S-4223               _______________________________________________

                                          SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 8020

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Senators Thorsness, Vognild, Nelson, Bender, Amondson, Gaspard, Metcalf, Patterson, Conner, Benitz, Wojahn, Cantu, Bauer, Saling, Warnke, Johnson, Barr, Stratton, Bluechel, Smith, Kreidler, Anderson, Moore, Newhouse, Craswell, Bailey, Sellar, Sutherland, Madsen, Murray, Talmadge, West, Rasmussen, Patrick, von Reichbauer, Lee and Fleming

Read first time 1/26/90.  Under suspension of rules read second and third times and passed.

TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:

          We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

          WHEREAS, Certain departments and agencies of the United States government now maintain and in the future will continue to receive records and information correlated or possibly correlated to United States personnel listed as prisoner of war or missing in action from World War II (estimated 20,000 prisoners), the Korean Conflict (estimated 8,000 prisoners), and the Vietnam Conflict (estimated 2,500 prisoners); and

          WHEREAS, The People of the State of Washington will that said information and records be released by said departments and agencies ("Disclosure"); and

          WHEREAS, Disclosure would allow a nation proud of its democratic heritage to no longer keep secret from itself those facts necessary to achieve long overdue introspection and, thus, final catharsis with regard to World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Conflicts; and

          WHEREAS, Disclosure would permit our Nation not only to better examine its past, but would also provide a more complete and accurate factual basis upon which future policy can be better developed; and

          WHEREAS, Disclosure would allow generations recalling World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Conflicts to pay tribute to and thank their contemporaries - those brave Americans who suffered and may continue to suffer the fate of prisoners of war, and those brave Americans who are still listed as missing in action - for the freedom which all Americans continue to enjoy today; and

          WHEREAS, Disclosure would churn within generations born after an appreciation of the ultimate sacrifices which Americans have made in the name of democracy; and educate these generations to the effect that Americans, too, like today's Romanians who faced down a dictator's bullets and like today's Chinese students who faced down repressing tanks, have placed a higher value on the freedom for all than they placed even on their own lives; and

          WHEREAS, The beneficiaries of Disclosure might include not just Free Americans, but the surviving prisoners of war themselves insofar as Disclosure would hopefully result in the groundswell of informed support necessary to cause surviving prisoners of war to be, finally, ushered home; and

          WHEREAS, H.R. 3603 accomplishes Disclosure and therefore accomplishes the above-named attributes of Disclosure; and

          WHEREAS, H.R. 3603 accomplishes Disclosure while at the same time provides for necessary protections namely, first, by protecting national security through safeguarding information concerning sources (without which protection the Bill would defeat its own purpose by potentially stemming the flow of information and records); and, second, by providing for the privacy of affected families;

          NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the Congress of the United States take this Memorial into account along with the concerns of the People of the State of Washington when considering H.R. 3603.

          BE IT RESOLVED, That the Congress of the United States pass and the President of the United States sign into Law H.R. 3603; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George Bush, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.