On the recordJune 26, 2018
Mr. Chair, first I would like to thank Chairwoman Granger for her leadership and hard work on this critical legislation. Voting for the annual Department of Defense Appropriations Act is one of the most important votes I take each year, and the great bipartisan work that the chairwoman and the ranking member have done to ensure that our military is fully funded is truly commendable. I rise today to talk about the Allen-Raskin amendment to H.R. 6157. This bipartisan amendment allocates $10 million to the defense POW/ Missing Persons Accounting Agency to assist in identifying unclaimed remains missing since the Korean conflict. As of today, there are almost 7,700 total personnel missing and unaccounted for since the Korean conflict. One of those still unaccounted for is Private First Class Ivan Roberts, a proud native of Georgia's 12th Congressional District. On November 5, 1951, Private First Class Roberts and three other men from Alpha Company 5th Calvary Regiment went missing during an attack to secure a Korean hill complex. Although I never had the opportunity to meet Private First Class Roberts, I was able to meet his family and loved ones at a recent memorial ceremony in his honor, and I know that he was a beloved hero and patriot whose family wants peace and closure. As you may know, in the recent historic summit between President Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong-un, President Trump asked North Korea to return the remains of U.S.…





