The Oregon House voted 57-0 for HB 2892, which requires that every government building in Oregon (state, county, city, district, etc.) fly the POW-MIA flag every day of every year. The bill is now in the Senate Committee on Veterans and Emergency Preparedness.

The bill also requires new government buildings to install more flagpoles in order to fly the POW-MIA flag. The Legislature's Fiscal Office says that the cost of those flagpoles and of buying thousands of POW-MIA flags and replacing them as they wear out is so small that it need not be quantified.

The Testimony of the Oregon Progressive Party was the only testimony on the bill, except from veterans' groups. We testified that it is such a good idea that it should be adopted for all political and social groups and causes. We offered examples of 10 other flags that should fly from all Oregon government buildings, every day of every year, including the flag of the Oregon Progressive Party. There are literally tens of thousands of other suitable flags.

Some might think that flags on government buildings should merely identify those buildings as housing government functions and not be used to trumpet various groups or causes.