[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 134 (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H10721-H10722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PYRAMID OF REMEMBRANCE FOUNDATION

  Mr. HANSEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1804) to authorize the Pyramid of Remembrance Foundation to 
establish a memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs to 
soldiers who lost their lives during peacekeeping operations, 
humanitarian efforts, training, terrorist attacks, or covert 
operations.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1804

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

     SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH MEMORIAL.

       (a) In General.--The Pyramid of Remembrance Foundation is 
     authorized to establish a memorial on Federal land in the 
     District of Columbia or its environs to honor members of the 
     Armed Forces of the United States who have lost their lives 
     during peacekeeping operations, humanitarian efforts, 
     training, terrorist attacks, or covert operations.
       (b) Compliance With Standards for Commemorative Works.--The 
     Pyramid of Remembrance Foundation shall establish the 
     memorial authorized by this Act in accordance with the 
     Commemorative Works Act (40 U.S.C. 1001, et seq.), except 
     that section 3(c) of that Act shall not apply.

     SEC. 2. FUNDS FOR MEMORIAL.

       (a) Use of Federal Funds Prohibited.--Except as provided by 
     the Commemorative Works Act, no Federal funds may be used to 
     pay any expense of the establishment of the memorial.
       (b) Deposit of Excess Funds.--If--
       (1) upon payment of all expenses of the establishment of 
     the memorial, including payment to the Treasury of the 
     maintenance and preservation amount required by section 8(b) 
     of the Commemorative Works Act; or
       (2) upon expiration of the authority for the memorial under 
     section 10(b) of the Commemorative Works Act,

     there remains a balance of funds received for the 
     establishment of the memorial, the Pyramid of Remembrance 
     Foundation shall transmit that balance to the Secretary of 
     the Treasury for deposit in the account provided for in 
     section 8(b)(1) of the Commemorative Works Act.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

       For the purposes of this Act, the term ``the District of 
     Columbia and its environs'' has the meaning given that term 
     in section 2 of the Commemorative Works Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
  Mr. HANSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, this bill authorizes the Pyramid of Remembrance 
Foundation to establish a memorial in the District of Columbia or its 
environs to soldiers who have lost their lives during peacekeeping 
operations, humanitarian efforts, training, terrorists attacks or 
covert operations.
  The memorial would generally conform to the Commemorative Works Act.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, we support this legislation, and the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Hansen) has explained it well, and I would urge Members to 
support the bill.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 1804 would authorize the Pyramid of Remembrance 
Foundation to establish a memorial in the District of Columbia or its 
environs to soldiers who have lost their lives during peacekeeping 
operations, humanitarian efforts, training, terrorist attacks, or 
covert operations.
  H.R. 1804 is being brought to the House under unusual circumstances, 
by way of discharge of the Resources Committee. We have had no hearings 
or mark-up of the legislation in the Committee, despite the fact that 
this bill has been pending before the Committee since May 1999. H.R. 
1804 differs markedly from the bill (H.R. 1608) that was before the 
Committee in the 105th Congress. We have not heard testimony from the 
Foundation nor do we know the views of the Administration on this 
legislation. In fact, it has come to our attention that the Foundation 
may not be a functioning entity.
  Madam Speaker, while H.R. 1804 may well be a noncontroversial measure 
the procedure being used to consider this bill has left us with very 
little information on this measure.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette), the author of this legislation.
  (Mr. LaTOURETTE asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1804.
  Madam Speaker, I first want to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. 
Young), chairman of the full committee, and the gentleman from Utah 
(Mr. Hansen), the subcommittee chairman, and the leadership for 
permitting this bill to go forward, and also the gentleman from 
California (Mr. George Miller), the ranking member.
  Madam Speaker, when I first came to Congress in 1995, a group of 
students from Riverside High School in Painsville, Ohio, asked to meet 
with me and presented an idea for military memorial in our Nation's 
Capitol to honor the men and women of our Armed Forces who have died in 
training exercises, peacekeeping missions, humanitarian efforts and 
terrorists attacks.
  The students vowed to honor this sacrifice with a memorial called the 
Pyramid of Remembrance.
  Madam Speaker, while I was immediately convinced of the worthiness of 
this proposal, in all honesty, I feared that these students had 
stumbled on to a great idea that was already taken. Surely, I thought 
there must be a memorial someplace in Washington to honor those who die 
in peacekeeping accidents, training exercises, humanitarian efforts, 
and terrorists attacks, but I was wrong.
  There is no such memorial. None exists, but one should. Today, the 
House of Representatives has an opportunity to make this worthy 
military memorial one step closer to reality.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 1804 will authorize the foundation to create the 
Pyramid of Remembrance. The memorial will be built on Department of 
Defense land here in the Washington area, and without the use of 
taxpayers' funds. It is important to note, Madam Speaker, that no one 
has suggested that the memorial be placed on the Mall; that is not 
under consideration. Instead, the Pyramid of Remembrance will be 
erected on DOD land. When we appeared before the National Monument 
Commission, Fort McNair was one of the selections suggested, but site 
selection is many steps down the road.
  Madam Speaker, the Pyramid of Remembrance has broad bipartisan 
support here in the House with nearly 100 cosponsors. It has already 
attracted some high-level endorsements from the likes of Secretary of 
Defense William Cohen and General Hugh Shelton.
  Madam Speaker, our Nation has been reeling since the terrorist attack 
and bombing of the U.S.S. Cole just 12 days ago. Madam Speaker, 17 
sailors were killed when a bomb ripped a 40-by-40 foot hole in the hull 
of this great destroyer as it was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden.

                              {time}  2015

  Nearly 40 other sailors were injured, including a young man from 
Lorain County in the State of Ohio.
  Today, there is no memorial in Washington to specifically honor these 
men and women of courage, largely because their heroism and sacrifice 
occurred in a time other than a declared conflict. Their sacrifice does 
not fall into one tidy category, but it is just as worthy as those who 
died fighting in our greatest wars. What is more, the sacrifice of the 
men and women of the U.S.S. Cole surely reflects the changing role of 
our Armed Forces as we enter this new century and a host of new 
challenges, including terrorism directed specifically at the United 
States of America.
  Madam Speaker, the idea for the Pyramid of Remembrance originated in 
a classroom in Painesville, Ohio, and it was sparked by a group of 
Generation X's who were horrified by the sight of a U.S. soldier being 
dragged through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia. When we appeared 
before the National Capital Memorial Commission, they heard our 
proposal and our plea, and they have made it clear in writing that they 
believe it will fill a void in our Nation's military memorial.

[[Page H10722]]

  Madam Speaker, I thank the students of Riverside High School for 
coming up with this wonderful idea and for not giving up on their 
dream. They have waited nearly 6 years since the original introduction 
of this bill until today, and I ask my colleagues to join me in 
supporting H.R. 1804.
  Mr. HANSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1804.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________