Congressman Gonzalez Talks Respect for Veterans

Congressman Anthony Gonzalez  has been involved in two recent legislative efforts that have nation implications of late.

The first being his Fallen Warrior Battlefield Cross Memorial Act, which was recently unanimously passed in committee.  The second, is his efforts to combat academic espionage at institutions of higher education

He spoke to Gary Rivers on Thursday about the initiatives.

ESPIONAGE
29 members of Congress led by U.S. Congressmen Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) and Derek Kilmer (D-WA) sent a letter to the conference committee for the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Monday urging the inclusion of legislation to combat academic espionage at institutions of higher education in the final version of the bill. The legislation, known as the Securing American Science and Technology Act (SASTA), passed as section 1089 of the House version of the NDAA earlier this year. 

Congressman Gonzalez first introduced SASTA alongside Rep. Mikie Sherril (D-NJ) and Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) in May of this year. The legislation works to address academic espionage at U.S. colleges and universities by promoting the standardization of federal agency approaches to academic espionage while maintaining collaboration and a welcoming environment for foreign talent at our academic institutions. 

 FALLEN WARRIOR BATTLEFIELD CROSS MEMORIAL ACT

WASHINGTON – H.R. 1424, the Fallen Warrior Battlefield Cross Memorial Act, passed the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans Affairs this week with unanimous support. The bill, which marked the first bill introduced by Congressman Anthony Gonzalez (R-Rocky River), codifies protections for battlefield cross memorials in national cemeteries and is strongly supported by the Northeast Ohio veteran community. 

CONGRESSMAN GONZALEZ: “One of the greatest champions for this cause was Elton Boyer, President of the 555th Honors Detachment in my district. He passed away [last] weekend, but it was Elton’s mission to erect a Battlefield Cross at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Seville, Ohio using the spent brass from military funerals. My bill protects his work, clarifying that no administrative policy change can allow the removal of this memorial.” 

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