,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #bf  ,,in ,,the       
,,house ,,of ,,representatives  ,march  
#ai1 #bjac ,mr4 ,hunter 7for himself1   
,mr4 ,becerra1 ,mr4 ,valadao1 ,mr4      
,turner1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,grimm1 ,mr4 
,crdenas1 ,mr4 ,vargas1 ,mr4 ,peters of 
,california1 ,mrs4 ,napolitano1 ,mr4    
,cook1 ,mr4 ,kinzinger of ,illinois1    
,mr4 ,gallego1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,mr4     
,miller of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,calvert1 ,mr4
 ,guthrie1 ,mr4 ,wilson of ,south       
,carolina1 ,mr4 ,diaz-,balart1 ,mr4     
,murphy of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4          
,la,malfa1 ,mr4 ,southerland1 ,mr4      
,denham1 ,mr4 ,amodei1 ,mr4 ,issa1 ,mrs4
 ,roby1 ,mr4 ,runyan1 and ,mrs4 ,davis  
of ,california7 submitted the following 
concurrent resolution2 which was        
referred to the ,committee on ,armed    
,services  ,,concurrent ,,resolution    
,recommending the posthumous award of   
the ,medal of ,honor to ,sergeant       
,rafael ,peralta4  ,whereas in ,november
 #bjjd1 the ,marine ,corps led combat   

operations to retake the insurgent      
stronghold of ,fallujah1 ,iraq1 as part 
of ,operation ,phantom ,fury2 ,whereas  
,marine ,corps ,sergeant ,rafael        
,peralta and thousands of other ,marines
 entered the city of ,fallujah1 coming  
into immediate contact with the enemy   
and engaging in some of the most intense
 combat of the entire ,iraq war2        
,whereas ,sergeant ,peralta1 serving    
with #ast ,battalion1 #crd ,marines1    
cleared scores of houses for days and on
 ,november #ad1 #bjjd1 asked to join an 
under-strength squad2 ,whereas the      
following morning1 as ,sergeant ,peralta
 and his squad of ,marines cleared their
 seventh house of the day1 a            
close-quarter firefight erupted2        
,whereas ,sergeant ,peralta1 attempting 
to move out of the line of fire1 was hit
 in the back of the head by a fragment  
from a ricocheted bullet2 ,whereas the  
insurgents1 in the process of fleeing   
the house1 threw a fragmentation grenade
 through a window1 landing directly near

 the head of ,sergeant ,peralta2        
,whereas ,sergeant ,peralta reached for 
the grenade and pulled it into his body1
 absorbing the blast and shielding the  
other ,marines who were only feet away2 
,whereas ,sergeant ,peralta1 on         
,november #ae1 #bjjd1 made the ultimate 
sacrifice to save the lives of his      
fellow ,marines2 ,whereas ,sergeant     
,peralta was posthumously recommended by
 the ,marine ,corps and the ,department 
of the ,navy for the ,medal of ,honor2  
,whereas seven eyewitnesses confirmed   
that ,sergeant ,peralta smothered the   
grenade with his body1 with four of the 
accounts1 taken independently1 stating  
that he gathered the grenade with his   
right arm2 ,whereas the historical      
standard for the ,medal of ,honor is two
 eyewitness accounts2 ,whereas in #bjjh1
 ,sergeant ,peralta's ,medal of ,honor  
nomination was downgraded to the ,navy  
,cross after an independent panel       
determined that ,sergeant ,peralta could
 not have deliberately pulled the       

grenade into his body due to his head   
wound1 despite seven eyewitness accounts
 stating that he did so2 ,whereas in    
#bjab1 new and previously unconsidered  
evidence1 consisting of combat video and
 an independent pathology report1 was   
submitted to the ,department of the     
,navy2 ,whereas based on the new        
evidence1 a review of the case was      
initiated2 ,whereas in ,december #bjab1 
despite an announcement of the ,navy's  
support for upgrading ,sergeant         
,peralta's ,navy ,cross to the ,medal of
 ,honor1 the upgrade was declined2      
,whereas the citation for ,sergeant     
,peralta's ,navy ,cross states1 8without
 hesitation and with complete disregard 
for his own personal safety1 ,sergeant  
,peralta reached out and pulled the     
grenade to his body1 absorbing the brunt
 of the blast and shielding fellow      
,marines only feet away02 ,whereas      
,sergeant ,peralta wrote to his brother 
in the days preceding his death1 saying1
 ,i'm proud to be a ,marine1 a ,u4,s4   

,marine1 and to defend and protect the  
freedom and ,constitution of ,america4  
,you should be proud of being an        
,american citizen42 ,whereas ,sergeant  
,peralta1 who was born in ,mexico and   
immigrated with his family to ,san      
,diego1 ,california1 enlisted in the    
,marine ,corps on the same morning he   
received his proof of permanent         
residence1 commonly known as a green    
card2 and ,whereas ,sergeant ,peralta   
and his fellow ,marines are an          
inspiration for their service1          
selflessness1 and sacrifice3 ,now1      
therefore1 be it  ,that ,congress--     
7#a7 honors ,sergeant ,rafael ,peralta1 
as a ,mexican-,american who joined the  
,marine ,corps on the same day he       
received his permanent residence status1
 for his dedication to the ,marine      
,corps and the ,united ,states and for  
upholding the highest standards of      
military service2  7#b7 recognizes that 
,sergeant ,peralta's courageous and     
selfless actions in combat saved the    

lives of his fellow ,marines2  7#c7     
concurs with the ,marine ,corps and the 
,department of the ,navy that ,sergeant 
,peralta's actions are in the spirit and
 tradition of the ,medal of ,honor2     
7#d7 maintains that1 consistent with    
previous ,medal of ,honor awards1 the   
eyewitness accounts confirm that        
,sergeant ,peralta deliberately pulled  
the grenade into his body and the       
eyewitness accounts should be the       
leading and deciding factor in          
evaluating ,sergeant ,peralta's ,medal  
of ,honor nomination2 and  7#e7         
recommends that ,sergeant ,peralta be   
posthumously awarded the ,medal of      
,honor4