, was shot down. He was murdered 
in Queens Village in Queens, New York, a young man, 25 years old. He 
already had 150 arrests. He was a member of an elite anticrime unit. He 
was shot down in the prime of life. His father was a retired police 
sergeant. His cousins were on the NYPD and also the Nassau County 
Police Department.
  So these are real, Mr. Speaker. These are real lives. These are real 
lives that are lost. These are real people putting their lives on the 
line, and there are real families who suffer when they are left behind. 
That is why it is so important, I think, that we in Congress 
acknowledge that. One way to do that is by being able to present a flag 
signed by the Speaker and by the Member of Congress who represents the 
person who was killed in the line of duty.
  Tonight we had a new Member of Congress sworn in, Dan Donovan from 
Staten Island. Dan was with me on Friday at the funeral of Brian Moore. 
Also, we had two tragic deaths in December, Wenjian Liu and Rafael 
Ramos, two NYPD officers who were murdered in Brooklyn. Dan and I were 
at that funeral along with thousands and thousands, in fact, tens of 
thousands of officers from all over the country.
  So it is important that we stand in solidarity with the men and women 
of blue. They come under terrible onslaughts and attacks. So much of it 
is untrue, so much of it is slanderous, and so much of it is carried on 
by the media. But, Mr. Speaker, the fact is these men and women are out 
there every day. They are out there doing their job, and it is really 
important that we stand with them. The very least we can do is stand 
here in Congress and support them and also then pay them the tribute of 
standing with their family with the flag when that terrible moment 
comes that they lose their lives in the line of duty.
  So with that, Mr. Speaker, I again thank the gentleman for his 
leadership, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his bipartisan 
spirit, and I strongly urge support of this legislation.
  Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to say how proud I am to stand with Mr. 
Nugent as well as with my fellow Notre Dame alumnus, Mr. King, in 
backing this very sensible and decent piece of legislation. I would 
also say, as he was mentioning the unfortunate tragedies that have 
happened to members of the NYPD, as a proud resident of the city of 
Philadelphia, I have only been a Member of Congress for a few months, 
but I have been in elective office for 6 years, and during that time 
we, unfortunately, lost more Philadelphia police officers killed in the 
line of duty, as well as three Philadelphia firefighters killed in the 
line of duty. That was more than in any 5- or 6-year period in the 
city's history, which dates to 100 years before the founding of our 
country.
  So it is a sad and solemn reminder of the sacrifice that they are 
willing to make on our behalf each and every day.
  I believe that supporting this legislation is a proper gesture that 
we can make here in this House, and I am happy to support it. With 
that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NUGENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a proud day. Mr. Boyle, I do appreciate your 
comments in regard to those who serve us. Mr. King, I think your 
reputation precedes you in regard to caring about those who care for us 
every day.
  It is a thankless job a lot of times to be a fireman or a police 
officer or an EMT. Those folks go to work because they want to help 
people. They don't go to work because they want to hurt someone. They 
are driven by this desire to do right and to do good every day.
  It is really easy sometimes, I think, that we forget that these are 
men and women who, whether they wear the badge of a law enforcement 
officer or a firefighter or an EMT or any other public safety officer, 
do their job because

[[Page 6457]]

they are committed to their community. They do it because they love 
their community. So when some folks want to rush to judgment, I would 
just suggest that until you walk in their shoes, until you know what it 
is like to serve in that capacity, I would ask that people use a little 
restraint and maybe wait until investigation is complete before we 
start making decisions in regards to guilt or innocence.
  I had to do that as sheriff. I had deputies who were involved in fire 
fights where other folks were killed. But you wanted to make sure 
that--listen, we want to know the facts. We want to know the truth. And 
if a police officer does something that is wrong, then he should be 
dealt with. But not all police officers do things wrong. They are human 
beings, and sometimes they do make mistakes.
  Mr. Speaker, this particular bill talks to those who have paid the 
ultimate sacrifice, no matter how they served this great country, 
whether it was in the fire service or the law enforcement service or 
public safety in any manner. This is about recognizing them and their 
families for their service. These first responders and public safety 
officers stand side by side with each other supporting each other in a 
common goal. Whether you are a fireman or a police officer, it is a 
common goal to do the right thing.
  They and their families live with these risks. They know what the job 
brings, the risks that are incurred, but they do that selflessly. Every 
time they put on that uniform to go to work, they do it knowing that 
something bad could happen to them that could change the lives of their 
children and their families forever.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill allows us in Congress to offer a simple yet 
meaningful expression, I believe, of sympathy. We can't make up the 
family's loss to them, but we can remember these fallen heroes, and we 
can offer their families our gratitude as we honor those loved ones' 
memories, as I think this body should do every day because there are 
folks that stand the line for us, whether it is fighting a fire, 
rescuing us from a trapped vehicle at a scene of horrific destruction, 
whether it is tornadoes or earthquakes, law enforcement officers have 
to go places that no other folks want to go.

                              {time}  2000

  I just thank you, Mr. King, for bringing this bill forward. I want to 
thank my good friend on the other side of the aisle, Mr. Boyle, for 
standing for what is right, and I appreciate that.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Nugent) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 723.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________