[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5646 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5646

To designate the FAA Air Control Tower located at Memphis International 
                     Airport as the Freedom Tower.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 30, 2010

  Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To designate the FAA Air Control Tower located at Memphis International 
                     Airport as the Freedom Tower.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The city of Memphis has played and continues to play a 
        key role in securing American freedoms.
            (2) Because of its history, Memphis represents the struggle 
        for freedom for millions of Americans and millions more across 
        the world.
            (3) Memphis and its airport have long symbolized America's 
        fight for freedom--from Memphis female pilot Phoebe Omlie, who 
        served our country well and broke gender barriers, to the 
        city's many great civil rights leaders who fought for freedom 
        and equality, to our airport's pivotal national security role 
        on one of our Nation's darkest days, 9/11.
            (4) The tower will serve as a tribute to the thousands of 
        men and women who persevered throughout the Civil Rights 
        Movement to fight for freedom for all men and women of America, 
        no matter their race, gender, or creed.
            (5) Memphis is home to hundreds of freedom fighters 
        including Benjamin Hooks, Vasco and Maxine Smith, Russell 
        Sugarmon, and Jesse Turner, whose fight for freedom occurred 
        throughout Memphis in the form of sit-ins at department store 
        lunch counters and at the main public library.
            (6) Many of these heroic men and women demonstrated their 
        desire for freedom, in spite of threats of violence and death, 
        by riding buses in Memphis and throughout the South proclaiming 
        their equality.
            (7) The tower will honor all of these freedom fighters as 
        well as individuals throughout the Nation who marched, 
        protested, and spoke out for civil rights, equality, and 
        freedom for all.
            (8) The tower will safely guide thousands of individuals 
        each year on their journey to the National Civil Rights Museum, 
        which chronicles key episodes of the American Civil Rights 
        Movement and maintains the legacy of this freedom movement to 
        inspire participation in civil and human rights efforts 
        globally.
            (9) The existing air tower at MEM is named the Omlie Tower 
        after Phoebe Omlie, who led the way for women's rights in the 
        aviation industry and broke the glass ceiling to allow women 
        the freedom to pursue careers traditionally reserved for men.
            (10) Named by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt as one of the 
        twelve greatest women in the United States, Omlie is most 
        renowned for being the first woman to hold an official aviation 
        post in the U.S. Federal Government.
            (11) Omlie's legacy of fighting for freedom and equality 
        for women will be memorialized in the new tower.
            (12) The tower, located in the Volunteer State, will also 
        serve as a tribute to those who have led, fought, sacrificed, 
        and perished to secure and preserve American freedoms.
            (13) The tower will provide vital aviation services to the 
        164th Airlift Wing, located at the Memphis Air National Guard 
        Base at MEM, who protect our country and guarantee our freedom.
            (14) The 164th Airlift Wing fights for our freedoms by 
        providing the Air Mobility Command airlift in support of United 
        States national defense and is capable of carrying fully 
        equipped combat-ready military units to any point in the world.
            (15) On September 11, 2001, when al Qaeda attacked on 
        American soil because of their opposition to our freedoms, MEM 
        served a vital role by landing more aircraft than any other 
        airport in America immediately after the FAA closed U.S. 
        airspace on that fateful morning.
            (16) Given MEM's and the city of Memphis's long history of 
        protecting freedom by advancing civil rights, women's rights, 
        and national security, it is appropriate that the new FAA 
        control tower at MEM be named the ``Freedom Tower''.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION.

    The new FAA Air Control Tower located at Memphis International 
Airport shall be known and designated as the ``Freedom Tower''.
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