[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              OKLAHOMA CITY NATIONAL MEMORIAL ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. FRANK D. LUCAS

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 1997

  Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce legislation to 
establish a national memorial in Oklahoma City by establishing the 
Oklahoma City National Memorial as a unit of the National Park System 
and to designate the Oklahoma City Memorial Trust. Few events in the 
past quarter century have rocked Americans perception of themselves and 
their institutions, and brought together the people of our Nation with 
greater intensity than the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. 
Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City.
  The results of the explosion resulted in the deaths of 168 people. 
Families and survivors struggled and continue to struggle with the 
suffering around them and with their own physical and emotional 
injuries which ultimately shaped their life beyond April 19. Although, 
these losses and struggles are personal, they resulted from a public 
attack and are shared with the community, the Nation, and the world. 
The response of Oklahoma's public servants and private citizens, and 
those throughout the Nation, remain as a testament to the sense of 
unity, compassion, heroism, that characterized the rescue and recovery 
following the bombing.
  Due to the national and international impact and reaction, the 
Federal character of the site of the bombing, and the significant 
percentage of the victims and survivors who were Federal employees, the 
Oklahoma City Memorial will be established, designed, managed, and 
maintained to educate present and future generations, through a public-
private partnership, to work together efficiently and respectfully in 
developing a national memorial relating to all aspects of the April 19, 
1995, bombing in Oklahoma City. The character of Oklahomans continue to 
be on display in their asking the Federal Government for financial 
assistance on this project. Although the memorial will need 
approximately $24 million to be established, Oklahomans are asking that 
legislation establish the Oklahoma City National Memorial as a unit of 
the National Park System and authorize only $5 million in Federal 
funding.
  In addition to the proposed Federal money, the Oklahoma City Memorial 
Foundation is seeking $5 million from the Oklahoma State Legislature 
and $14 million in private donations. The memorial will encompass the 
Murrah building site, Fifth Street between Robinson and Harvey, and the 
sites of the Water Resources and the Journal Record buildings. Both 
National Park Service and non-park service personnel will staff the 
grounds.
  I ask that my colleagues join me in supporting such a worthy piece of 
legislation. It is the right thing to do.

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