I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1980 

To authorize the Gold Star Mothers National Monument Foundation to 

establish a national monument in the District of Columbia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2011 

Mr. RUNYAN (for himself, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota, Mr. GUINTA, Mr. 

LOBIONDO, Mr. LANCE, Mr. GRIMM, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. BACHUS, 

Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mrs. ELLMERS, Mr. FLORES, Mr. KING of New 

York, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. 

KISSELL, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. TURNER, Mr. CRITZ, Mr. GARRETT, Mr. 

YOUNG of Indiana, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. GRIFFIN of Arkansas, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, 

and Mr. MCCOTTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Gold Star Mothers National Monument 

Foundation to establish a national monument in the 

District of Columbia. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gold Star Mothers Na5 tional Monument Act of 2011’’. 


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•HR 1980 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) During World War I, mothers of sons and 

4 daughters who served in the Armed Forces displayed 

5 flags bearing a blue star to represent their pride in 

6 their sons and daughters and their hope that their 

7 sons and daughters would return home safely. 

8 (2) For more than 650,000 of these mothers, 

9 that hope was shattered, and many of them, both 

10 during and after World War I, began displaying 

11 flags bearing a gold star to represent the sacrifice 

12 that their sons and daughters made for freedom and 

13 this country. 

14 (3) Over the years, the gold star has come to 

15 represent a child who was killed while serving in the 

16 Armed Forces, including a child who died during 

17 combat or during peacetime; either way the child 

18 was a hero to his or her family and country. 

19 (4) In 1929, Congress passed a law authorizing 

20 the Federal Government to disburse funds for Gold 

21 Star Mothers, and widows of those who were killed 

22 while serving in the Armed Forces during World 

23 War I, to travel to the battlefields of Europe to visit 

24 the burial sites of their loved ones. 

25 (5) On June 23, 1936, Congress passed Senate 

26 Joint Resolution 115 (74th Congress), which estabVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:13 May 31, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1980.IH H1980

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•HR 1980 IH

1 lished the last Sunday in September as Gold Star 

2 Mother’s Day. 

3 (6) Gold Star Mothers, a most deserving group, 

4 should be honored to commemorate the sacrifices 

5 that they, and their sons and daughters, made for 

6 this country. 

7 SEC. 3. GOLD STAR MOTHERS NATIONAL MONUMENT. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Gold Star Mothers Na9 tional Monument Foundation (a nonprofit corporation es10 tablished under the laws of the District of Columbia) is 

11 authorized to establish a monument on Federal land in 

12 the District of Columbia or its environs, as a unit of the 

13 National Park System. The monument shall be known as 

14 the ‘‘Gold Star Mothers National Monument’’. 

15 (b) COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS FOR COMMEMO16 RATIVE WORKS.—The establishment of the monument 

17 shall be carried out in accordance with the Commemora18 tive Works Act (40 U.S.C. 8901 et seq.). 

19 (c) PAYMENT OF EXPENSES.—The Gold Star Moth20 ers National Monument Foundation shall be solely respon21 sible for acceptance of contributions for, and payment of 

22 the expenses of, the establishment of the monument, and 

23 no Federal funds may be used to pay such expenses. 

Æ 


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