House delegates call on Senate to approve flag language in defense bill

By Pete Kasperowicz - 11/28/12 05:45 PM ET

Members of the House from the U.S. territories and the District of Columbia called on the Senate Wednesday to amend the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to include House-passed language calling for the flags of U.S. territories to be flown during military ceremonies.

The House approved the NDAA over the summer, and that version of the bill included language that called on the flags of the territories and District of Columbia to be flown whenever state flags are flown. That language was proposed by Del. Gregorio Sablan, an independent from the Northern Mariana Islands, and accepted by House leaders.

But the Senate bill being considered this week was stripped of that language, which prompted delegates to call on the Democratic Senate to add the language back.

"It is in the House bill," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said on the House floor. "We regret that it is not in the Senate bill. So the delegates and I have come to the floor to ask that the Senate follow the lead of the House on his matter of common courtesy and respect."

"Just imagining returning home to the United States after many months of life-threatening combat," Sablan said. "Imagine the relief you feel to be safe and the joyfulness of the welcome you expect to receive. Then imagine as you enter that welcoming ceremony, you see displayed the flags of every state, but the flag of your own home is missing.

"This is the sad experience for some 36,000 service men and women ... whose home is the District of Columbia or one of the United States territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and my own district, the Northern Mariana Islands."

Dels. Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands) and Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) also spoke in favor of reinstating the language.

As of Wednesday afternoon, it was unclear when the Senate would complete work on the NDAA. The Senate approved two amendments aimed at protecting service members who are victims of rape or suffer from mental health issues, and approved another amendment maintaining the ability of the military to invest in and buy alternative fuels.