Title: Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the naming of new or undedicated facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs after women veterans and minority veterans in order to reflect the diversity of all who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This resolution supports the naming of new or undedicated Department of Veterans Affairs facilities after women veterans and minority veterans to reflect the diversity of all who have served in the Armed Forces.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1213 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1213

 Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the naming 
of new or undedicated facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
  after women veterans and minority veterans in order to reflect the 
  diversity of all who have served in the Armed Forces of the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 12, 2020

    Ms. Brownley of California (for herself, Ms. Bass, Mr. Brown of 
    Maryland, Ms. Moore, Ms. Speier, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Adams, Mr. 
 O'Halleran, Mr. Levin of California, Mr. Thompson of California, Mrs. 
   Torres of California, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Pappas, Mr. 
   Takano, Ms. Underwood, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Deutch, Mrs. Carolyn B. 
    Maloney of New York, Ms. Meng, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. 
 Jayapal, Miss Rice of New York, Mrs. Bustos, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. 
 Garcia of Texas, Mr. Soto, Ms. Frankel, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Lee of 
  California, Ms. Houlahan, Ms. Porter, Mr. Moulton, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
Sanchez, and Ms. Pingree) submitted the following resolution; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the naming 
of new or undedicated facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
  after women veterans and minority veterans in order to reflect the 
  diversity of all who have served in the Armed Forces of the United 
                                States.

Whereas, as of November 2020, of 1,255 health care facilities of the Department 
        of Veterans of Affairs, 13 are named for members of minority groups and 
        one is named for a woman;
Whereas millions of women and members of minority groups have served in the 
        Armed Forces of the United States since the founding of the Nation;
Whereas, during the Revolutionary War, Margaret Corbin and Deborah Sampson were 
        among the first women to serve in combat, and women served in other 
        roles, including a woman who served as Agent 355 in George Washington's 
        spy ring;
Whereas, during the Civil War, hundreds of women disguised themselves as men to 
        serve in the military, and others served as nurses, spies, and 
        administrators;
Whereas Harriet Tubman became the first American woman known to lead troops in 
        combat;
Whereas for her service during the Civil War, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker became the 
        first and only woman to receive the Medal of Honor;
Whereas women have been formally part of the Armed Forces since the founding of 
        the Army Nurse Corps in 1901 and the Navy Nurse Corps in 1908;
Whereas many of the Nation's heroes have been denied awards and recognition for 
        their service due to systematic racial discrimination and anti-Semitism;
Whereas Crispus Attucks was the first American to be killed in the Boston 
        Massacre, which laid the foundation of American independence and 
        freedom;
Whereas Black servicemembers volunteered to participate and fight in every major 
        war that America has engaged in, since the Revolutionary War, despite a 
        legacy of slavery, segregated units, the Jim Crow era, discriminatory 
        voting statutes, job restrictions, and the denial of benefits related to 
        their service;
Whereas the first African-American pilots in the United States Air Force, often 
        referred to as the Tuskegee Airmen, destroyed over 250 German aircraft 
        and destroyed over 950 supply vehicles in World War II;
Whereas, during World War II, Tuskegee Airmen were awarded 8 Purple Hearts, 15 
        Bronze Stars, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and nearly 750 other Air 
        Medals;
Whereas members of the LGBTQ community and their allies fought a campaign for 
        the ability to serve their country openly and ultimately succeeded in 
        lifting those restrictions;
Whereas the success of the movement for equal service for the LGBTQ community 
        has suffered a setback by way of administrative action which currently 
        restricts the ability of transgender people to serve openly;
Whereas Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United 
        States, previously served in the United States Navy as a diving officer;
Whereas American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the highest per-capita 
        proportion of any population to serve in the Armed Forces, including the 
        Cherokee, Choctaw, and Assiniboine code talkers of World War I and 
        Comanche, Mohawk, Muscogee, and Navajo code talkers of World War II;
Whereas 60 Latino servicemembers have received the Medal of Honor, including 
        eight from Puerto Rico and seven who were born outside of the United 
        States, among them Rodolfo P. Hernandez, a son of a farmworker family 
        who earned the Medal of Honor for his actions and near-death injuries in 
        Korea;
Whereas Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders have served in the 
        United States Armed Forces since the War of 1812, including Telesforo 
        Trinidad, the only member of the Armed Forces to receive a Medal of 
        Honor for actions in peacetime;
Whereas women and members of minority groups have served in every military role, 
        from infantry soldier to cyber warfare engineer;
Whereas the United States is proud of and appreciates the service of all women 
        veterans and minority veterans who have demonstrated great courage and 
        commitment to defending the principles upon which the United States was 
        founded and which the United States continues to uphold; and
Whereas by naming new or undedicated facilities of the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs for women veterans and minority veterans, the House of 
        Representatives could--

    (1) highlight the historic and enduring presence of women and members 
of minority groups in the Armed Forces and the National Guard; and

    (2) pay respect to women veterans and minority veterans for their 
valiant service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States: Now, 
therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the naming of 
new or undedicated facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
after women veterans and minority veterans in order to reflect the 
diversity of all who have served in the Armed Forces of the United 
States.
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