[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5683 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5683

To preserve the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, California, 
   by providing for the immediate acquisition of the memorial by the 
                             United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 26, 2006

  Mr. Hunter (for himself, Mr. Bilbray, and Mr. Issa) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and 
  in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To preserve the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, California, 
   by providing for the immediate acquisition of the memorial by the 
                             United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial has proudly stood 
        overlooking San Diego, California, for over 52 years as a 
        tribute to the members of the United States Armed Forces who 
        sacrificed their lives in the defense of the United States.
            (2) The Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial was dedicated on 
        April 18, 1954, as ``a lasting memorial to the dead of the 
        First and Second World Wars and the Korean conflict'' and now 
        serves as a memorial to American veterans of all wars, 
        including the War on Terrorism.
            (3) The United States has a long history and tradition of 
        memorializing members of the Armed Forces who die in battle 
        with a cross or other religious emblem of their faith, and a 
        memorial cross is fully integrated as the centerpiece of the 
        multi-faceted Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial that is replete 
        with secular symbols.
            (4) The patriotic and inspirational symbolism of the Mt. 
        Soledad Veterans Memorial provides solace to the families and 
        comrades of the veterans it memorializes.
            (5) The Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial has been recognized 
        by Congress as a National Veterans Memorial and is considered a 
        historically significant national memorial.
            (6) 76 percent of the voters of San Diego supported 
        donating the Mt. Soledad Memorial to the Federal Government 
        only to have a superior court judge of the State of California 
        invalidate that election.
            (7) The City of San Diego has diligently pursued every 
        possible legal recourse in order to preserve the Mt. Soledad 
        Veterans Memorial in its entirety for persons who have served 
        in the Armed Forces and those persons who will serve and 
        sacrifice in the future.
            (8) Congressional action is now necessary because the City 
        of San Diego is under a district court order to remove the 
        Memorial Cross from city property by August 1, 2006.

SEC. 2. ACQUISITION OF MT. SOLEDAD VETERANS MEMORIAL, SAN DIEGO, 
              CALIFORNIA.

    (a) Acquisition.--To effectuate the purpose of section 116 of 
division E of Public Law 108-447 (118 Stat. 3346; 16 U.S.C. 431 note), 
which, in order to preserve a historically significant war memorial, 
designated the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, California, 
as a national memorial honoring veterans of the United States Armed 
Forces, there is hereby vested in the United States all right, title, 
and interest in and to, and the right to immediate possession of, the 
Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, California, as more fully 
described in subsection (d).
    (b) Compensation.--The United States shall pay just compensation to 
any owner of the property for the property taken pursuant to this 
section, and the full faith and credit of the United States is hereby 
pledged to the payment of any judgment entered against the United 
States with respect to the taking of the property. Payment shall be in 
the amount of the agreed negotiated value of the property or the 
valuation of the property awarded by judgment and shall be made from 
the permanent judgment appropriation established pursuant to section 
1304 of title 31, United States Code. If the parties do not reach a 
negotiated settlement within one year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Defense may initiate a proceeding in a 
court of competent jurisdiction to determine the just compensation with 
respect to the taking of such property.
    (c) Maintenance.--Upon acquisition of the Mt. Soledad Veterans 
Memorial by the United States, the Secretary of Defense shall manage 
the property and shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with 
the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association for the continued maintenance of 
the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial by the Association.
    (d) Legal Description.--The Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial referred 
to in this section is all that portion of Pueblo lot 1265 of the Pueblo 
Lands of San Diego in the City and County of San Diego, California, 
according to the map thereof prepared by James Pascoe in 1879, a copy 
of which was filed in the office of the County Recorder of San Diego 
County on November 14, 1921, and is known as miscellaneous map No. 36, 
more particularly described as follows: The area bounded by the back of 
the existing inner sidewalk on top of Mt. Soledad, being also a circle 
with radius of 84 feet, the center of which circle is located as 
follows: Beginning at the Southwesterly corner of such Pueblo Lot 1265, 
such corner being South 17 degrees 14'33" East (Record South 17 degrees 
14'09" East) 607.21 feet distant along the westerly line of such Pueblo 
lot 1265 from the intersection with the North line of La Jolla Scenic 
Drive South as described and dedicated as parcel 2 of City Council 
Resolution No. 216644 adopted August 25, 1976; thence North 39 degrees 
59'24" East 1147.62 feet to the center of such circle. The exact 
boundaries and legal description of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial 
shall be determined by survey prepared by the Secretary of Defense. 
Upon acquisition of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial by the United 
States, the boundaries of the Memorial may not be expanded.
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