118THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. 769
AN ACT
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. 2
†S 769 ES
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
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 36, United 8
States Code, is amended— 9
(A) by redesignating the second section 10
146 (relating to Choose Respect Day) as section 11
147; and 12
(B) by adding at the end the following: 13
‘‘§ 148. U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day 14
‘‘(a) D
ESIGNATION.—March 9 is U.S. Hostage and 15
Wrongful Detainee Day. 16
‘‘(b) P
ROCLAMATION.—The President is requested to 17
issue each year a proclamation calling on the people of 18
the United States to observe U.S. Hostage and Wrongful 19
Detainee Day with appropriate ceremonies and activi-20
ties.’’. 21
(2) T
ECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND -22
MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 23
36, United States Code, is amended by striking the 24 3
†S 769 ES
item relating to the second section 146 and inserting 1
the following new items: 2
‘‘147. Choose Respect Day.
‘‘148. U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day.’’.
(b) HOSTAGE ANDWRONGFULDETAINEEFLAG.— 3
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Chapter 9 of title 36, United 4
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 5
following new section: 6
‘‘§ 904. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag 7
‘‘(a) D
ESIGNATION.—The Hostage and Wrongful De-8
tainee flag championed by the Bring Our Families Home 9
Campaign is designated as the symbol of the commitment 10
of the United States to recognizing, and prioritizing the 11
freedom of, citizens and lawful permanent residents of the 12
United States held as hostages or wrongfully detained 13
abroad. 14
‘‘(b) R
EQUIREDDISPLAY.— 15
‘‘(1) I
N GENERAL.—The Hostage and Wrongful 16
Detainee flag shall be displayed at the locations 17
specified in paragraph (3) on the days specified in 18
paragraph (2). 19
‘‘(2) D
AYS SPECIFIED.—The days specified in 20
this paragraph are the following: 21
‘‘(A) U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee 22
Day, March 9. 23
‘‘(B) Flag Day, June 14. 24 4
†S 769 ES
‘‘(C) Independence Day, July 4. 1
‘‘(D) Any day on which a citizen or lawful 2
permanent resident of the United States— 3
‘‘(i) returns to the United States from 4
being held hostage or wrongfully detained 5
abroad; or 6
‘‘(ii) dies while being held hostage or 7
wrongfully detained abroad. 8
‘‘(3) L
OCATIONS SPECIFIED .—The locations 9
specified in this paragraph are the following: 10
‘‘(A) The Capitol. 11
‘‘(B) The White House. 12
‘‘(C) The buildings containing the official 13
office of— 14
‘‘(i) the Secretary of State; and 15
‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Defense. 16
‘‘(c) D
ISPLAYTOBEINAMANNERVISIBLE TO THE 17
P
UBLIC.—Display of the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee 18
flag pursuant to this section shall be in a manner designed 19
to ensure visibility to the public. 20
‘‘(d) L
IMITATION.—This section may not be con-21
strued or applied so as to require any employee to report 22
to work solely for the purpose of providing for the display 23
of the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag.’’. 24 5
†S 769 ES
(2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND -1
MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 9 of title 2
36, United States Code, is amended by adding at 3
the end the following: 4
‘‘904. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag.’’.
Passed the Senate May 31 (legislative day, May 30),
2023.
Attest:
Secretary. 118
TH
CONGRESS
1
ST
S
ESSION
S. 769
AN ACT
To amend title 36, United States Code, to des-
ignate 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.