[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 1, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E900-E901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION AMENDING STATUTE ESTABLISHING EISENHOWER 
                          MEMORIAL COMMISSION

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                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 1, 2007

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Madam Speaker, joined by Representatives Jerry 
Moran, Thornberry, Boswell, Tiahrt and Boyda, I am today introducing 
legislation which would make a variety of technical changes to the 
statute establishing the Eisenhower Memorial Commission.
  The Eisenhower Memorial Commission was created by the U.S. Congress 
in 1999 as a bipartian commission for the purpose of considering and 
formulating plans for the location, design and construction of a 
permanent memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower to perpetuate his memory and 
his contributions to the United States. Since being fully appointed in 
2001, the Commission considered 26 different sites in the District of 
Columbia. In 2005, it selected a site between the Department of 
Education and the National Air and Space Museum, two institutions 
resulting from and greatly influenced by President Eisenhower's 
leadership. In 2006, Congress approved the memorial's location within 
Area I, in compliance with the

[[Page E901]]

Commemorative Works Act. The Commission secured full approval for the 
selected site following extensive review by the National Park Service, 
the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, the National Capital 
Planning Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts.
  Since its inception, the Commission has also taken great care to 
study and analyze the Eisenhower legacy. It produced a report by 
leading scholars and experts on Eisenhower that provides a definitive 
statement on the transcending elements of Eisenhower's enduring legacy. 
He ranks as one of the preeminent figures in the global history of the 
20th century. Dwight Eisenhower spent his entire life in public 
service. His most well-known contributions include serving as Supreme 
Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War II and as 
34th President of the United States, but Eisenhower also served as the 
first commander of NATO and as President of Columbia University. 
Dramatic changes occurred in America during his lifetime, many of which 
he participated in and influenced through his extraordinary leadership 
as President. Although Ike grew up before automobiles existed, he 
created the Interstate Highway System and took America into space. He 
created NASA, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the 
Federal Aviation Administration. He added Hawaii and Alaska to the 
United States and ended the Korean War. President Eisenhower 
desegregated the District of Columbia and sent federal troops into 
Little Rock, AR to enforce school integration. He diffused 
international crises and inaugurated the national security policies 
that guided the nation for the next three decades, leading to the 
peaceful end of the Cold War. A career soldier, Eisenhower championed 
peace, freedom, justice and security, and as President he stressed the 
interdependence of those goals. He spent a lifetime fulfilling his duty 
to his country, always remembering to ask what's best for America.
  Eisenhower's legacy provides hope to all of us--like him, through 
education and public service, we as a Nation and individually can rise 
to meet any challenge. The Eisenhower Memorial Commission now needs to 
move into the design phase. As design begins, the Commission's 
organization, specifically with regard to contracting and staffing, 
needs to be updated and revised to enable efficient management and 
responsible stewardship. This legislation provides for the necessary 
reorganization. The legislation enables the Commission to retain the 
services of full, part-time, and volunteer staff as government 
employees, without the restrictions of the competitive service 
requirements. It also provides the authority for the Commission's 
Executive Architect to manage technical and administrative aspects of 
design and construction. It provides for staff to be released on the 
completion of the memorial and enables the Commission to work in 
collaboration with federal agencies. In addition, the legislation will 
allow the Commission to receive direct appropriations, easing the 
burden on both the Commission and federal agencies that previously 
served as conduits for Commission funding. I have also enclosed a 
detailed justification of the proposed legislation for your review.
  Very similar legislation, S. 890, has been introduced by Senator 
Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, who serves with me and Senator Ted Stevens on 
the Executive Committee of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission. I am 
joined today in introducing this measure by Representatives Jerry 
Moran, Thornberry and Boswell, who serve as members of the Eisenhower 
Memorial Commission, and by our fellow Kansans serving in the U.S. 
House, Representatives Tiahrt and Boyda.

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