LEGION-RELATED LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Congressional Updates
The House and Senate are in recess for the election campaigns. A lame-duck session will begin November 13. One third of the Senate seats and all 435 seats of the House are up for election on November 6.
Update on Flag Amendment Bills
Sen. Orrin Hatch’s (UT) office continues to solicit additional cosponsors for Senate Joint Resolution (S.J. Res.) 19, a proposed constitutional amendment to protect the American flag from physical desecration. Its text states simply: “The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.” The cosponsor total for the Senate legislation stands at 36. To date, H.J. Res. 13 – the House companion bill to the Senate measure – has accumulated 90 cosponsors.
Please contact your representative’s and senators’ offices, and ask them to become cosponsors of the flag amendment in their respective chambers. If they are already cosponsors, be sure to thank them for their support.
New Legislative Director Assumes Duties
On November 1, Louis Celli joined the Legislative Division as it director. Following his 22 year career in the United States Army, Master Sergeant Celli founded the company Leaders Advantage, Inc. that sold sales and leadership training material out of its 3 Boston area retail locations. In 2005 Louis Celli transformed the enterprise into a nonprofit organization called the Northeast Veterans Business Resource Center, Inc. (NEVBRC), which is dedicated to assisting veteran entrepreneurs start and grow small businesses. Mr. Celli retired from NEVBRC in 2012 to become the Legislative Director for the American Legion – the largest veteran service organization in the United States.
As a published columnist, professional speaker, and nationally recognized small business development expert, Louis Celli has been quoted in national and local media such as the Boston Business Journal, USA Today, Forbes, MSNBC, Fortune Small Business, National Public Radio, and the Christian Science Monitor.
Louis is a graduate of Harvard University, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and together with his wife Elise has 6 children ranging in age from 11 to 22 years old.