Just before federal workers headed home for the holidays, National President Dougan joined President Barack Obama in the oval office on December 20th to deliver one final parting gift. That gift was the official presidential signing of the Civil Service Recognition Act, a bill authorizing federal agencies to place a flag on the coffins of federal workers killed in the line of duty.
Introduced by Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY), the Act is intended to honor the sacrifice made by federal employees who fall victim to crime, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters on the job. Since 1992 a total of 2,956 federal workers have died in the line of duty, with the overwhelming majority of them being in Iraq and Afghanistan. With thousands of federal workers still deployed in war zones abroad, it is only fitting that federal workers are honored for their sacrifice.
“This piece of legislation is a fitting tribute to those federal workers who have and will continue to make the ultimate sacrifice in service to their nation,” said Dougan. “On behalf of the National Federation of Federal Employees, I would like thank the President and Rep. Hanna for their effort in making this important legislation possible.