[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 68 (Thursday, May 17, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXPEDITING CONSTRUCTION OF WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL IN THE DISTRICT OF 
                                COLUMBIA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 15, 2001

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, on May 15, 2001 I cast a vote in error. On 
Rollcall vote No. 109 I voted ``nay,'' when I should have voted 
``yea.'' This vote, on whether Congress should expedite the 
construction of the World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, 
D.C., was a very important vote not only for me, but for all the World 
War II veterans in my district including my father and father-in-law, 
and in our country.
  Mr. Speaker, the mixup with my vote occurred because I thought we 
were voting on approving the previous day's minutes, commonly called 
the Journal Vote. This is usually the first vote of each day we are in 
session, and it is a vote I always vote ``nay'' upon because I never 
read the minutes and therefore am not in a position to approve them.
  However, the first vote on Tuesday, May 15 was the vote on the World 
War II Memorial. Again, I want to emphasize that I should have and 
would have voted yes because our World War II veterans, who are passing 
away at a rate of 1,000 a day, deserve no less.
  The National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission on Fine 
Arts are responsible for approving the design and location of the 
memorial. Since planning began in 1995, the commissions have held 22 
public meetings between them, and each has voted to approve the 
memorial no less than five times. I strongly believe construction 
should be completed quickly so as many Americans as possible from the 
generation Tom Brokaw calls ``the greatest'' will be alive to receive 
the national tribute that every American owes to these brave veterans.
  It is a shame that the planning of this memorial has taken longer 
than the actual war. It is time we honor these veterans with their own 
memorial.

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