John Doolittle: “I rise today because the last duty performed to honor a local hero should not be thwarted by a technical flaw in the…”

“I rise today because the last duty performed to honor a local hero should not be thwarted by a technical flaw in the law. Let me explain. The Federal Flag Code provides guidelines for the display of the U.S. flag, but grants only the president and governors the authority to fly the flag at half-mast. While this code does not expressly outlaw local government officials from lowering the flag to half-staff, it does not expressly permit it. This technicality has upset local officials across the country who believe that communities should have the right to honor their fellow citizens without permission from their respective governors or the President of the United States. This quirk in the Federal Flag Code came to my attention when my friend and constituent, former Mayor George Magnuson of Rocklin, California sought to honor his friend and fellow volunteer firefighter, Cliff Graves, who died in the line of duty. Shortly after speaking to Mayor Magnuson I realized that this needless hurdle had to be corrected. That prompted me to introduce H.R. 1022, The 'Community Recognition Act.' This simple, yet important, legislation authorizes the chief elected official of a locality, in the event of a death of a present or former official of that locality, to proclaim that the national flag be flown at half staff.”