Gold Star Families Voices Act
Latest action · Nov 28, 2016 Became Public Law No: 114-246.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 9, 2016
- Passed HouseSep 6, 2016
- Passed SenateNov 15, 2016
- To the PresidentNov 17, 2016
- Became lawNov 28, 2016Public Law 114-246
Summary
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.)
Gold Star Families Voices Act
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Veterans' Oral History Project Act to require the veterans oral history program to include the collection of video and audio recordings of biographical histories by immediate family members of members of the Armed Forces who became missing in action or who died as a result of their wartime service.
Recorded votes 1
Newest first. Open one to see how every member voted.
| Roll call | Question | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate 152 | On Passage of the Bill H.R. 4511 | Bill Passed97–0 | Nov 15, 2016 |
Cosponsors 7
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 9, 2016 to Apr 19, 2016; 2 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-KS | Lynn Jenkins | Original | Feb 9, 2016 |
| R-NJ | Thomas MacArthur | Original | Feb 9, 2016 |
| R-TX | Pete Olson | Mar 15, 2016 | |
| D-CT | Elizabeth H. Esty | Apr 12, 2016 | |
| R-PA | Scott Perry | Apr 12, 2016 | |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Apr 14, 2016 | |
| R-VA | Bob Goodlatte | Apr 19, 2016 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Committee on House Administration | Referred Feb 9, 2016Markup May 17, 2016Reported Jul 5, 2016 |
| Senate | Rules and Administration Committee | Referred Sep 7, 2016Discharged Nov 16, 2016 |
Actions 19
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 28, 2016Signed by President.
- Nov 28, 2016Became Public Law No: 114-246.
- Nov 17, 2016Presented to President.
- Nov 16, 2016Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Nov 15, 2016Senate Committee on Rules and Administration discharged pursuant to the order of 09/28/2016.
- Nov 15, 2016Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S6324-6326)
- Nov 15, 2016Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 97 - 0. Record Vote Number: 152.
- Sep 7, 2016Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
- Sep 6, 2016Mr. Harper moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Sep 6, 2016Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5043-5045)
- Sep 6, 2016DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4511.
- Sep 6, 2016Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H5043)
- Sep 6, 2016Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Jul 5, 2016Reported by the Committee on House Administration. H. Rept. 114-663.
- Jul 5, 2016Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 514.
- May 17, 2016Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- May 17, 2016Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
- Feb 9, 2016Introduced in House
- Feb 9, 2016Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
In the Congressional Record 5
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6324Recorded votes S6326enact | Roy Blunt R-MO | Nov 15, 2016 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6195 | Mitch McConnell R-KY | Sep 28, 2016 |
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E1242 | John B. Larson D-CT | Sep 12, 2016 |
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E1221 | Jody B. Hice R-GA | Sep 8, 2016 |
| House | Debate and remarks H5043–H5045Text printed H5043 | Christopher H. Smith R-NJ, Elizabeth H. Esty D-CT, Gregg Harper R-MS, Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX | Sep 6, 2016 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Jun 15, 2016H.R. 4511, Gold Star Families Voices ActAs ordered reported by the House Committee on House Administration on May 17, 2016
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 162, no. 23, February 9, 2016, page H651.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | MARKUP ON COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 114, H.R. 5160, H.R. 4511, H.R. 4092, H.R. 4733, H.R. 5227, AND H.R. 473439 pages | Committee on House Administration | May 17, 2016 |
CRS reports 5
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 5
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R43973 | Memorial Day Speech Resources: Fact Sheet | Report | May 12, 2026 |
| IF11200 | Gold Star Designation: An Overview | Resource | Mar 2, 2026 |
| R44634 | Behavioral Health Among American Indian and Alaska Natives: An Overview | Report | Sep 16, 2016 |
| R44315 | Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015: Changes to Domestic Human Trafficking Policies Archived | Report | Dec 17, 2015 |
| R43917 | Domestic Human Trafficking Legislation in the 114th Congress Archived | Report | Apr 16, 2015 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3419 | Gold Star Families Voices Act of 2016 | Related bill | Sep 28, 2016 |
Titles 6
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Veterans' Oral History Project Act to allow the collection of video and audio recordings of biographical histories by immediate family members of members of the Armed Forces who died as a result of their service during a period of war.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Gold Star Families Voices Act
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Gold Star Families Voices Act
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Gold Star Families Voices Act
- Short Titles as Passed Senate
- Gold Star Families Voices Act
- Short Titles as Enacted
- Gold Star Families Voices Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
Text 5
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- —Enrolled Bill
- Sep 7, 2016Referred in Senate
- Sep 6, 2016Engrossed in House
- Jul 5, 2016Reported in House
- Feb 9, 2016Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
