Gold Star Mothers Families National Monument Extension Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. KIM. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado, my friend, for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the sacrifices of America's Gold Star Mothers and families and to further the cause of building a monument to acknowledge their contributions to our country.

One of these Gold Star Mothers is Judith Young, a neighbor of mine down the street in Morristown, New Jersey. In October 1983, Judith lost her son, Jeffrey, in the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut.

Judith said that Jeffrey always wanted to be a soldier. He graduated from high school in 1980 and went right into the Marines. He was proud to be a Marine. He was proud to serve his country.

In the more than three decades since his death, Judith has been a fierce advocate for her fellow Gold Star Mothers and Families. She represents thousands of loved ones and family members who have sacrificed so much for the freedoms we enjoy today.

It is that sacrifice that we seek to honor in the Gold Star Families National Monument Extension Act. By passing this bill, we can give Gold Star Families, like Judith's, the time they need to complete a monument acknowledging that sacrifices aren't just made by those in uniform, but by the loved ones left behind.

This is a monument that has a site selected; that won't cost taxpayers a single dime; and that has truly bipartisan support. If we don't pass this bill, the authorization for this monument will expire.

Our Gold Star Families have already been through so much. They have already endured and sacrificed beyond what so many of us here can understand; the least we can do is support them by giving them the time to remember and honor those lost.

The futility in finding the words and actions to thank loved ones like Judith isn't new. In a letter to Lydia Bixby of Massachusetts in 1864, President Lincoln wrote: ``I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming.''

Lincoln understood that there is nothing we can ever do to truly repay patriots like Judith. But he continued: ``But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.''

Let us show the thanks of the Republic that so many brave men and women have given all to save. Let us show the thanks of the Republic that so many Gold Star Families have given so much to keep free. We can do that by passing this bipartisan bill and allowing the completion of this monument.

I hope you will support me, my co-lead, Congressman Ratcliffe, and the Gold Star Mothers and Families across the country in this effort.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source