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Washington, D.C. — The leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees today urged members of the House of Representatives to support legislation honoring federal employees killed while serving our nation.

In a letter to all House members, Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), asked to support of the Civilian Service Recognition Act of 2011 (H.R. 2061), which is scheduled for consideration Wednesday. The bipartisan measure authorizes the heads of executive agencies to authorize the presentation of a U.S. flag at the funeral of civilian federal employees who are killed while performing official duties.

“Since 1992, according to the Office of Personnel Management, 2,965 federal civil servants have been killed while performing their official duties,” Kelley wrote. “Passage of this legislation will honor all future federal employees who die in the line of duty and recognize their dedication to the mission of their agency and to the American people.”

NTEU represents law enforcement employees at the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection, two of whom lost their lives in the line of duty in 2010, as well as civilian agency employees, such as the Internal Revenue Service, that have been targets of domestic terrorist attacks in Austin, Texas, in 2010 and in Oklahoma City in 1995.

NTEU represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.