Bring Our Heroes Home Alive Act – 2016

Sharing from Bob Jones....

From: Coalition of Families of Korean and Cold War POW/MIAs [mailto:coalitionoffamilies@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 2:38 PM
Subject: Bring Our Heroes Home Alive Act - 2016

Hello Everyone,

On Thursday, September 29th, Senator Kelly Ayotte will introduce the Bring Our Heroes Home Alive Act of 2016. This is long awaited legislation to declassify documents relating to missing armed forces personnel from all conflicts. The Senator will be issuing a press release and would like to include brief statements of support from organizations involved in the accounting mission.

Attached is a highlights page from the bill, as well as the proposed legislation itself. Please join us in support by sending comments to the Senator’s national security legislative aide, Ryan Clark: ryan_clark@ayotte.senate.gov. (Include the subject line: Bring Our Heroes Home Alive Act – 2016.)

There is too much information on missing men from all conflicts still waiting in classified documents, including intelligence reports and prisoner-of-war debriefs. Their classification status is maintained not because of critical information relating to the nation’s security but because there has never been a strong enough call to release them. This legislation will do that.

We hope that your organization will be part of this national effort to bring new information to the fate of missing men from all conflicts and answers to their families.

Thank you.

Rick
Richard Downes, President
(Lt. Hal Downes, MIA)

Coalition of Families of Korean & Cold War POW/MIAs

Bring Our Heroes Home Alive 2016 Act 

Bring Our Heroes Home Alive Act 2016 (Highlights)

A BILL To provide for the creation of the Missing Armed Forces Personnel Records Collection at the National Archives, to require the expeditious public transmission to the Archivist and public disclosure of Missing Armed Forces Personnel records, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bring Our Heroes Home Act of 2016’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.—Congress finds and declares the following:

(1) A vast number of records relating to Missing Armed Forces Personnel have not been identified, located, or transferred to the National Archives for review and declassification. Only in the rarest cases is there any legitimate need for continued protection of records pertaining to Missing Armed Forces Personnel who have been missing for decades.

 (2) There has been insufficient priority placed on identifying, locating, transferring, reviewing, or declassifying records relating to Missing Armed Forces Personnel.

(3) Mandates for declassification set forth in multiple Executive Orders have been broadly written, loosely interpreted, and often ignored by Federal Government officials in possession and control of records related to Missing Armed Forces Personnel.

(4) No individual or entity has been tasked with oversight of the identification, collection, review, and declassification of records related to Missing Armed Forces Personnel.

(5) The interest, desire, workforce, and funding of Federal agencies to assemble, review, and declassify records relating to Missing Armed Forces Personnel have been lacking.

(6) All records of the Federal Government relating to Missing Armed Forces Personnel should be preserved for historical and Governmental purposes.

(7) All records of the Federal Government relating Missing Armed Forces Personnel should carry a presumption of immediate disclosure, and all such records should be disclosed under this Act to enable the fullest possible accounting for Missing Armed Forces Personnel.

(8) Legislation is necessary to create an enforceable, independent, and accountable process for the public disclosure of records relating to Missing Armed Forces Personnel.