Delafield Hero legislation advances

WASHINGTON D.C. - Legislation introduced by two Wisconsin congressmen which would enable President Obama to award the Medal of Honor to Delafield Civil War hero Alonzo Cushing has been approved by the House of Representatives but still has a ways to go in the legislative process.

U.S. Reps James Sensenbrennder of Menomonee Falls and Ron Kind of LaCrosse introduced earlier this week an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act which waives a deadline by which a president must act upon the nomination of a medal of honor recipient. The defense appropriation, along with the amendment, was approved by the House early Friday.

Waiving the deadline would enable Obama to award the nation's highest medal of valor posthumously to Cushing who died during the Battle of Gettysburg as he and the troops under his command fought to repelled "Pickett's Charge," an unsuccessful attack by confederate soliders that is considered by some historians as  a turning point in the Civil War.

The amendment must also be approved by the U.S. Senate and possibly survive a House-Senate conference committee in the event the House and Senate approved different versions of the defense appropriations authorization which may be likely.