House unanimously passes bill to posthumously award Medal of Honor to Iraq hero

In another rare political occasion,  Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives put aside their differences and unanimously passed a bill that authorizes President Donald Trump to posthumously award the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe (pictured) for the heroic actions he took in Iraq.

The bill was introduced by retired U.S. Navy Seal and Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R), U.S. Army Special Forces Reservist and Rep. Michael Waltz (R), and Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D).

According to a press release by Rep. Waltz, “ the bill would make a technical change to federal law, which generally requires that the Medal of Honor be awarded within five years of the actions that are the basis for the award, a requirement that Congress regularly waives.”

“We are one step closer to properly recognizing Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe for his bravery in risking his own life to save his fellow soldiers,” said Crenshaw. “He is deserving of the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military award for bravery on the battlefield and we urge that the Senate quickly follow suit and pass our bill to make sure that happens.”

U.S. Department of Defense Sec. Mark Esper agreed with the trio of representatives that SFC Cashe deserved the Medal of Honor.

“After giving the nomination careful consideration, I agree that SFC Cashe’s actions merit award of the Medal of Honor,” wrote Esper. “Before we can take further action with this nomination, Congress must waive this [five-year] time limit. Once legislation is enacted authorizing the President of the United States to award, if he so chooses, the Medal of Honor to SFC Cashe, I will provide my endorsement to the President.”

President Trump will be hard-pressed not follow through with the award.