,,ic #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ejd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #ab1 #bjai,referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,,an ,,act ,to amend title #cf1 ,united ,states ,code1 to authorize ,the ,american ,legion to determine the requirements for membership in ,the ,american ,legion1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,let ,everyone ,get ,involved in ,opportunities for ,national ,service ,act or the ,,legion ,act4 #b4 ,findings and sense of ,congress 7a7 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,since the end of ,world ,war ,,ii1 the ,federal ,government has designated specific periods of war1 the dates of which are important for qualification for certain benefits or membership in veterans organizations established by ,congress4 7#b7 ,in between those recognized periods of war1 during so-called peacetime eras1 the ,united ,states military has been involved in not fewer than #ab known eras1 which are unrecognized by the ,united ,states ,government as periods of war1 resulting in numerous ,united ,states personnel combat casualties4 7#c7 ,those #ab unrecognized war eras occurred at the direction of the then ,president of the ,united ,states1 with full knowledge and consent of the then ,congress4 7#d7 ,the first of those #ab unrecognized war eras involving active ,united ,states military personnel was the ,greek ,civil ,war1 fought in ,greece from #aidf to #aidi between the army of the ,government of ,greece1 supported by active military personal of the ,united ,states and the ,united ,kingdom1 and the ,democratic ,army of ,greece1 the military branch of the ,communist ,party of ,greece4 7#e7 ,during the ,greek ,civil ,war1 one member of the ,armed ,forces of the ,united ,states sacrificed his life in service to the ,united ,states1 and five others suffered non-combat deaths4 7#f7 ,the second of those unrecognized war eras involving active ,united ,states military personnel was the ,chinese ,civil ,war1 which occurred during the aftermath of ,world ,war ,,ii4 7#g7 ,during the ,chinese ,civil ,war1 the ,united ,states military equipped1 trained1 transported1 and supplied the ,kuomintang-led ,government of the ,republic of ,china with approximately #d1dcj1jjj1jjj in its resistance to the ,communist ,party of ,china4 7#h7 ,during the ,chinese ,civil ,war1 #ad members of the ,armed ,forces of the ,united ,states sacrificed their lives in service to the ,united ,states1 #aej non-combatants of the ,united ,states lost their lives in the war1 and #ea were wounded1 resulting in #bae ,united ,states military casualties4 7#i7 ,the third unrecognized war era involving active ,united ,states military personnel is known as the ,cold ,war4 7#aj7 ,the ,cold ,war was a period spanning from approximately #aidg until #aiia when the ,soviet ,union collapsed4 7#aa7 ,although no direct large-scale military fighting occurred between the militaries of the ,united ,states and the ,soviet ,union1 active ,united ,states military personnel served in multiple regional conflicts during the ,cold ,war1 resulting in the deaths of not fewer than #cb members of the ,armed ,forces who sacrificed their lives in service to the ,united ,states and not fewer than #ab additional casualties4 7#ab7 ,the fourth unrecognized war era involving active ,united ,states military personnel is known as the ,china ,cold ,war4 7#ac7 ,the ,china ,cold ,war started when the ,kuomintang-led ,government of the ,republic of ,china retreated to the island of ,taiwan and lasted until #aigb1 after ,president ,richard ,nixon conducted a landmark state visit to ,china4 7#ad7 ,during the military operations of the ,china ,cold ,war1 not fewer than #af members of the ,armed ,forces of the ,united ,states sacrificed their lives in service to the ,united ,states4 7#ae7 ,the fifth unrecognized war era involving active ,united ,states military personnel was the ,lebanon ,crisis of #aieh1 which involved more than #ad1jjj ,united ,states personnel and resulted in the death of one member of the ,armed ,forces who sacrificed his life in service to the ,united ,states and five non-combat deaths4 7#af7 ,the sixth unrecognized war era involving active ,united ,states military personnel was the ,bay of ,pigs invasion in ,april #aifa4 7#ag7 ,the ,bay of ,pigs invasion was a failed military invasion of ,cuba undertaken by a ,united ,states military group sponsored by the ,central ,intelligence ,agency that resulted in not fewer than one death of a member of the ,armed ,forces who sacrificed his life in service to the ,united ,states and #ai non-combat deaths4 7#ah7 ,the seventh unrecognized war era involving active ,united ,states military personnel was the ,cuban ,missile ,crisis1 which took place between ,october #af and ,october #bh1 #aifb4 7#ai7 ,the ,cuban ,missile ,crisis directly related to homeland protection against the deployment of a ,soviet ballistic missile in ,cuba4 7#bj7 ,during the ,cuban ,missile ,crisis1 one member of the ,armed ,forces sacrificed his life in service to the ,united ,states and #ai others died as non-combatants4 7#ba7 ,the eighth unrecognized war era involving active ,united ,states military personnel was the ,dominican ,civil ,war in #aife4 7#bb7 ,operations during the ,dominican ,civil ,war resulted in the deaths of #bg members of the ,armed ,forces who sacrificed their lives in service to the ,united ,states1 #bj non-combat-related deaths1 and #bhc wounded4 7#bc7 ,the ninth unrecognized war era involving active ,united ,states military personnel was the ,iran ,hostage ,crisis1 which lasted from ,november #d1 #aigi1 through ,january #bj1 #aiha4 7#bd7 ,the ,iran ,hostage ,crisis involved military intervention by the ,united ,states which resulted in the deaths of #h members of the ,armed ,forces who sacrificed their lives in service to ,united ,states4 7#be7 ,the tenth unrecognized war era involving active ,united ,states military personnel was the ,salvadoran ,civil ,war4 7#bf7 ,the ,salvadoran ,civil ,war lasted more than #ab years1 through the terms of two ,presidential administrations of the ,united ,states1 and resulted in the deaths of #bb members of the ,armed ,forces who sacrificed their lives in service to the ,united ,states1 #ae non-combat deaths1 and #ce other casualties4 7#bg7 ,the #aath unrecognized war era involving active ,united ,states military personnel started on ,april #e1 #aihf1 when the ,la ,belle discotheque in ,west ,berlin1 ,germany1 was bombed1 killing two ,united ,states soldiers and wounding #gi other members of the ,armed ,forces1 which triggered what became known as the ,libyan ,conflict4 7#bh7 ,the military operations of the ,libyan ,conflict included numerous air strikes by ,united ,states military forces and resulted in the deaths of two members of the ,armed ,forces who sacrificed their lives in service to the ,united ,states4 7#bi7 ,the ,libyan ,conflict led to the #abth unrecognized war era involving active ,united ,states military personnel1 known collectively as the ,persian ,gulf ,conflicts1 which lasted from ,july #bd1 #aihg1 through ,september #bf1 #aihh4 7#cj7 ,the ,persian ,gulf ,conflicts involved ,united ,states military missions to protect ,kuwaiti-owned oil tankers which represented the largest ,united ,states naval convoy operation since ,world ,war ,,ii4 7#ca7 ,the ,persian ,gulf ,conflicts resulted in numerous military operations and the deaths of not fewer than #ci members of the ,armed ,forces who sacrificed their lives in service to the ,united ,states and #ca wounded4 7#cb7 ,since the armistice that ended the hostilities of the ,korean ,war on ,january #ca1 #aiee1 nearly #ajj active ,united ,states military personnel have sacrificed their lives in service to the ,united ,states in ,south ,korea1 and more than #acb people of the ,united ,states have been wounded in-country4 7#cc7 ,since ,january #a1 #aidg1 through all of the unrecognized war eras involving active ,united ,states military personnel1 not fewer than #ggh combat and non-combat members of the ,armed ,forces have sacrificed their lives in service to the ,united ,states and not fewer than #gig have been wounded4 7#cd7 ,since ,january #a1 #aidg1 the unrecognized war eras involving active ,united ,states military personnel who were wounded and killed serving their country were administered under orders from the commander in chief and with the consent of ,congress1 proving that the ,united ,states has been conducting deadly wartime service to protect the country consistently since ,december #g1 #aida4 7#ce7 ,eligibility for membership in ,the ,american ,legion is determined by ,congress through the establishment of specific dates of declared and officially recognized hostilities in which ,united ,states military personnel are on active service4 7#cf7 ,the ,american ,legion provides invaluable services to its members and supports the community of veterans who sacrificed in service of the ,united ,states4 7#cg7 ,membership in ,the ,american ,legion allows veterans to engage in public service activities1 such as supporting ,boys and ,girls ,state and ,nation1 youth mentorship programs1 and benefit assistance1 career fairs1 and employment assistance for veterans4 7#ch7 ,the ,american ,legion has gone on record as supporting the #ab unrecognized war eras involving active ,united ,states military personnel since the beginning of ,world ,war ,,ii4 7#ci7 ,the ,american ,legion has aided1 assisted1 and comforted the families of the men and women who were called to serve or volunteered to serve during all of the unrecognized war eras and continues to provide support to veterans of those eras4 7#dj7 ,the ,american ,legion has commended the heroic actions of all military personnel who risked their lives in defense of freedom during each of the unrecognized war eras involving active ,united ,states military personnel4 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that1 in accordance with the history1 tradition1 and purposes of ,the ,american ,legion1 it is fair1 proper1 and reasonable that the privilege of membership in ,the ,american ,legion should be extended to all military personnel who served on active military duty during all of the unrecognized war eras involving active ,united ,states military personnel4 #c4 ,eligibility for membership in ,the ,american ,legion ,section #bagjc of title #cf1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by striking during any period from-- and all that follows through the end of clause 7vii7 and inserting the following3 8during-- 7i7 the period from ,april #f1 #aiag1 through ,november #aa1 #aiah2 or 7ii7 any time after ,december #g1 #aida2 or 2 and 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,b71 by inserting or time after a period2 and 7#b7 in paragraph 7#b71 by inserting or time after that period4 #d4 ,nondiscrimination with respect to the requirements for holding a staff position in ,the ,american ,legion 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #bag of title #cf1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting after section #bagjd the following new section3 #bagjd;,a4 ,nondiscrimination ,the requirements for holding a staff position in the corporation may not discriminate on the basis of race1 color1 religion1 sex1 or national origin4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #bagjd the following new item3 #bagjd;,a4 ,nondiscrimination4 4 ,passed the ,senate ,june #aa1 #bjai4;,julie ,e4 ,adams1,secretary