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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Today, there are an estimated 21.7 million | ||||||
| 3 | veterans living in the United
States, with the oldest having | ||||||
| 4 | served in World War II; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Since the founding of the United States, there | ||||||
| 6 | have been over
50 million Americans who have served in the | ||||||
| 7 | United States military in some capacity; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Some soldiers never return home and may be | ||||||
| 9 | classified as Prisoners of
War (POW), Missing in Action (MIA), | ||||||
| 10 | or Died in Captivity (DIC); and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, There currently is an estimated 83,000 American | ||||||
| 12 | service personnel still
considered MIA; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency's (DPAA) | ||||||
| 14 | mission is to recover
fallen Americans and provide the fullest | ||||||
| 15 | possible accounting for missing personnel to
their families and | ||||||
| 16 | the nation; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Many of those classified as POW, MIA, or DIC are | ||||||
| 18 | never given a proper burial, and many are in unmarked graves | ||||||
| 19 | across the world; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The United States has always strived to ensure | ||||||
| 2 | that every soldier will be
returned home and continues to | ||||||
| 3 | search for and find fallen soldiers from wars that took
place | ||||||
| 4 | decades ago; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, From 1991 to 1993, the United States Senate had a | ||||||
| 6 | select committee on
POW/MIA affairs to ensure that the nation | ||||||
| 7 | met its obligation to the missing and to the
families of those | ||||||
| 8 | still listed as unaccounted; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, After extensive research, the U.S. Senate Select | ||||||
| 10 | Committee on POW/MIA
Affairs produced an over 1,000 page report | ||||||
| 11 | detailing the efforts and challenges the
United States faces | ||||||
| 12 | for recovery of those determined as POW, MIA, or DIC; | ||||||
| 13 | therefore, be it
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| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 15 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we support the priority | ||||||
| 16 | of the United States to bring every fallen service member home; | ||||||
| 17 | and be it further | ||||||
| 18 | RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to reestablish the select | ||||||
| 19 | committee on POW/MIA
affairs to investigate issues relating to | ||||||
| 20 | the process of recovering United States fallen
service members; | ||||||
| 21 | and be it further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | delivered to President Donald Trump, U.S. Senate Majority | ||||||
| 3 | Leader Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck | ||||||
| 4 | Schumer, U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, U.S. House of | ||||||
| 5 | Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and all members | ||||||
| 6 | of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.
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