To authorize the honorary appointment of Robert J. Dole to the grade of colonel in the regular Army.

V 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 859 To authorize the honorary appointment of Robert J. Dole to the grade of colonel in the regular Army. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 29, 2019 Mr. MARSHALL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To authorize the honorary appointment of Robert J. Dole to the grade of colonel in the regular Army. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 3 Congress makes the following findings: 4 (1) Robert J. Dole, also known as Bob Dole, 5 was born July 22, 1923, in Russell, Kansas. 6 (2) As a student at the University of Kansas, 7 Bob Dole enrolled in the Army Enlisted Reserve 8 Corps in 1942. He was called to active duty the fol- 9 lowing year and served during World War II. While 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H859.IH H859 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 859 IH deployed to Italy as an infantry lieutenant in the 1 10th Mountain Division, he was seriously wounded 2 in combat and was twice cited for acts of heroism 3 under fire. He finished his military service with two 4 Purple Hearts and two awards of the Bronze Star 5 Medal with ‘‘V’’ device for valor. He was also award- 6 ed the American Campaign medal, the European-Af- 7 rican-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the 8 World War II Victory medal. He resigned his Army 9 commission at the grade of captain. 10 (3) Bob Dole served in the House of Represent- 11 atives from 1961 to 1969. He served in the Senate 12 from 1969 until 1996. His service was previously 13 recognized by both the Legislative Branch of the 14 United States Government, through the Congres- 15 sional Gold Medal, and the Executive Branch of the 16 United States Government, through the Presidential 17 Medal of Freedom. 18 (4) Separate from the actions underlying the 19 honors previously bestowed upon him, Bob Dole also 20 made direct contributions to the Department of De- 21 fense and the veterans of United States military 22 service, including through the following: 23 (A) Bob Dole sponsored or co-sponsored 24 bills in Congress to improve veterans benefits, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H859.IH H859 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 859 IH to improve accountability of missing members 1 of the Armed Forces, to establish the Persian 2 Gulf War Veterans Health Registry, to recog- 3 nize women veterans, and to provide relief from 4 certain inequities for National Guard technician 5 service in connection with civil service retire- 6 ment. 7 (B) Bob Dole served as the National 8 Chairman of the WWII Memorial Campaign, 9 co-chair of the Families of Freedom Scholarship 10 Fund, and co-chair of the Presidential Commis- 11 sion on the Care of America’s Returning 12 Wounded Warriors. 13 (5) In 2018, an Army advisory panel reviewed 14 the comprehensive record of Bob Dole’s service to 15 the Armed Forces, veterans, and the national secu- 16 rity of the United States. The panel, recognizing 17 Bob Dole’s unique contributions to the Department 18 of Defense and veterans, recommended the honorary 19 promotion of Bob Dole to the grade of colonel in the 20 Army. 21 (6) Acting under provisions of section 1563 of 22 title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of the 23 Army endorsed the recommendation of the advisory 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H859.IH H859 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 859 IH panel for an honorary promotion of Bob Dole and 1 forwarded it to Congress for further action. 2 SEC. 2. HONORARY APPOINTMENT OF ROBERT J. DOLE TO 3 THE GRADE OF COLONEL IN THE REGULAR 4 ARMY. 5 (a) HONORARY APPOINTMENT.—The honorary ap- 6 pointment of Robert J. Dole, of Kansas, to the grade of 7 colonel in the regular Army is hereby authorized. 8 (b) ADDITIONAL BENEFITS NOT TO ACCRUE.—The 9 honorary appointment of Robert J. Dole to the grade of 10 colonel in the regular Army under subsection (a) shall not 11 affect pay or other benefits from the United States to 12 which Robert J. Dole is otherwise entitled based upon his 13 military service or affect any benefits to which any other 14 person may become entitled based on his military service. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H859.IH H859 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS