Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chair and the ranking member for their willingness to hear this amendment. I also want to thank the Rules Committee, Mr. Sessions and Mr. McGovern, for ruling that this amendment is in order.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would provide an additional $10 million to the defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, formerly known as JPAC, for its newly expanded mission to bring home our missing servicemembers in North Korea.

In light of the recent agreement that includes a commitment to recover and repatriate U.S. POW/MIA remains from North Korea, we must ensure that the DPAA will be able to move quickly to take advantage of this unexpected opportunity.

As most Members are aware, nearly 8,000 U.S. servicemembers are still categorized as missing in action and presumed dead from World War II, the Korean war, and the Vietnam war. According to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the remains of about 5,300 of our sons and daughters in uniform are believed to be in North Korea. Many of them fell in battle near the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in November and December of 1950, the scene of one of the most heroic battles in U.S. military history, and certainly U.S. Marine Corps history.

Mr. Chairman, it has been 65 years since the Korean war ceasefire was put into effect. For those brave Americans and so many American families, to be still missing after so long is a tragedy. These brave servicemembers and their families deserve better.

Mr. Chairman, I have been involved with this issue for the past 8 years. I actually went out with JPAC to the South Pacific and the Philippines, to Vietnam and to Korea to observe their recovery efforts.

I had a chance to visit the headquarters at Hickam Air Force Base at Pearl Harbor where a dedicated group of our forensic pathologists are working tirelessly to use modern techniques to identify each of our brave heroes and return them to their families and their hometowns to receive the dignified and respectful remembrance that they deserve.

Mr. Chairman, this is a very unique opportunity. We have to act quickly. The mitochondrial DNA that allows us to identify our sons and daughters in uniform breaks down over time because of conditions in the soil. If we don't act quickly, we will lose this opportunity.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky).

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chair, I thank the chairwoman for her indulgence and also thank the ranking member. I ask Members to support this amendment to support the DPAA in its efforts to find and repatriate our missing heroes.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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