Reps. Huffman, Gallego, Ellison, 82 Members Urge the Department of Veterans Affairs to Ban Confederate Flags from Veteran Cemeteries

July 07, 2016

Washington, D.C.- Washington, D.C.- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must act now to ensure that no one honoring loved ones at America’s veterans cemeteries on Memorial Day, a day intended to recognize those who died in service to our country, is met with the hurtful, racist symbol of the Confederate battle flag, urged Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Keith Ellison (D-MN), and 82 members of Congress in a letter sent today.

“We believe the Confederate battle flag has no place flying over U.S. property, especially not at VA national cemeteries, where families and loved ones go to pay respect to our nation’s military heroes,” the members wrote. “We encourage you to take immediate action to revise this policy to ensure that those visiting our nation’s veteran cemeteries next Memorial Day are not confronted with a symbol of intolerance, racism, and opposition to the United States.”

“The Confederate battle flag is extremely offensive and frankly hurtful to the millions of Americans for whom it symbolizes the enslavement of their ancestors, secession from the United States, and the on-going racism and bigotry which they face, witness, and endure every day,” said Hilary Shelton, the Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and the Senior VP for Policy and Advocacy. “In short, it does not symbolize the Nation for which our loved ones fought and many gave their lives, and it has no business flying in places of national prominence, especially not in cemeteries honoring the men and women who fought to preserve our union, our freedom and our future. I hope Secretary McDonald acts swiftly to change this outdated Directive and permanently remove a symbol of national division from our nation’s sacred veteran cemeteries.”

This call for administrative action comes after the House of Representatives passed an amendment, introduced by Reps. Huffman, Gallego, and Ellison, to the 2017 VA funding bill that would prohibit the large-scale display of the Confederate battle flag at cemeteries administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Despite its earlier House approval, the Republican House majority rushed through a partisan conference report in the middle of the night during the recent congressional “sit-in” which omitted the Huffman-Gallego-Ellison amendment.

The VA currently permits the display of the Confederate flag on Memorial Day as well as on Confederate Memorial Day in the 11 states that recognize this occasion, or on another day in-lieu of Confederate Memorial Day in those states that do not celebrate the holiday.

In addition to Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Keith Ellison (D-MN), the letter is cosigned by: Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-2), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ted Deutch (D-FL),  James P. McGovern (D-MA), John Conyers (D-MI), Kathleen M. Rice (D-NY), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), John Yarmuth (D-KY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Patrick E. Murphy (D-PA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Lois Capps (D-CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Donald S. Beyer Jr. (D-VA), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), William R. Keating (D-MA),  Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson (D-GA), Robert A. Brady (D-PA), James R. Langevin (D-RI), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), Robin L. Kelly (D-IL), Joseph P. Kennedy, III (D-MA), Michael M. Honda (D-CA), Niki Tsongas (D-MA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Andre Carson (D-IN), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Eliot L. Engel (D-NY), Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Alma S. Adams (D-NC), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Gwen Moore (D-WI), John K. Delaney (D-MD), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Frank Pallone, Jr.(D-NJ), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Bill Foster (D-IL), G. K. Butterfield (D-NC), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Steve Israel (D-NY), Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Adam Smith (D-WA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), José E. Serrano (D-NY), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), Elizabeth H. Esty (D-CT), Ami Bera M.D. (D-CA), Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), and  David N. Cicilline (D-RI).

The letter may be found HERE or below.

July 7, 2016

Secretary Robert A. McDonald

Department of Veterans Affairs

810 Vermont Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20420

Dear Secretary McDonald:

In May, millions of Americans observed Memorial Day, an opportunity to collectively honor and thank our fallen war heroes for their service to our nation. For many, Memorial Day is a time to visit our Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemeteries. The men and women interned in these sacred sites fought for freedom, justice, and unity.

National Cemetery Administration Directive 3220 of 2005 authorizes the display of the Confederate battle flag on flagpoles at national cemeteries with interned Confederate soldiers. We believe the Confederate battle flag has no place flying over U.S. property, especially not at VA national cemeteries, where families and loved ones go to pay respect to our nation’s military heroes. 

On May 19, 2016, by a vote of 265 - 159, the House of Representatives voted to halt the VA policy that allows for the large-scale display of the Confederate battle flag at VA national cemeteries. We encourage you to take immediate action to revise this policy to ensure that those visiting our nation’s veteran cemeteries next Memorial Day are not confronted with a symbol of intolerance, racism, and opposition to the United States. 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to working with you to end the VA policy that allows the Confederate battle flag to fly over VA national cemeteries.

Sincerely,

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