Congressional Record, Volume 143 Issue 95 (Tuesday, July 8, 1997)

[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 95 (Tuesday, July 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H4851-H4853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

REGARDING THE FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL

Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate joint resolution (S.J. Res. 29) to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to design and construct a permanent addition to the Franklin
Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:

S.J. Res. 29

Whereas President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, after
contracting poliomyelitis, required the use of a wheelchair
for mobility and lived with this condition while leading the
United States through some of its most difficult times; and
Whereas President Roosevelt's courage, leadership, and
success should serve as an example and inspiration for all
Americans: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ADDITION TO FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL.

(a) Plan.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred to in
this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall plan for the design and
construction of an addition of a permanent statue, bas-
relief, or other similar structure to the Franklin Delano
Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. (referred to in this
Act as the ``Memorial''), to provide recognition of the fact
that President Roosevelt's leadership in the struggle by the
United States for peace, well-being, and human dignity was
provided while the president used a wheelchair.
(b) Commission of Fine Arts.--The Secretary shall obtain
the approval of the Commission of Fine Arts for the design
plan created under subsection (a).
(c) Report.--As soon as practicable, the Secretary shall
report to Congress and the President on findings and
recommendations for the addition to the Memorial.
(d) Construction.--Beginning on the date that is 120 days
after submission of the report to Congress under subsection
(c), using only private contributions, the Secretary shall
construct the addition according to the plan created under
subsection (a).

SEC. 2. POWERS OF THE SECRETARY.

To carry out this Act, the Secretary may--
(1) hold hearings and organize contests; and
(2) request the assistance and advice of members of the
disability community, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the
National Capital Planning Commission, and the Commissions
shall render the assistance and advice requested.

SEC. 3. COMMEMORATIVE WORKS ACT.

Compliance by the Secretary with this joint resolution
shall satisfy all requirements for establishing a
commemorative work under the Commemorative Works Act (40
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.)

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
joint resolution such sums as may be necessary.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah [Mr. Hansen] and the gentleman from America Samoa [Mr.
Faleomavaega], each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen].
(Mr. HANSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S.J. Res. 29 directs the Secretary of the Interior to
plan and construct the addition of a permanent statue, bas-relief, or
other similar structure to the present Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Memorial in Washington, DC, to recognize that President Roosevelt's
leadership was provided to the Nation while he was a disabled
individual using a wheelchair.
The resolution requires that the Secretary, as soon as practicable,
report to Congress and the President his findings and recommendations
for this addition to the FDR Memorial. The Secretary may seek the
assistance and advice of the disabled community, the Commission of Fine
Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission in creating a final
design for this addition to the FDR Memorial.
The Commission of Fine Arts must approve the Secretary of the
Interior's final design plan. Furthermore, the resolution requires
construction of the addition to the FDR Memorial begin 120 days after
submission of the report to Congress, using only private contributions.

{time} 1500

The entire process for the addition to the FDR Memorial must comply
with all of the requirements of the Commemorative Work Act of 1986.
Mr. Speaker, S.J. Res. 29 has the strong support of the Clinton
administration. Additionally, this resolution is heartily endorsed by
former Presidents Bush, Carter, and Ford. Finally, there is broad
unified support for this resolution within the disabled community.
Mr. Speaker, the resolution honors the achievements of President
Roosevelt, who served this Nation while disabled, and I urge my
colleagues to support Senate Joint Resolution 29.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, Senate Joint Resolution 29 is a
Senate-passed measure that was authored by the good Senator from the
State of Hawaii, Senator Daniel Inouye, and is a companion to H.J.Res.
76, a bill introduced by my colleague on the Committee on Resources,
the gentleman from New York [Mr. Hinchey], who is also a member of the
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission.

[[Page H4852]]

The legislation directs the Secretary of the Interior to design and
construct a statue or a similar structure at the FDR Memorial to
recognize that President Roosevelt's great leadership was provided
while the President used a wheelchair.
I know that many Members are aware of the controversy that preceded
the dedication of the FDR Memorial on May 2, 1997. Representatives of
the disabled community have raised concerns that the memorial did not
adequately reflect the President's disability and undertook a campaign
to see that President Roosevelt be depicted in a wheelchair to reflect
that disability, which was the result of polio, did not diminish his
ability to provide great leadership to our Nation.
Although the President took actions to play down his disability, he
has been an inspiration to millions of Americans who have seen that a
disability need not diminish the ability of an individual to fully
participate in all aspects of life.
The issues addressed by Senate Joint Resolution 29 were of great
concern to the disabled community and the FDR Memorial Commission and
members of the Roosevelt family. I am glad to see we have before us
today a consensus bill that will address this issue in a dignified and
thoughtful manner.
Mr. Speaker, I support the legislation and urge my colleagues for
their support of this bill. I thank my good friends and the gentleman
of the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands for his
management of this bill.
Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation. As
the sponsor of the House version of the resolution, I am pleased that
it has been brought before the House so promptly and expeditiously. The
Senate has already adopted the resolution by unanimous consent, and the
President has publicly supported it. I especially want to thank our
committee chairman, Don Young, and our subcommittee chair, Jim Hansen,
for expediting the resolution's consideration, and Dan Smith, of the
committee staff, for his work on this.
Along with our colleague, Phil English, I served on the Franklin
Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission, which was responsible for the
design and construction of the new Roosevelt Memorial. For a long time,
the Commission was ambivalent about whether the memorial should include
a depiction of the President in his wheelchair. On the one hand, we
knew that President Roosevelt did not want to be portrayed in his
wheelchair when he was in office, and he kept the extent of his
disability form the public. On the other, we know that his disability
is certainly no secret today, and that most Americans find it one of
the most inspiring facts about his life.
America has changed in the years since President Roosevelt died, and
in the years that the memorial was being planned and built. Congress
enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act, which recognizes and
protects the rights of the disabled to full participation in our
society. When the memorial was first conceived, there was no legal
requirement that it be made accessible to the handicapped, and it had
already gone through several plans and designs before accessibility
even became a consideration. The minds and hearts of our people have
opened themselves to the disabled in a way that I am sure that
President Roosevelt would have welcomed. I think this change in law and
in attitude has brought most of us who were involved with the Memorial
close to a consensus that the President's disability should be
acknowledged in the memorial, and his triumph over it celebrated along
with the many other triumphs of his life and work.
President Roosevelt came from the Hudson Valley, as I do, although
our families had little in common. He was a hereditary aristocrat, and
grew up on a vast estate overlooking the river. He was educated at the
best and most exclusive schools--Groton and Harvard--and was groomed
for a life of privilege. Yet his presidency reached out to all
Americans. He displayed a particular concern with the lowly, with those
who had little or nothing, those whose lives were a forest of obstacles
rather than a vista of opportunity. For this he was called a traitor to
his class--and those of us who toiled to build the railroads and the
towers, and slogged through the mud, loved him all the more for it.

I believe that at least part of the reason he cared so much about
those who had to struggle was his own struggle after he was stricken
with infantile paralysis just before he turned 40. He made the decision
that it would not let it stop him. But it also must have made him
understand and sympathize with those who faced other obstacles and
tried to overcome them--even if they were not as successful as he was.
President Roosevelt may have intended to be more open about his
disability once he left office, and no longer felt the need to convey
an image of strength to the Nation. He designed a modest retirement
home for himself on his estate at Hyde Park. It was at his retirement
cottage where he held the famous barbecue for the King and Queen of
England. He designed the cottage to be handicapped-accessible and
barrier-free--a major innovation in its time. Had he lived, his home
might have served as an example, and might have advanced barrier-free
design by several decades.
But as I said, even if his disability was not widely known when he
was alive, it is known now. We should not try to hide it again at the
memorial or elsewhere. Instead, we should show the positive side. We
should let today's Americans and future generations know that an
obstacle like the one the President suffered can be overcome. We should
let them know that people with disabilities are people like everyone
else, people whose talents and capabilities can benefit everyone else,
people who can lead and can achieve. And we should let the memorial
serve as a place of pride and inspiration for those who do suffer from
disabilities: that someone who shared their burden rose as high as
President Roosevelt and achieved as much.
We hope that progress on this addition to the memorial will go
forward as expeditiously as this legislation, and that Secretary
Babbitt and the Park Service will turn their attention to it as quickly
as possible. At the same time, I hope they will review some concerns
that have been raised about accessibility at the memorial now that it
is open to the public--to find ways to allow disabled visitors to
experience the same sense of participation and closeness to the
Roosevelts as other visitors, specifically to be able to feel the
braille inscriptions, touch the statues, and enjoy the cooling waters
as President Roosevelt himself did. The resolution gives the Park
Service flexibility in developing a design for this addition, but we
hope that the Service will fully take into account the sensibilities of
disabled Americans, and will include a representation as prominent and
tangible as the statues that have already been erected.
Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this
opportunity to comment on the importance of Senate Joint Resolution 29,
a bill that fully honors the memory of one of our Nation's finest
Presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Foremost, I want to thank Senator Inouye of Hawaii for introducing
this legislation. Senator Inouye's leadership and dedication to a
proper memorial has been second to none. Senator Inouye has correctly
stated that, ``disability is a natural part of the human experience and
in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in all
aspects of American life * * * the depiction of President Roosevelt in
a wheelchair will inspire the tragically afflicted. It may very well be
a more honest way to depict President Roosevelt.'' Such a strong
commitment on the part of Senator Inouye has allowed us all to pay full
tribute to the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
I also want to thank Representative Don Young of Alaska, chairman of
the House Resources Committee, and Representative George Miller of
California for bringing this legislation to the House side in a
bipartisan manner.
Modifying the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial by adding a
permanent statue which depicts him as a citizen with a handicap is
essential if we are to fully understand the life and times of FDR. The
need to erect a permanent addition to the FDR Memorial is twofold.
First, it is imperative to publicly acknowledge the great
accomplishments of our 32d President. And second, a permanent statue
sends a message to our citizens that handicaps do not limit a person's
opportunity for achievement.
FDR's accomplishments as President speak volumes of the fact that
people living with handicaps can accomplish their goals. Throughout his
tenure as President, FDR remained firmly committed to the development
of all Americans, those with disabilities, and those without. In his
second inaugural address, FDR spoke of the ``road of enduring
progress'' on which he claimed that ``mental and moral horizons had
been extended.'' For FDR this goal was especially important to those
living with handicaps. Ultimately, FDR sought the advancement of this
cause through the establishment of a foundation at Warm Springs, GA, to
help other polio victims, and inspired the March of Dimes program which
funded an effective vaccine.
To be sure, our country has built upon the legacy of FDR and has come
a long way in ensuring the equality of all citizens living with
disabilities through programs such as the Americans With Disabilities
Act and the Individuals. With Disabilities Education Act. The FDR
Memorial is simply a testament of how far along the road of progress we
have come as a nation to ensuring that persons living with

[[Page H4853]]

both mental and physical handicaps are entitled to equal rights, equal
access, and equal opportunity.
The FDR Memorial serves as a reference point for those of us who are
traveling down the road of progress. FDR renounced fear as it is
``nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed
efforts to convert retreat into advance.'' President Roosevelt's
continued renunciation of fear, refusal to crumble, and ability to act
decisively and fearlessly in spite of the pressures of the Great
Depression and World War II allowed him to develop into one of the
finest role models for the people of the United States.
A permanent statue of FDR as a citizen with a disability will forever
inspire all citizens to forge through our fears and most difficult
times. To me it is ironic, yet only fitting, that during the Great
Depression, a time when our Nation was in fact disabled, a man living
with a handicap, stepped beyond his limitations to lead our Nation like
no other. Our 32d President not only lived with a handicap, but did so
while being one of the great leaders of our country. FDR is symbolic of
perseverance, and his Presidency is testimony that mental and physical
handicaps are not impediments to success.
In the end, a permanent statue which portrays Franklin Delano
Roosevelt as a person with a handicap will be forever a reminder that
disability is part of humanity and in no way reduces a person's chance
of fulfilling his or her dreams.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodling). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen] that the House suspend
the rules and pass the Senate joint resolution, Senate Joint Resolution
29.
The question was taken.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.

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