House fails to honor Benghazi victims
The at-times-dysfunctional Congress has come to a close without honoring four Americans killed in the Benghazi terrorist attack.
“Sadly politics got in the way. The House didn’t take it to a vote. Very disappointed,” Kate Doherty Quigley emailed the Herald Friday. She added she was too upset to comment further.
Her brother, former Navy SEAL Glen Doherty, 42, of Winchester, was one of the four killed in the Benghazi attacks on Sept. 11, 2012. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, Tyrone Woods and Sean Smith were the others.
The U.S. Senate passed bipartisan legislation to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to the men, but the House had to back it by Friday. No vote was taken. The Congressional Gold Medal is one of the highest honors a civilian can receive.
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey said late Friday he will reintroduce the bill in the next session and continue to push for Doherty and the others.
“The bravery of Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, Sean Smith and Ambassador Stevens must be remembered and honored with the Congressional Gold Medal. I will continue to work in the Senate to pass legislation that will recognize them as the American heroes we know them to be,” Markey told the Herald. “I pledge to continue the effort to make this bill the law of the land in the next Congress so we can pay tribute to their families and honor their legacy for generations to come.”
U.S. Rep. Steve Lynch’s office said “passing the bill in the House remains a priority” in the coming year.
Stevens, Doherty, Woods and Smith were killed in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya in 2012. Stevens was the U.S. Ambassador to Libya.
A veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, Doherty at the time of his death was working for the government to protect United States diplomatic personnel and property.
A Republican-led congressional panel criticized the Obama administration for lax security at the Libyan outpost and a slow response. Hillary Clinton, then secretary of state, was criticized during her 2016 run for president over the Benghazi failures. A hit movie, “13 Hours,” was later made about the attack.