[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H2263-H2264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PROVIDING FOR ACCEPTANCE OF STATUE OF JACK SWIGERT OF COLORADO IN 
                         NATIONAL STATUARY HALL

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on House Oversight be discharged from further consideration of the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 25), providing for acceptance of a 
statue of Jack Swigert, presented by the State of Colorado, for 
placement in National Statuary Hall, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, will the 
gentleman from California kindly state the purpose of the concurrent 
resolution?
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Ms. KILPATRICK. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 25 is a resolution to 
nominate and dedicate the statue of Jack Swigert to represent the State 
of Colorado in Statuary Hall. The resolution was introduced by the 
honorable gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Dan Schaefer] for the Republican 
delegation of Colorado. The resolution provides for a ceremony in the 
Capitol Rotunda to commemorate the occasion of the dedication.
  As most people know if they have ever roamed the Capitol, there are a 
number of statues located in important rooms in the Capitol. Most of 
these statues emanate from the ability of each State to send two 
statues representing distinguished people in the history of the State. 
Colorado had sent only one. That was Dr. Florence Sabin. If the name is 
familiar in terms of medicine, and it was an excellent choice as a 
statuary representative for Colorado.
  Similarly, the dedication and statue that we are offering in this 
resolution is a wise choice on the part of Colorado.
  The dedication ceremony for the statue on May 22, 1997, at 11 a.m. 
will recognize Jack Swigert, native of Denver, a U.S. Air Force pilot, 
a recipient in 1970 of the Presidential Medal for Freedom, the command 
module pilot of the Apollo 13 mission, and an elected Representative to 
the House of Representatives from Colorado.
  Unfortunately, Jack Swigert was not able to assume his position, and 
in a special election, the honorable gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Dan 
Schaefer] was elected to replace him. So it is especially noteworthy 
that the gentleman sponsoring the resolution was the gentleman who had 
the honor of replacing Jack Swigert.
  Mr. Speaker, I will offer an amendment, when the gentlewoman 
withdraws her objection, which was passed by the committee when the 
resolution was considered.
  Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Thomas for that 
explanation.
  Mr. DAN SCHAEFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman 
yield?
  Ms. KILPATRICK. I yield to the gentleman from Colorado.
  (Mr. DAN SCHAEFER of Colorado asked and was given permission to 
revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DAN SCHAEFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
celebration of Jack Swigert and this concurrent resolution, House 
Concurrent Resolution 25, which does provide for the acceptance of a 
statue of Mr. Swigert presented by the people of the State of Colorado 
for placement in National Statuary Hall.
  I, along with Colorado citizens, anticipate a very moving and 
wonderful event for the unveiling of our second statue in the U.S. 
Capitol Rotunda. This tribute has particular significance to me. As 
some Members may know, I came to Congress, as the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Thomas] indicated, in a special election in the spring 
of 1983, and this special election was necessary because Jack Swigert 
died before being sworn in as the first elected Representative in the 
Sixth District of Colorado. I am honored to follow in his footsteps and 
am excited to be part of this historic event, recognizing his 
contributions to both the State and the Nation.
  Jack was born in Denver and excelled in both academics and athletics. 
After graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder, he joined 
the U.S. Air Force and went on to log over 2,900 hours of flight with 
the Air Force, the Air National Guard, and NASA. Then in 1970 he served 
as command module pilot of the famed Apollo 13 mission, the one that 
blew a hole in its side and had to circle the Moon and came back and 
landed.
  After he did do that, he got into politics and decided to run for 
Congress in 1982. It was a successful campaign. I can remember 
nominating him to this particular position.
  This is sad simply because before he could actually take office, he 
passed away on December 27, 1982, and, of course, we all wanted him to 
at least be here long enough to take the oath of office after all of 
the things that he had been through.
  It is clear that Jack exemplified the true American spirit. He was a 
competitor, he was an achiever, he was a pioneer in his field. It is 
with great pleasure that I take part in honoring his spirit by 
accepting this statue. I thank so much the Lundeen brothers who did the 
sculpturing, and thank the Colorado Legislature and the Jack Swigert 
Memorial Commission, and all my colleagues in Colorado and in the 
congressional delegation, for all the work we have done.
  I look forward to May 22, when we will be able to celebrate the 
fruits of that labor. I thank very much the gentlewoman for yielding, 
and I thank the gentleman from California [Mr. Thomas] for moving so 
quickly on this resolution.
  Mr. THOMAS. If the gentlewoman will continue to yield, Mr. Speaker, I 
would like to take this time to briefly explain the amendment that we 
will shortly consider when the gentlewoman withdraws her objection.
  The amendment removes section 2 of the resolution and makes a 
technical correction in the title. As is customary with these 
resolutions, section 2 of the resolution, as introduced, requested that 
6,555 copies of a transcript of the ceremony be printed for use by the 
House of Representatives and the Senate. It was to be paid for with 
taxpayers' funds.
  The gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Dan Schaefer], the sponsor of the 
resolution, requested that this printing request be removed from the 
resolution, and the amendment that we are offering does that. I just 
want to note that pursuant to the letter of the gentleman from 
Colorado, the reason we are removing the taxpayer-funded documents is 
that there will be a memorial document printed, but any costs 
associated with that memorial document will be paid for with private 
funds, rather than public funds. That money will come from the Jack 
Swigert Memorial Commission.
  I thank the gentlewoman.
  Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, with that explanation from Chairman 
Thomas, as well as the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Dan Schaefer], I 
withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the concurrent resolution, as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 25

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That (a) the statue of Jack Swigert, furnished 
     by the State of Colorado for placement in National Statuary 
     Hall in accordance with section 1814 of the Revised Statutes 
     of the United States (40 U.S.C. 187), is accepted in the name 
     of the United States, and the thanks of the Congress are 
     tendered to the State of Colorado for providing this 
     commemoration of one of its most eminent personages.
       (b) The State of Colorado is authorized to use the rotunda 
     of the Capitol on May 22, 1997, at 11 o'clock, ante meridiem, 
     for a presentation ceremony for the statue. The Architect of 
     the Capitol and the Capitol Police Board shall take such 
     action as may be necessary with respect to physical 
     preparations and security for the ceremony.
       (c) The statue shall be displayed in the rotunda of the 
     Capitol for a period of not more than six months, after which 
     period the statue shall be moved to its permanent location in 
     National Statuary Hall.
       Sec. 2. The transcript of proceedings of the ceremony shall 
     be printed, under the direction of the Joint Committee on the 
     Library,

[[Page H2264]]

     as a House document, with illustrations and suitable binding. 
     In addition to the usual number, there shall be printed 6,555 
     copies of the document, of which 450 copies shall be for the 
     use of the House of Representatives, 105 copies shall be for 
     the use of the Senate, 3,500 copies shall be for the use of 
     the Representatives from Colorado, and 2,500 copies shall be 
     for the use of the Senators from Colorado.
       Sec. 3. The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall 
     transmit a copy of this concurrent resolution to the Governor 
     of Colorado.


                    amendment offered by mr. thomas

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I offer a committee amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. Thomas: Page 2, strike out lines 
     11 through 20 (and redesignate accordingly).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the amendment offered by 
the gentleman from California [Mr. Thomas].
  The amendment was agreed to.
  The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the concurrent resolution.
  The concurrent resolution was agreed to.


                 Title Amendment Offered by Mr. Thomas

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment to the title.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Title amendment offered by Mr. Thomas: Amend the title so 
     as to read: ``Concurrent resolution providing for 
     acceptance of a statue of Jack Swigert, presented by the 
     State of Colorado, for placement in National Statuary 
     Hall.''.

  The title amendment was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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