To require the construction at Arlington National Cemetery of a memorial to noncitizens killed in the line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

November 7, 2003

Mr. CUNNINGHAM (for himself and Ms. HARMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

To require the construction at Arlington National Cemetery of a memorial to noncitizens killed in the line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Memorial to Noncitizen Patriots Act'.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

(a) The Congress finds the following:

(1) There is a long history of noncitizens serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

(2) Noncitizens have been engaged in American battles since the Colonial period, both as volunteers and conscripts.

(3) George Washington, a British subject, led our American Revolution and the Marquis de Lafayette, a citizen of France, and hundreds of other noncitizens helped win our independence.

(4) In the War of 1812, some Irish nationals helped the United States fight British invaders.

(5) Thousands of noncitizens fought for the Union Army in the Civil War.

(6) Roughly one in five wartime draftees during World War I was foreign-born, and approximately 9 percent were noncitizens.

(7) According to one recent study, more than 20 percent of the 3,400 members of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the Nation's highest military honor, were immigrants, though the precise number of noncitizens who received this award is not known.

(8) Today, 36,177 members of the Armed Forces are noncitizens, making up about 5 percent of active duty members, and 12,132 members of the Selected Reserve are noncitizens.

(9) About a third of today's noncitizen members of the Armed Forces come from Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries and the rest are from the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Canada, Korea, India, and other countries.

(10) These men and women in uniform, born in other countries, now spend each day in honorable service to their adopted land.

(11) These men and women love the United States and show it in their daily devotion to duty.

(12) The role of noncitizen members of the Armed Forces recently received widespread attention when a noncitizen from Guatemala became the second American member of the Armed Forces to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

(13) Noncitizen members of the Armed Forces from Mexico, Colombia, the Republic of the Philippines, Scotland, Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Poland have also given their lives in the line of duty in Iraq.

(14) The sacrifice that these and other noncitizens have made for their adopted country deserves special recognition and appreciation.

(15) Among the special recognitions a grateful nation can confer is establishment of a memorial to those noncitizens killed in the line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.

SEC. 3. CONSTRUCTION OF MEMORIAL TO NONCITIZENS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY WHILE SERVING IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

(a) CONSTRUCTION REQUIRED- The Secretary of the Army shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, construct at an appropriate place in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, a memorial marker honoring the service and sacrifice of noncitizens killed in the line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.

(b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Army $500,000 for the design and construction of the memorial marker required by subsection (a).

SEC. 4. DONATIONS FOR MEMORIAL TO NONCITIZENS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY WHILE SERVING IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

(a) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT DONATIONS- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may accept gifts and donations of services, money, and property (including personal, tangible, or intangible property) for the purpose of constructing an appropriate memorial or monument to noncitizens killed in the line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, whether such memorial or monument is constructed by the Secretary or is the memorial marker required by section 3.

(b) TRANSFER- (1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may transfer to the Secretary of the Army any services, money, or property accepted by the Secretary under subsection (a) for the purpose of the construction of the memorial marker required by section 3.

(2) Any moneys transferred to the Secretary of the Army under paragraph (1) shall be merged with amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization provided in section 3(b), and shall be available for the purpose referred to in that section.

(c) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY- The authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to accept gifts and donations under subsection (a) shall expire five years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

END