National NEVER FORGET Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7183 To amend title 36, United States Code, to designate the Freedom Flag as an official symbol of the United States to honor and remember the victims and emergency responders who died on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 11, 2020 Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. CLINE, Mr. BEYER, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. RIGGLEMAN, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. WITTMAN, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. ZELDIN, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. ROSE of New York, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. KATKO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. DEAN, and Ms. NORTON) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju- diciary A BILL To amend title 36, United States Code, to designate the Freedom Flag as an official symbol of the United States to honor and remember the victims and emergency re- sponders who died on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7183.IH H7183 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7183 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Nine-Eleven 2 Victims and Emergency Responders Flag Of Remem- 3 brance, Gratitude, and Education for Tomorrow Act’’ or 4 the ‘‘National NEVER FORGET Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) On September 11, 2001, terrorists launched 8 an attack on the United States that resulted in the 9 deaths of nearly 3,000 United States citizens. 10 (2) Richard N. Melito designed a flag known as 11 the ‘‘Freedom Flag’’ on September 20, 2001, to me- 12 morialize and commemorate— 13 (A) the victims and emergency responders 14 of such attack; 15 (B) the events surrounding such attack; 16 and 17 (C) the sense of national unity and patriot- 18 ism that followed the attack. 19 (3) The meaning of the Freedom Flag is illus- 20 trated by the colors and symbols of the flag, includ- 21 ing— 22 (A) an old glory blue background that rep- 23 resents the people of the United States uniting 24 together for freedom; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Jul 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7183.IH H7183 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7183 IH (B) a white star that represents all individ- 1 uals who have lived and died for the freedom of 2 the people of the United States; 3 (C) five white bars that represent the Pen- 4 tagon and the organized protection of the free- 5 dom of the United States; 6 (D) a top old glory red stripe that rep- 7 resents the bloodshed of the individuals who 8 perished at the Pentagon and the crew and pas- 9 sengers on American Airlines Flight 77; 10 (E) two broad old glory red stripes that 11 represent the twin towers of the World Trade 12 Center in the city of New York and the blood- 13 shed of the individuals who died there, on 14 American Airlines Flight 11, and on United 15 Airlines Flight 175; 16 (F) a bottom old glory red stripe that rep- 17 resents the bloodshed of the crew and pas- 18 sengers who perished on United Airlines Flight 19 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and 20 (G) three white stripes that represent the 21 rescue workers, firefighters, police officers, port 22 authority employees, and other individuals who 23 worked tirelessly during and after the terrorist 24 attacks on September 11, 2001. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7183.IH H7183 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7183 IH (4) On October 25, 2001, a flag maker sewed 1 the first Freedom Flag with the design of Mr. Melito 2 and unveiled the flag on December 16, 2001. 3 (5) The Virginia Historical Society adopted the 4 Freedom Flag on November 12, 2001, for display 5 during a memorial exhibit commemorating the Sep- 6 tember 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon. 7 (6) In May 2002, Mr. Melito established a non- 8 profit organization known as the ‘‘Freedom Flag 9 Foundation’’ to facilitate the distribution of the 10 Freedom Flag to help educate children about the 11 terrorist attacks and to foster the establishment of 12 a national symbol of remembrance. 13 (7) On March 30, 2018, the Commonwealth of 14 Virginia designated the Freedom Flag as an official 15 emblem of Virginia. 16 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF FREEDOM FLAG HONORING AND 17 REMEMBERING THOSE WHO DIED ON SEP- 18 TEMBER 11, 2001. 19 (a) DESIGNATION.—Chapter 9 of title 36, United 20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 21 lowing: 22 ‘‘§ 904. Designation of Freedom Flag 23 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The flag known as the ‘Free- 24 dom Flag’ designed by Richard N. Melito is designated 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7183.IH H7183 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7183 IH as the symbol of the commitment of the United States to 1 honoring and remembering the victims and emergency re- 2 sponders who died as a result of the terrorist attacks on 3 September 11, 2001. 4 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED DISPLAY.—The Freedom Flag shall 5 be displayed each year on Patriot Day, September 11, and, 6 thereafter, each day through the end of September at— 7 ‘‘(1) the Capitol; 8 ‘‘(2) the White House; 9 ‘‘(3) each national cemetery; 10 ‘‘(4) each major military installation, as des- 11 ignated by the Secretary of Defense; 12 ‘‘(5) the building containing the official office 13 of— 14 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of State; 15 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Defense; and 16 ‘‘(C) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 17 ‘‘(6) each medical center of the Department of 18 Veterans Affairs; and 19 ‘‘(7) each United States Postal Service post of- 20 fice. 21 ‘‘(c) DISPLAY VISIBLE TO THE PUBLIC.—The Free- 22 dom Flag shall be displayed pursuant to subsection (b) 23 in a manner designed to ensure visibility to the public.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7183.IH H7183 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7183 IH (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 1 at the beginning of chapter 9 of title 36, United States 2 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 3 item: 4 ‘‘904. Designation of Freedom Flag.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7183.IH H7183 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS