[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 121 (Monday, September 25, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H6946-H6948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXTENDING AUTHORIZATION FOR ESTABLISHING A MEMORIAL IN THE DISTRICT OF 
                       COLUMBIA TO HONOR VETERANS

  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4275) to amend Public Law 106-348 to extend the 
authorization for establishing a memorial in the District of Columbia 
or its environs to honor veterans who became disabled while serving in 
the Armed Forces of the United States.
  The Clerk read as follows

                               H.R. 4275

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

     SECTION 1. AUTHORITY FOR ESTABLISHING MEMORIAL EXTENDED.

       Section 1 of Public Law 106-348 is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end, before the 
     final period, the following: ``, except that section 8903(e) 
     of title 40, United

[[Page H6947]]

     States Code, shall not apply and the authorization for this 
     Act shall expire on October 24, 2015''; and
       (2) in subsection (d), by striking ``under section 10(b) of 
     such Act (40 U.S.C. 1010(b))'' and inserting ``under 
     subsection (b)''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Mexico.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4275, introduced by Congresswoman Sue Kelly, would 
extend through October, 2015, the authority of the Disabled Veterans' 
Life Memorial Foundation to raise funds for a memorial in the District 
of Columbia to honor veterans who became disabled while serving in the 
Armed Forces of the United States. The organization has already secured 
a site from the National Park Service for this memorial.
  I urge adoption of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, we supported the original authorization 
for a memorial to disabled veterans here in Washington, D.C. Through no 
fault of the memorial proponents, complications regarding the final 
site selection have delayed the approval process.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a very important piece of legislation that is 
near and dear to many of our hearts. Just this summer, I attended a 
Purple Heart pinning ceremony for a young soldier from Guam, Sergeant 
Jeremy Balamonte, who was wounded in action in Iraq early in the war. 
Another soldier, Jilario Bermanis, from Micronesia, was paralyzed in 
combat.
  Mr. Speaker, we have had a number of fatalities and wounded soldiers 
fighting in this war. So, again, I would like to emphasize that this is 
something that is very, very dear to my heart.
  We support this extension to allow this project the time it needs to 
move forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly).
  Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, 6 years ago, Congress created the American 
Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial Foundation. We tasked them with 
establishing a memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring veterans who 
became disabled while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.
  The Foundation's work is important, but it is not yet complete. When 
they are finished, they will have created a memorial that is long 
overdue to pay tribute to our Nation's veterans who have returned from 
the battlefield bearing the scars of war.
  I have been working closely with the Foundation to help them in their 
efforts. I have introduced legislation in the House, H.R. 1951, that 
would mint a commemorative coin in honor of our disabled veterans. The 
proceeds of this coin will go towards the efforts of the Foundation to 
build the memorial.
  This legislation currently has 195 cosponsors, and I invite my 
colleagues to cosponsor this legislation that pays tribute to our 
veterans in two ways, by minting a coin honoring our Nation's disabled 
veterans, and by helping the Foundation in their efforts to build a 
memorial to disabled veterans.
  I would like to quote from a letter from Bradley Barton, the National 
Commander of the Disabled American Veterans, which has endorsed the 
American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial Coin Act.
  Commander Barton says, ``We express our pride, patriotism, values and 
national identity through memorials that signify and define who we are 
as a Nation; and it is important that we maintain public recognition 
and awareness of the extraordinary sacrifices disabled veterans have 
made on behalf of their fellow citizens and our country.''

                                   Disabled American Veterans,

                               Washington, DC, September 21, 2006.
     Hon. Sue Kelly,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Kelly: Once again, Congress is prepared 
     to adjourn sine die without addressing the ``American 
     Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin Act,'' H.R. 
     1951. The Senate bill, S. 633, passed on May 25, 2006. It has 
     been held since then, pending House action.
       This legislation provides for the minting and sale of 
     special coins to commemorate living disabled American 
     veterans and authorizes special surcharges on these coins to 
     be contributed to the fund for construction of a memorial to 
     disabled veterans on grounds near the Nation's Capitol in 
     accordance with legislation already enacted.
       We express our pride, patriotism, values, and national 
     identity through memorials that signify and define who we are 
     as a nation, and it is important that we maintain public 
     recognition and awareness of the extraordinary sacrifices 
     disabled veterans had made on behalf of their fellow citizens 
     and our country.
       The coins will be minted starting in 2010, the same year 
     that the groundbreaking and dedication of the American 
     Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial will take place. A 
     portion of the proceeds from this coin will support the 
     construction of this Memorial. Please don't let this 
     legislation die in the 109th Congress. I call upon you to 
     cosponsor H.R. 1951.
       Please let me know if you plan to cosponsor and support 
     this legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                                Bradley S. Barton,
                                               National Commander.

  The Foundation's cofounder and chairwoman is Lois Pope, a woman who 
is dedicated and committed to making this memorial a reality. To date, 
the Foundation has raised more than $25 million of the $65 million 
needed to build the memorial.
  More telling still is the sheer number of people they have enlisted 
to help in their efforts. Within the last 2 years alone, more than 
550,000 individual Americans have contributed in support of the 
memorial.
  H.R. 4275, the bill before the House today, would extend the American 
Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial Foundation's charter until 2015. 
This would provide the Foundation with ample time to complete their 
fundraising, design and construction efforts on the disabled veterans 
memorial.
  The National Park Service also supports the extension. National Park 
Deputy Director Donald Murphy testified before the House National Parks 
Subcommittee on May 25, saying that, ``The Foundation has proceeded in 
a professional and responsible manner in all aspects of the memorial 
process, and we feel it is fair to allow the Foundation additional time 
to continue fundraising and complete design development.''
  The Foundation was created by an act of Congress in 2000, and the 
Congress should extend its charter so this organization can complete 
the important work we have tasked them with. I encourage every Member 
of this House to support H.R. 4275, and I support the great work that 
the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial Foundation continues 
doing to honor our Nation's disabled veterans.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 
4275, to amend Public Law 106-348 to extend the authorization for 
establishing a memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs to 
honor veterans who became disabled while serving in the Armed Forces of 
the United States.
  The passage of H.R. 4275 would authorize an additional 8 years for 
the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation, Foundation to 
establish the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in the 
District of Columbia. The original authorization date to establish the 
memorial was October 24, 2000 and is set to expire on October 24, 2007 
if the Foundation has not secured a permit to begin construction from 
the National Park Service, NPS, before that date.
  Mr. Speaker, we must pass H.R. 4275 to ensure that the well-deserved 
memorial to honor disabled veterans can come to its fruition. I am 
virtually certain that we all value the time and service of all of our 
veterans, who have faithfully served to protect the interests of this 
great Nation and its citizens. We certainly would like to express that 
sentiment here today by passage of H.R. 4275 to honor permanently 
disabled veterans.
  A mere technical permit incompletion cannot be allowed to erase our 
wholehearted intent and desire to support the establishment of an 
appropriate memorial to honor our disabled veterans--those men and 
women who have unselfishly sacrificed dreams for duty, and limbs and 
lives for liberty.
  The extension request is certainly a reasonable one. Given the unique 
aspects of the site and the need to secure adequate traffic patterns in 
order to achieve both a site worthy of

[[Page H6948]]

this memorial and the appropriate urban design in relation to the U.S. 
Capitol and the U.S. Botanic Gardens, the Foundation should be given 
additional time for the continued fundraising, design and development 
that is necessary. If giving extra time is crucial to the successful 
completion of this memorial, it is only fair to give it. For these 
honorable veterans have already given us their time.
  Indeed, allowing an extension for this memorial project is not new. 
We have granted other similar extensions for the completion of 
memorials. These extensions include the memorials to Women in Military 
Service for America, George Mason, World War II, Martin Luther King, 
Jr., and the Victims of Communism.
  There are over 3 million living disabled veterans in this country, a 
number which unfortunately continues to rise as we remain engaged in 
the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Let us respect and honor the 
invaluable service of all past and future disabled veterans by ensuring 
that the Foundation is granted an extension necessary to complete the 
Americans Disabled Veterans For Life Memorial.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

                              {time}  1500

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield 
back my time.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4275.
  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.

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