Congressional Record, Volume 143 Issue 58 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)

[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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