WASHINGTON -- Each time Ohio natives Dominic and Vilma Baragona visit Washington in search of justice for the son they lost in Iraq, Army Lt. Col. Dominic "Rocky" Baragona, the couple visits his grave at Arlington National Cemetery.

It was the same yesterday when the Baragonas flew in, along with daughter Pam Baragona-Robinson of Dublin. But this time, they arrived with fresh hope after frustration since May 19, 2003, when their nearly 42-year-old son was killed. That day, his vehicle was struck by a truck driven by an employee of a Kuwaiti company under U.S. government contract to deliver Army supplies.

Today will mark the first Capitol Hill hearing for legislation that the Baragonas hope will be enacted into law to honor their son's memory and keep other families from sharing their grief.

The Baragonas, who retired to Florida from Niles, have had the backing of Ohio lawmakers, including Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, and now the support of Sen. Claire McCaskill, chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's subcommittee on contracting oversight. McCaskill is conducting a hearing on a bill she named the "Lieutenant Colonel Dominic 'Rocky' Baragona Justice for American Heroes Harmed by Contractors Act."

"What a great legacy this would be for the Rock," Dominic Baragona said in an interview, using his nickname for his son, which he borrowed from 1950s Cleveland Indians standout Rocky Colavito.

The legislation would allow lawsuits in U.S. courts to be brought against foreign contractors doing business with the federal government. It would not apply retroactively, however.

Today's hearing will look at how and when a contractor can be suspended and the "obstacles faced by parties in U.S. courts when attempting to hold foreign contractors accountable in certain types of civil and criminal proceedings," according to a letter to Baragona from McCaskill and her GOP counterpart, Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah.

In the Baragonas' case, they won a $4.9 million wrongful-death judgment in a Georgia court against Kuwaiti Gulf Link, brought in that state because of ties KGL had with Army commands based there. But a federal judge threw out the judgment this year because of jurisdictional issues.

The company contended that its U.S. contracts were all done in Kuwait, and that the driver involved in the accident that killed Baragona was on a job that day for the World Food Program, not the U.S. Army. KGL is now reportedly in the running for a 10-year, multibillion-dollar contract with the Army.

The Baragonas also want a criminal investigation. Ryan and Rep. Steve Driehaus, D-Cincinnati, wrote a letter last week to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder calling for such a probe.

jriskind@dispatch.com