ND HCR3059

North Dakota urges Congress to pass and President Trump to sign House Resolution 1911, the SFC Brian Woods Gold Star and Military Survivors Act, named after Army Sergeant 1st Class William Brian Woods, Jr., a special forces medical sergeant who died from wounds sustained in Afghanistan in 2009.

The proposed legislation would require the Department of Defense to pay for transporting remains of service members killed in combat to their hometown for memorial services and to a national cemetery of the Gold Star family's choice.

The act would allow remarried Gold Star widows and widowers to continue receiving annuities and child care service assistance, and allow those with dependent children to continue accessing military base facilities, reversing current law that terminates these benefits upon remarriage.

The resolution directs the Secretary of State to forward copies to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate, each member of North Dakota's Congressional Delegation, and President Trump.