Authorizing Use of Emancipation Hall for Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony for Native American Code Talkers
Floor Speech
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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in very strong support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 25, authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall on Wednesday, November 20, for a ceremony to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Native American code talkers who assisted the United States military and our ally powers. This ceremony, Mr. Speaker, is a very long overdue recognition of all Native American code talkers that served this Nation during times of foreign conflict.
Although the contributions of the Navajo code talkers during the World Wars have been the most celebrated, many, many other Native American tribes deserve recognition for their courage and dedication to this Nation as well. Thousands of Native Americans from over a dozen tribes across the country saw the threats to humanity being posed and joined with our military forces to protect our common homeland. It was a call to action that they selflessly and successfully accomplished.
I want to thank our former colleague from Oklahoma, Mr. Boren, for his leadership on H.R. 4544, the Native American Code Talkers Act, which provides for this overdue recognition and celebration.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. Speaker, I don't know how I follow on from the two previous speakers we had on our side that talked very eloquently from their heart about their pride in their heritage and their pride as being Americans and now as Members of the Congress about this bipartisan bill, and it is a ceremony that I tell my colleague from California we are all looking forward to.
As I mentioned in my opening remarks, it is certainly a ceremony that is long overdue for the recognition of all Native Americans, and particularly these code talkers and what they did to keep America free. They are great ambassadors of liberty, freedom, and democracy.
I urge all my colleagues to support Senate Concurrent Resolution 25, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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