Press Releases
Congressman Brown Praises Passage of His Bipartisan Provision to Redesignate Military Bases and Infrastructure Honoring Confederate Leaders in NDAA
Washington,
July 1, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Anthony Brown (MD-04), praised the passage of his FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act amendment to establish a firm process to rename military bases and infrastructure honoring leaders of the Confederacy within one year. The amendment, co-led with fellow veteran Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02), and was adopted by a vote of 33-23. The amendment would require the Secretary of Defense to identify bases and infrastructure (buildings, ranges, roads, etc.) currently named for individuals who served in the political or military leadership of the Confederacy and submit a report to Congress within 60 days of enactment. The amendment recommends the Department consider for new designations; Medal of Honor recipients, combat heroes, trailblazing troops from minority groups or individuals with links to the community where the base is located. “Every day, Black soldiers work, train and live on bases named after men who fought to keep them in bondage. The cornerstone of the Confederacy was the preservation of slavery, white supremacy and the continued oppression of Black Americans. Renaming bases that honor these leaders is not erasing history, but acknowledging that the cause they fought for was unjust and a scar on this country. The United States military has many who should be honored with designations, those who betrayed their country do not deserve that distinction,” said Congressman Anthony Brown. “I want to thank my colleagues, particularly Congressman Don Bacon for their support of this important amendment.” The process that will be used to rename each installation, facility, or infrastructure will be set by the Secretary of Defense and secretaries of the military departments which could include establishing advisory panels with military and local stakeholders, historians and civil rights leaders. The U.S. Army currently has 10 bases and facilities named after leaders of the Confederacy. Another amendment by Congressman Brown to prohibit the display of the Confederate flag on Department of Defense property and across military branches passed committee markup earlier today. ### |