House-approved defense bill includes Johnson amendment honoring fallen service members

The U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 23 approved the fiscal year 2022 defense bill, which includes an amendment by U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) ensuring that the possessions of fallen military service members are returned to their families.

“Military families whose family members have made the ultimate sacrifice shouldn’t be burdened with worrying about whether or not they will receive their loved one’s possessions,” Rep. Johnson said. “This important legislation directs the Department of Defense to hold accountable contractors who have failed in their job to deliver the possessions of fallen soldiers to grieving families. No family should ever have to deal directly with a contractor who has misplaced or lost these items.” 

The House-approved National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022, H.R. 4350, includes Rep. Johnson’s SPC Christian Ward Act, H.R. 3363, which he sponsored in May. As a member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) successfully had H.R. 3363 included in the larger bill as an amendment.

“I have fought alongside Rep Bill Johnson for this vital reform in this year’s NDAA and look forward to it becoming law,” Rep. Turner said.

“A special thank you to Congressman Turner for ensuring this legislation was included in the House Armed Service’s approval of the NDAA,” added Rep. Johnson, whose bill is named after Army Spc. Christian Ward, who died in June 2019 following an accident while stationed at Fort Carson, Colo.

Ward’s family did not receive all of his possessions from the military contractor hired to send them home to Washington County, Ohio, and was told they needed to file a claim with the contractor to reimburse them for the missing possessions.

“Thanks to the Ward family for bringing this issue to light,” Rep. Johnson said. “No military family will ever have to experience what they did after the loss of their son Christian.”