[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 106 (Thursday, July 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9605-S9606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL CONSTRUCTION

  The Senate proceeded to consider the bill (S. 470) to extend the 
authority for the construction of a memorial to Martin Luther King, 
Jr., which had been reported from the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources, with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause 
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

[[Page S9606]]

  [Strike the part shown in black brackets and insert the part shown in 
italic.]

                                 S. 470

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

     [SECTION 1. MEMORIAL TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

       [Section 508(b) of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands 
     Management Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 4157) is amended--
       [(1) by striking ``The establishment'' and all that follows 
     through the period at the end and inserting the following:
       [``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
     the establishment of the memorial shall be in accordance with 
     chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code.''; and
       [(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as designated by 
     paragraph (1)) the following:
       [``(2) Exception.--Notwithstanding section 8903(e) of title 
     40, United States Code, the authority provided by this 
     section terminates on November 12, 2006.''.]

     SECTION. 1. MEMORIAL TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

       Section 508(b) of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands 
     Management Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-333, as amended is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Compliance With Standards for Commemorative Works.--
       ``(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
     establishment of the memorial shall be in accordance with 
     chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code.
       ``(2) Notwithstanding section 8903(e) of title 40, United 
     States Code, the authority provided by this section 
     terminates on November 12, 2006.''.

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, this year marks the 40th anniversary of 
the March on Washington--a turning point in the struggle for civil 
rights for all Americans--and I am pleased that the Senate today has 
passed S. 470, a bill I introduced on February 27, 2003. This important 
legislation extends the authority for the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr., to be constructed in the District of Columbia close to the 
spot from which Dr. King delivered his moving ``I Have a Dream'' speech 
at the March on Washington. I would like to thank the Senate for moving 
so expeditiously on S. 470--legislation that is crucial to ensure a 
fitting tribute to our Nation's greatest civil rights leader.
  In the 104th Congress, Congress passed a bill that I sponsored 
authorizing the creation of a memorial to Dr. King as part of the 
omnibus parks legislation. The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, of which Dr. 
King was a member, was designed to coordinate the design and funding of 
the memorial. The legislation provides that the monument be established 
entirely with private contributions. The Department of Interior, in 
consultation with the National Capital Park and Planning Commission and 
the Commission on Fine Arts, has approved the site of the memorial 
pursuant to this legislation. A design has been selected and the Alpha 
Phi Alpha National Memorial Project Foundation is in the process of 
getting that design approved by the Department of the Interior.
  Pursuant to the Commemorative Works Act, there is a 7-year period of 
legislative authority in which the National Memorial Project Foundation 
must acquire a construction permit for the memorial. This 7-year period 
will expire in November of this year. Despite the enormous dedication 
of the National Memorial Project Foundation, additional time is 
necessary for the Foundation to erect a fitting tribute to Dr. King. 
Meeting the administrative procedures and fundraising requirements of 
the act has been a slow process. Therefore, the foundation requires 
more time in which to complete the process and acquire a construction 
permit.
  That is why I and Congresswoman Diane Watson in the House of 
Representatives introduced this legislation to extend the period of 
legislative authority for an additional 3 years. This legislation gives 
the foundation additional time to raise the necessary funds to obtain 
the construction permit and will ensure that work on the memorial is 
completed. This extension of legislative authority has been done before 
for numerous other memorials, such as the World War II Memorial and the 
U.S. Air Force Memorial, given the length of time it usually takes to 
embark on a project of this magnitude, and I am pleased that it will be 
done for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

  Since 1955, when in Montgomery, AL, Dr. King became a national hero 
and an acknowledged leader in the civil rights struggle, until his 
tragic death in Memphis, TN in 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. made an 
extraordinary contribution to the evolving history of our Nation. His 
courageous stands and unyielding belief in the tenet of nonviolence 
reawakened our Nation to the injustice and discrimination that 
continued to exist 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation and 
the enactment of the guarantees of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and 
fifteenth amendments to the Constitution.
  A memorial to Dr. King erected in the Nation's Capital will provide 
continuing inspiration to all who view it, and particularly to the 
thousands of students and young people who visit Washington, DC every 
year. While these young people may have no personal memory of the 
condition of civil rights in America before Dr. King, nor of the 
struggle in which he was the major figure, they do understand that 
there is more that needs to be done in this critical area.
  Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated his life to achieving equal 
treatment and enfranchisement for all Americans through nonviolent 
means. It is my hope that the young people who visit this monument will 
come to understand that it represents not only the enormous 
contribution of this great leader, but also two very basic principles 
necessary for the effective functioning of our society. The first is 
that change, even very fundamental change, is to be achieved through 
nonviolent means; that this is the path down which we should go as a 
Nation in resolving some of our most difficult problems. The other 
basic principle is that the reconciliation of the races, the inclusion 
into the mainstream of American life of all its people, is essential to 
the fundamental health of our Nation.
  Forty years ago Dr. King declared ``I have a dream that my four 
children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by 
the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a 
dream today.'' We must not let future generations forget the power of 
these words, and the importance of Dr. King's dream. The passage of S. 
470 will ensure that work on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is 
completed, and that Dr. King's legacy will live on.
  The committee amendment, in the nature of a substitute, was agreed 
to.
  The bill (S. 470), as amended, was read the third time and passed.

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