June 10, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 96 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCING LEGISLATION REQUIRING THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO REVIEW 
    AND UPDATE FORMS CONTAINING RACIALLY OR ETHNICALLY INSENSITIVE 
                              TERMINOLOGY

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 10, 2019

  Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation 
requiring the Department of Defense (DOD) to review and modernize any 
of its in use forms utilizing outdated and racially insensitive 
terminology. Today, Senator Tammy Duckworth will introduce the same 
legislation in the U.S. Senate. I thank her for joining me in this 
effort, and express my gratitude for the 42 members of the House of 
Representatives and the four Senators who have joined us in introducing 
this legislation.
  It was recently brought to my attention that the Defense Department's 
DD-2064 Form, which is issued when a service member loses his or her 
life while deployed overseas, utilized the term ``Negroid'' as one of 
the means for denoting race. Quite frankly, I was shocked to see this 
term listed on documentation sent to the family of one of my 
constituents just a few months ago, after their son lost his life in 
service to our country.
  Imagine for a moment what this must feel like. In the midst of the 
pain and crisis of losing a son, a daughter, a husband, or a wife, to 
receive a form from the Federal government identifying that loved one 
with outdated, offensive, pseudoscientific terminology once used to 
justify racism and concepts like racial inferiority or racial 
superiority. No family should ever have to cope with such added injury 
when mourning a family member in a time of crisis.
  This terminology is not compliant with requirements from DOD and the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In 1997, OMB set guidance for 
federal data on race and ethnicity, and in the years that followed, DOD 
released several issuances guiding the implementation of OMB's 
direction.
  I also want to acknowledge--and I want to be very clear--that the 
Department of Defense acted expeditiously to rectify this oversight 
once my office brought it to their attention. While I commend them for 
addressing this issue with the seriousness it requires, the fact that 
this document retained outdated terminology for more than two decades 
calls into question the status of other forms in use by the Department. 
It is my understanding that the Department has begun a process of 
reviewing hundreds of other forms to ensure that no others are out of 
compliance. However, this review is just a small fraction of the forms 
and surveys utilized by the Department, individual service components, 
and military installations world-wide.
  That is why this legislation is a necessary step that is in the best 
interest of our service members and our country.
  This is a short, straightforward bill. It requires the DOD to review 
each of its forms and surveys currently in use to determine if any 
others contain terms or classifications that may be considered racially 
or ethnically insensitive. If they find any, they must take the 
appropriate steps to modernize them.
  I would again like to thank my colleagues who have supported this 
measure, and ask that we move expeditiously to bring it to the floor 
for a vote.

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