Jim Sensenbrenner: “H.R. 3095 simply clarifies title 4 of the United States Code to permit the chief elected officer of a city or locality…”

“H.R. 3095 simply clarifies title 4 of the United States Code to permit the chief elected officer of a city or locality to order the United States flag flown at half mast to honor the death of a present or former official of that locality. Though current law does not expressly prohibit a local official from executing this decision, it does not specifically grant this authority either. In the unfortunate event of a death of a local official, the law's lack of clarity regarding this authority has forced local officials to seek permission from either the President of the United States or the Governor of their respective State, both of whom have explicit authority under current law to order the flag lowered. As we all recognize, an individual's death often cannot be anticipated, and when a community is faced with such a loss, the President or Governor may not be able to be give immediate consideration to the request to lower the flag. Recognizing this problem, I believe that it is important that we vest our local officials with this authority rather than run the risk of missing an opportunity to honor and recognize the service of the deceased local official.”