Rolling Thunder® has advocated and co-authored legislation on the POW/MIA issue and other veteran concerns and interests.

Regional/Local Legislative Efforts

Rolling Thunder® has advocated and co-authored legislation on the POW/MIA issue and other veteran concerns and interests. In conjunction with the legislative items in the National Fact Sheet.

The POW/MIA Flag at Kentucky’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Due to Rolling Thunder’s lobbying effort with the POW/MIA Memorial Flag Act (S-1226) the POW/MIA flag will fly at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Frankfort, KY with the American flag any day the flag is flown in Washington, DC.

Previous Federal Legislative Efforts

House Resolution 402 (H.RES. 402)
H.Res.402 urges the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Association of South East Asian Nations to work for: (1) unrestricted access to Laos by international election monitors and international human rights organizations; (2) the rights of opposition political parties and their candidates to run for public office and for all adult citizens of Laos to vote; (3) the right of the citizens to assemble, protest, and to organize; (4) the cessation of all acts of violence against the Hmong population; and (5) the release of those jailed in connection with the 1999 pro-democracy demonstrations.

The U.S. is on a path to start trade with Laos. We want human rights to be in these talks. Laos had over 555 American POWs shot down there during the Vietnam War. Senator John Sherman Cooper from Kentucky was told by the Laotians during the Vietnam War that they "had tens of tens of our flyers". None were ever negotiated for during the Paris Peace Accords. The Hmong people fought with us during the war. They are being killed and persecuted in Laos because they were our friends.

Persian Gulf War POW/MIA Accountability Act of 2002, S.1339
First introduced by Campbell in August 2, 2001, the legislation amends the Bring Them Home Alive Act of 2000 which was signed into law in November of 2001. That law provides for the granting of refugee status in the United States to nationals of certain foreign countries in which American Vietnam POW/MIAs or American Korean War POW/MIAs may be present, if those nationals assist in returning POW/MIAs alive. The new law extends the granting of refugee status in the United States to nationals of Iraq or the greater Middle East region. It provides for the International Broadcasting Bureau, which includes the Voice of America, to broadcast information about the law in the Middle East.

The necessity of this legislation is illustrated by the case of Captain Scott Speicher, a Persian Gulf War Veteran who has been missing for more than ten years. Speicher was originally listed as Killed in Action and is now officially listed as Missing in Action/Captured.

The POW/MIA Memorial Flag Act (S-1226)
This bill was signed into legislation by President George W. Bush in part due to Rolling Thunder's lobbying efforts. The main force behind this bill was Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Congressman Dan Burton. The POW/MIA flag will fly below the American Flag any day the American flag is flown in Washington, DC at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean Memorial and the WWII memorial when it is completed.

Due to Rolling Thunder's lobbying effort with the POW/MIA Memorial Flag Act (S-1226) the POW/MIA flag will fly at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Frankfort, KY with the American flag any day the flag is flown in Washington, DC.

Bring Them Home Alive Act of 2000
Rolling Thunder® also co-authored the Bring Them Home Alive Act of 2000, which was coauthored and sponsored by Senator Nighthorse-Campbell. The Act provides for the granting of refugee status in the United States to nationals of certain foreign countries in which American Vietnam War POW/MIAs or American Korean War POW/MIAs may be present, if those nationals assist in returning POW/MIAs alive.

Missing Service Personnel Act of 1997
Since the mid-1980's, Rolling Thunder® has worked tirelessly on this bill that would guarantee missing servicemen or women could not be arbitrarily "killed on paper" by the U.S. government without credible proof of death. The bill was originally sponsored by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Colorado) in 1993. Rolling Thunder co-wrote 17 resolutions to revive the bill after it was gutted by former POW, Senator John McCain. Rolling Thunder's efforts helped facilitate passing of a majority of the resolutions, and efforts continue to restore the law as it was originally written.

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