II
118THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. 769
To amend title 36, United States Code, to designate March 9 as U.S.
Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day and to designate the Hostage
and Wrongful Detainee flag as an official symbol to recognize citizens
of the United States held as hostages or wrongfully detained abroad.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH9, 2023
Mr. C
OONS(for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. GRAHAM) intro-
duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 36, United States Code, to designate March
9 as U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day and
to designate the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag
as an official symbol to recognize citizens of the United
States held as hostages or wrongfully detained abroad.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘U.S. Hostage and 4
Wrongful Detainee Day Act of 2023’’. 5
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION. 6
(a) H
OSTAGE ANDWRONGFULDETAINEEDAY.— 7
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•S 769 IS
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 36, United 1
States Code, is amended— 2
(A) by redesignating the second section 3
146 (relating to Choose Respect Day) as section 4
147; and 5
(B) by adding at the end the following: 6
‘‘§ 148. U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day 7
‘‘(a) D
ESIGNATION.—March 9 is U.S. Hostage and 8
Wrongful Detainee Day. 9
‘‘(b) P
ROCLAMATION.—The President is requested to 10
issue each year a proclamation calling on the people of 11
the United States to observe U.S. Hostage and Wrongful 12
Detainee Day with appropriate ceremonies and activi-13
ties.’’. 14
(2) T
ECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND -15
MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 16
36, United States Code, is amended by striking the 17
item relating to the second section 146 and inserting 18
the following new items: 19
‘‘147. Choose Respect Day.
‘‘148. U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day.’’.
(b) HOSTAGE ANDWRONGFULDETAINEEFLAG.— 20
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Chapter 9 of title 36, United 21
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 22
following new section: 23
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•S 769 IS
‘‘§ 904. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag 1
‘‘(a) D
ESIGNATION.—The Hostage and Wrongful De-2
tainee flag championed by the Bring Our Families Home 3
Campaign is designated as the symbol of the commitment 4
of the United States to recognizing, and prioritizing the 5
freedom of, citizens and lawful permanent residents of the 6
United States held as hostages or wrongfully detained 7
abroad. 8
‘‘(b) R
EQUIREDDISPLAY.— 9
‘‘(1) I
N GENERAL.—The Hostage and Wrongful 10
Detainee flag shall be displayed at the locations 11
specified in paragraph (3) on the days specified in 12
paragraph (2). 13
‘‘(2) D
AYS SPECIFIED.—The days specified in 14
this paragraph are the following: 15
‘‘(A) U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee 16
Day, March 9. 17
‘‘(B) Flag Day, June 14. 18
‘‘(C) Independence Day, July 4. 19
‘‘(D) Any day on which a citizen or lawful 20
permanent resident of the United States— 21
‘‘(i) returns to the United States from 22
being held hostage or wrongfully detained 23
abroad; or 24
‘‘(ii) dies while being held hostage or 25
wrongfully detained abroad. 26
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•S 769 IS
‘‘(3) LOCATIONS SPECIFIED .—The locations 1
specified in this paragraph are the following: 2
‘‘(A) The Capitol. 3
‘‘(B) The White House. 4
‘‘(C) The buildings containing the official 5
office of— 6
‘‘(i) the Secretary of State; and 7
‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Defense. 8
‘‘(c) D
ISPLAYTOBEINAMANNERVISIBLE TO THE 9
P
UBLIC.—Display of the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee 10
flag pursuant to this section shall be in a manner designed 11
to ensure visibility to the public. 12
‘‘(d) L
IMITATION.—This section may not be con-13
strued or applied so as to require any employee to report 14
to work solely for the purpose of providing for the display 15
of the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag.’’. 16
(2) T
ECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND -17
MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 9 of title 18
36, United States Code, is amended by adding at 19
the end the following: 20
‘‘904. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag.’’.
Æ
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