As rioters across the country deface and tear down historic American and religious landmarks, Senator Josh Hawley is introducing an amendment to block an effort by Senator Elizabeth Warren to unilaterally mandate that the Department of Defense rename military bases and remove war memorials to the fallen. Senator Warren’s provision in the National Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) mandates that all military bases referencing Confederate officers must be renamed. Senator Hawley’s amendment eliminates the mandate and instead tasks a Commission to hold public hearings, gather input from military families and veterans, and work with state and local communities to recommend a way forward.
In recent weeks, rioters camped outside the White House have defaced St. John’s Episcopal Church, attempted to tear down a statue of former President Andrew Jackson, torn down the statues of George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant, and even torn down a statue of a Catholic missionary St. Junipero Serra.
“This latest effort to unilaterally rename bases and remove war memorials, all behind closed doors, smacks of the cancel culture the Left wants to impose on the nation. Any discussion about renaming bases should be had in the light of day, out in the open, and it should involve military families, veterans, and state and local stakeholders. That’s what my amendment would do.
Senator Josh Hawley
“The reality though is that this was never about the Confederacy. That’s what left-wing activists want us to believe. The events of the last few weeks where rioters have attacked American and religious landmarks tell us otherwise. It only took days for them to move on to Grant and Lincoln. And the mob will keep marching through all our cultural institutions until every American whom the woke crowd deems unjust is cancelled.”
The Hawley Amendment will:
- Remove language requiring the Department of Defense (DoD) to rename military installations that are named after Confederate officers.
- Direct a Commission to work closely with state and local stakeholders to nominate installation names or other references to the Confederacy for removal from DoD installations, including by holding public hearings on any proposed criteria or recommendations for removal.
- Require the Commission to report to Congress on its efforts, so that Congress can ensure state and local input is substantially reflected in the Commission’s final recommendations.