HM 0209, Engrossed 1 2003
1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States urging Congress
3	to provide adequate federal funding for a full accounting of
4	those missing from our nation's wars, including any Florida
5	resident who is classified as a United States Prisoner of
6	War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA).
7
8	WHEREAS, the men and women of the United States Armed
9	Forces are trained and dedicated to protect the security of our
10	nation, and
11	WHEREAS, these men and women have devoted themselves to the
12	task of protecting our lives and liberty as United States
13	citizens, and
14	WHEREAS, all Americans derive inspiration from the
15	sacrifices endured by members of the armed services during
16	captivity as prisoners of war, and
17	WHEREAS, the courage of the families of those members of
18	the Armed Services who remain missing or unaccounted for
19	continues to be a great source of inspiration and admiration for
20	all Americans, and
21	WHEREAS, Americans recognize the special debt of gratitude
22	owed to those who have sacrificed their freedom in the service
23	of our country, and
24	WHEREAS, as a reaffirmation of our commitment to the
25	courageous families of these military personnel, the State of
26	Florida pledges support to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing
27	Personnel Office within the Department of Defense, which is the
28	federal agency charged to deal with the POW/MIA issue, and
29	WHEREAS, the State of Florida hopes to ensure that those
30	who served and sacrificed for our nation are not forgotten and
31	left on faraway shores by urging the Congress to continue their
32	support of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office
33	of the Department of Defense and its activities, NOW, THEREFORE,
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35	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37	That the Congress of the United States is requested to
38	provide the funds necessary for the Defense Prisoner of
39	War/Missing Personnel Office of the Department of Defense and
40	other Department of Defense agencies that play critical roles in
41	achieving the fullest possible accounting of POW/MIA’s to
42	continue their work unimpeded from budgetary constraints or
43	reductions.
44	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Florida, through
45	the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, will continue
46	working with the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel
47	Office to assist in the identification of unlocated family
48	members of any Florida resident classified as a United States
49	POW/MIA, thereby enabling the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing
50	Personnel Office to request that eligible family members provide
51	a blood sample to keep on file in the event it is needed in the
52	identification process.
53	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
54	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
55	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
56	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
57	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.