IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 140 

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the life and work of Senator 

John S. McCain III in promoting the United States, human rights, 

and peace. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 

Mr. KINZINGER (for himself, Mr. MOULTON, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. 

ROYCE of California, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. 

VEASEY, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. RUSH, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mrs. MURPHY of 

Florida, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. LANCE, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. WOMACK, Ms. STEFANIK, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. 

CORREA, Mr. CRIST, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. COSTELLO of 

Pennsylvania, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. COHEN, Mr. HIMES, Mr. 

PAULSEN, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

LIPINSKI, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Mr. REICHERT, Mr. THOMAS J. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. PITTENGER, 

Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. BISHOP of 

Michigan, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. 

LAHOOD, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. ROSEN, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. 

BANKS of Indiana, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mrs. LESKO, Ms. 

HANABUSA, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. CRAMER, Ms. JENKINS of Kansas, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. COLE, Mr. OLSON, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. KING of New 

York, Mr. FASO, Mr. HULTGREN, and Mr. ENGEL) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 


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•HCON 140 IH 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the life and 

work of Senator John S. McCain III in promoting the 

United States, human rights, and peace. 

Whereas Senator John S. McCain III was born at Coco Solo 

Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone on August 

29, 1936, to Admiral John and Roberta McCain; 

Whereas Senator McCain began his service to our Nation 

after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958, 

followed by postings to Naval Air Station Pensacola and 

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, where he graduated 

from flight school in 1960; 

Whereas Senator McCain served as a naval aviator for 22 

years, including during the Vietnam War, where upon his 

arrival, he volunteered for combat duty; 

Whereas, on July 29, 1967, Senator McCain was on board 

the U.S.S. Forrestal when a fire erupted, taking the lives 

of 134 sailors and injuring 161 crew members, including 

Senator McCain, who, during his recovery, again volunteered for combat duty; 

Whereas, on October 26, 1967, during a combat mission, 

Senator McCain’s aircraft took fire from North Vietnamese forces near the city of Hanoi, and Senator 

McCain was forced to eject from his aircraft and land in 

a nearby lake, resulting in Senator McCain breaking both 

his arms and his leg; 

Whereas Senator McCain was taken prisoner by North Vietnamese forces and denied medical treatment and subjected to torture; 


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Whereas during his time as a prisoner of war, Senator 

McCain was held at the Hoa Lo Prison, also known as 

the ‘‘Hanoi Hilton’’, where he was placed into solitary 

confinement for 2 years; 

Whereas Senator McCain’s love for the United States only 

grew during his imprisonment, and he spoke often of 

those events: ‘‘In prison, I fell in love with my country. 

I had loved her before then, but like most young people, 

my affection was little more than a simple appreciation 

for the comforts and privileges most Americans enjoyed 

and took for granted. It wasn’t until I had lost America 

for a time that I realized how much I loved her.’’; 

Whereas, upon his release and recovery, Senator McCain became the Commanding Officer of a flight training squadron at Naval Air Station Cecil Field, and, during this 

time, the squadron was awarded its first Meritorious 

Unit Commendation, and trained the first woman to fly 

a light attack aircraft; 

Whereas, after relinquishing his command, Senator McCain 

continued his service as a naval liaison to the United 

States Senate, maintaining his trademark passion, highlighted by his relentless fight against reducing the size of 

aircraft carriers, fearing such changes would jeopardize 

the Nation’s naval capabilities; 

Whereas, for his service in the Navy, Senator McCain was 

awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with combat 

‘‘V’’ and one Gold Star device, the Bronze Star with 

combat ‘‘V’’ and two Gold Star devices, the Distinguished 

Flying Cross, and the Purple Heart with one Gold Star 

device during his distinguished military career; 


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Whereas Senator McCain’s dedication to the United States 

led him to continue his government service, as he was 

elected to the United States House of Representatives in 

1982 and the United States Senate in 1986; 

Whereas, in a career that spanned more than three decades, 

Senator McCain strongly supported a free press, praised 

bipartisan efforts, and fought for the security of the 

United States; 

Whereas Senator McCain’s lifelong mission of resisting repressive regimes gave a voice and hope to millions of oppressed people around the world, as evinced by his 47 visits to Iraq and Afghanistan, and over 20 trips to Vietnam where he met his former captors in the Hanoi Hilton; 

Whereas Senator McCain served as an unofficial ambassador 

of the United States wherever he traveled, epitomizing 

American values to the world; 

Whereas in keeping with Senator McCain’s outlook, the 

American people must never surrender or hide from difficult tasks, and instead work to ensure that the United 

States remains a shining city on a hill that provides hope 

to the oppressed; 

Whereas Senator McCain was a vocal believer in the 

strengths of the United States, saying: 

(1) ‘‘Our shared values define us more than our differences. And acknowledging those shared values can see 

us through our challenges today if we have the wisdom 

to trust in them again.’’ 

(2) ‘‘Civic participation over a lifetime, working in 

neighborhoods and communities and service of all 

kinds—military and civilian, full-time and part-time, naVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Sep 27, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC140.IH HC140

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tional and international—will strengthen America’s civic 

purpose.’’ 

(3) ‘‘America’s greatest strength has always been its 

hopeful vision of human progress.’’ 

(4) ‘‘Glory belongs to the act of being constant to 

something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely and who rely on 

you in return.’’ 

(5) ‘‘Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association 

has ever meant more to me than that.’’ 

(6) ‘‘Americans never quit. We never surrender. We 

never hide from history. We make history.’’; and 

Whereas, on August 25, 2018, at the age of 81, Senator 

John S. McCain III passed away, leaving behind his wife, 

Cindy, his seven children, his mother, Roberta, and a legacy of passionate service to the United States and advocacy for a strong American presence around the world: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) Senator John McCain’s legacy is at home 

4 amongst those of the greatest patriots and states5 men in the history of the United States; 

6 (2) the condolences of every member of Con7 gress is offered to the McCain family and all those 

8 who loved Senator McCain around the world; 

9 (3) every American should strive to be honor10 able as Senator McCain did and advocate for global 


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1 peace and the unalienable rights of all men and 

2 women around the world; and 

3 (4) the United States Congress should honor 

4 Senator McCain’s legacy through a memorial on the 

5 grounds of the Capitol of the United States. 

Æ 


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