Title: 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.
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Expresses the sense of Congress honoring Senator John McCain's legacy as one of the greatest patriots and statesmen in U.S. history.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 140 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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

_______________________________________________________________________

                         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;
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;
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, national 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
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) Senator John McCain's legacy is at home amongst those 
        of the greatest patriots and statesmen in the history of the 
        United States;
            (2) the condolences of every member of Congress is offered 
        to the McCain family and all those who loved Senator McCain 
        around the world;
            (3) every American should strive to be honorable as Senator 
        McCain did and advocate for global peace and the unalienable 
        rights of all men and women around the world; and
            (4) the United States Congress should honor Senator 
        McCain's legacy through a memorial on the grounds of the 
        Capitol of the United States.
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