Rep. Jones to push Boehner on tribute to U.S. troops

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) said Wednesday morning that he would press House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to reinstate more regular recognition in the House of members of the U.S. Armed Forces who fought and died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and will push for Boehner to preside over these moments of silence.

“I intend to hand deliver a letter to the Speaker of the House as I did a year ago, and I want the Speaker himself to stand at the Speaker’s stand and read the words, thanking our men and women in uniform for their service to our nation,” Jones said on the floor.

“I intend to follow through on this — I hope friends on both sides of the aisle will join me in asking the Speaker to continue this recognition of those who’ve given so much.”

Jones noted that the House regularly recognized the service of Armed Forces members when Democrats were in control, and thanked then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for establishing this practice.

“I regret that I must say that the last time we did this was December 16, 2011,” Jones said. He also said Boehner himself has rarely if ever been in the Speaker’s chair when the House paused for a moment to thank U.S. troops.

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said the House still honors members of the Armed Forces with moments of silence on the floor.

“We do a moment of silence to honor troops nearly every month,” he said.

---