Duckworth, Durbin, Warren, Democratic Colleagues Urge Armed Services Leaders to Retain Bipartisan, Bicameral Measure to Rename Military Bases and Other Assets Honoring the Confederacy
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 34 of their Democratic colleagues in a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees urging that they reconcile and retain the bicameral, bipartisan measure to require military installations and assets that honor the Confederacy and Confederate officers be renamed within the next three years. Senate and House Armed Services leaders begin the final stage of conference this week on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In June, the Republican-led Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) passed a bipartisan amendment to remove all names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederacy and anyone who voluntarily served it from bases and other property of the U.S. military on a voice vote.
“The Senate and House strongly supported the inclusion of this requirement by passing their bills with overwhelming, veto-proof, bipartisan majorities. The requirement also received bipartisan support in committee markups,” the Senators wrote in their letter to Armed Services Committees’ leadership.
Their latest letter raises concerns with Senate Armed Service Chairman Inhofe’s declaration that he intends to strip the bipartisan, veto-proof provision out behind closed doors in conference, saying “We’re going to see to it that provision doesn’t survive the bill… I’m not going to say how at this point.” The House Armed Services Committee passed a similar measure, both creating a process for identifying all military assets where the Confederacy is honored and implementing the new removal requirement. The House bill requires the process to be complete within one year, while the Senate bill authorizes a three-year period for complete renaming. In their letter, the Senators urge the conference committee to adopt a reconciled version of the measure that would require renaming to be complete within three years. Both committees passed their bills out of committee with overwhelming bipartisan majorities and each chamber followed suit.
The Senators wrote in their letter: “We strongly oppose removing this provision and respectfully request the conferees to retain in the conference report the provision endorsed by both chambers: a requirement for the Department to rename all military assets named for the Confederacy no later than three years after the date of enactment.”
They concluded: “Millions of servicemembers of color have lived on, trained at, and deployed from installations named to honor traitors that killed Americans in defense of chattel slavery. Renaming these bases does not disrespect our military – it honors the sacrifices and contributions of our servicemembers in a way that better reflects our nation’s diversity and values. We know who these bases were named for and why they were named. It is long past the time to correct this longstanding, historic injustice. We must not shrink from our solemn duty in his moment.”
Along with Duckworth, Durbin and Warren, the letter was also signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Gary Peters (D-MI), Doug Jones (D-AL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Bob Casey (D-PA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-W), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tina Smith (D-MN), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tom Udall (D-NM), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Brian Schatz (D-HI).
A full copy of the letter can be found here and below:
November 10, 2020
The Honorable Jim Inhofe
Chairman
Senate Committee on Armed Services
228 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Adam Smith
Chairman
House Armed Services Committee
2120 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Jack Reed
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Armed Services
228 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mac Thornberry
Ranking Member
House Armed Services Committee
2120 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Inhofe, Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Reed, and Ranking Member Thornberry:
We write to request that the conference report of the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) include a provision to require the Department of Defense (DoD, or the Department) rename all property and other assets owned by the Department named in honor of Confederate officers.
As you know, both the Senate and House versions of the FY21 NDAA contain provisions requiring the Secretary of Defense to rename all military property, including the ten Army installations,1 named in honor of Confederate officers. Section 2829 of the House bill2 requires the renaming process to be complete within one year, while Section 377 of the Senate bill3 authorizes a three-year period for completing renaming. Both provisions mandate that the Secretary establish a formal process for cataloging all assets to be renamed and for determining new names.
The Senate and House strongly supported the inclusion of this requirement by passing their bills with overwhelming, veto-proof, bipartisan majorities.4 The requirement also received bipartisan support in committee markups. Despite the widespread support for this proposal, Chairman Inhofe has declared his intention to strip it out behind closed doors in conference, saying “We’re going to see to it that provision doesn’t survive the bill… I’m not going to say how at this point.”5
We strongly oppose removing this provision and respectfully request the conferees to retain in the conference report the provision endorsed by both chambers: a requirement for the Department to rename all military assets named for the Confederacy no later than three years after the date of enactment.
Millions of servicemembers of color have lived on, trained at, and deployed from installations named to honor traitors that killed Americans in defense of chattel slavery. Renaming these bases does not disrespect our military – it honors the sacrifices and contributions of our servicemembers in a way that better reflects our nation’s diversity and values. We know who these bases were named for and why they were named. It is long past the time to correct this longstanding, historic injustice. We must not shrink from our solemn duty in his moment.
Sincerely,
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