[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7164 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7164
To require the Secretary of Defense to change the name of any military
installation or other property under the jurisdiction of the Department
of Defense that is currently named after any individual who took up
arms against the United States during the American Civil War or any
individual or entity that supported such efforts, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 11, 2020
Ms. Clarke of New York (for herself, Mr. Rose of New York, Ms. Lee of
California, Ms. Speier, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Kennedy, Mr.
Carson of Indiana, Ms. Norton, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Thompson
of California, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Omar, Mr. Cicilline, Mr.
Nadler, Ms. Meng, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Rush, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Mr.
Huffman, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Sean Patrick
Maloney of New York, Mr. McGovern, Ms. DeGette, Ms. Adams, Mr. Price of
North Carolina, Mr. Larsen of Washington, and Mr. Kim) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Defense to change the name of any military
installation or other property under the jurisdiction of the Department
of Defense that is currently named after any individual who took up
arms against the United States during the American Civil War or any
individual or entity that supported such efforts, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Honoring Real Patriots Act of
2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The American Civil War of 1861-1865 was fought over the
desire of the seceding States to keep human beings enslaved
based upon their race.
(2) The Confederacy was so committed to preserving the
institution of slavery that it killed more than 360,000
American soldiers in its failed effort to achieve this goal.
(3) This act of treason was a direct attack on the
existence of the United States and merits no honor to the
Confederacy as an institution or its leaders as individuals by
the United States Armed Forces.
(4) Nonetheless, United States military installations and
other property under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Defense, including General Lee Avenue and Stonewall Jackson
Drive at Fort Hamilton, New York, remain named after rebels who
took up arms against the United States.
(5) The United States Armed Forces are essential to
defending the United States and protecting American values of
freedom, equality, and democratic governance.
(6) This role is undermined when military installations,
facilities, roads, equipment, and other property are named
after enemy combatants who took up arms during the Civil War to
challenge the very values for which the United States stands.
(7) Naming military property after armed insurrectionists
with American blood on their hands is an affront to members of
the Armed Forces, many of whom are people of color, who take an
oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
(8) There are an ample number of meritorious members of the
Armed Forces, who loyally served the United States, for whom
military property could and should be named.
SEC. 3. REDESIGNATION OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AND OTHER PROPERTY
UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NAMED
AFTER INDIVIDUALS WHO TOOK UP ARMS AGAINST THE UNITED
STATES DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR.
(a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States
that no military installation or other property under the jurisdiction
of the Department of Defense shall be named, or may remain named, after
any individual who took up arms against the United States during the
American Civil War or any individual or entity that supported such
efforts.
(b) Redesignation of Property.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
change the name of any military installation or other property under
the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense that, as of the date of
the enactment of this Act, is named after--
(1) any individual who took up arms against the United
States during the American Civil War; or
(2) any individual or entity that supported the effort to
take up arms against the United States during such war.
(c) Implementation Report.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the
Senate a report containing a plan to comply with this section by the
deadline specified in subsection (b). The report shall include the
following:
(1) A comprehensive list of all military installations and
other property under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Defense with a name that needs to be changed to comply with
this section.
(2) An estimate of the funding necessary to implement this
section, including costs associated with new signage, maps,
documents, and other materials to reflect changes in names.
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