[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 98 (Monday, June 23, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H5607-H5608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL PRAYER ACT OF 2013

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (S. 1044) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
install in the area of the World War II Memorial in the District of 
Columbia a suitable plaque or an inscription with the words that 
President Franklin D. Roosevelt prayed with the United States on D-day, 
June 6, 1944.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1044

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``World War II Memorial Prayer 
     Act of 2013''.

     SEC. 2. PLACEMENT OF PLAQUE OR INSCRIPTION AT WORLD WAR II 
                   MEMORIAL.

       The Secretary of the Interior--
       (1) shall install in the area of the World War II Memorial 
     in the District of Columbia a suitable plaque or an 
     inscription with the words that President Franklin D. 
     Roosevelt prayed with the United States on June 6, 1944, the 
     morning of D-Day;
       (2) shall design, procure, prepare, and install the plaque 
     or inscription referred to in paragraph (1); and
       (3) may not use Federal funds to prepare or install the 
     plaque or inscription referred to in paragraph (1), but may 
     accept and expend private contributions for this purpose.

     SEC. 3. COMMEMORATIVE WORKS ACT.

       Chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code (commonly known 
     as the ``Commemorative Works Act''), shall apply to the 
     design and placement of the plaque within the area of the 
     World War II Memorial.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. 
Tsongas) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1044 authorizes the Department of the Interior to 
place a plaque in the area of the World War II Memorial with the 
inscription of the words President Franklin Roosevelt prayed on the 
morning of D-day. This is especially appropriate because, only days 
ago, we commemorated the 70th anniversary of D-day and the tremendous 
sacrifice of American and Allied forces on that day.
  I would like to note that there has been some controversy in recent 
years over the omission of the words ``so help us God'' from the 
inscription of Roosevelt's address to Congress following Pearl Harbor. 
This legislation will go in the direction of easing those concerns with 
the addition of the D-day prayer.
  The inscription will be modest in size to complement the existing 
World War II Memorial and will be paid for through private fundraising 
efforts.
  Our colleague from Ohio (Mr. Johnson) should be commended for 
authorizing and moving the House companion measure of this bill in the 
last two Congresses. This is a Senate bill. Nevertheless, the gentleman 
from Ohio has his fingerprints all over this, and I commend him for 
that.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. TSONGAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As Chairman Hastings has said, S. 1044 directs the Secretary of the 
Interior to install a plaque or an inscription in the area of the World 
War II Memorial with the 500-word prayer that President Franklin D. 
Roosevelt addressed to the Nation shortly after the D-day invasion 
began.
  This bill authorizes the use of private contributions for the 
completion of this work and prohibits the use of Federal funds.
  I have several concerns with this legislation, including the fact 
that the addition of the prayer could take away from the original 
intent of the existing memorial, which is to honor the brave members of 
the Armed Forces who served in World War II, including my father, who 
survived the attack on Pearl Harbor.
  However, I would like to thank the sponsors of the bill for their 
willingness to work with the administration to allow for flexibility in 
determining the design and location of the plaque and inscription.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 5 
minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Johnson), the author of the 
companion House bill of this legislation.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in strong support of S. 1044, the World 
War II Memorial Prayer Act, legislation that was introduced by Senator 
Rob Portman and that recently passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
  I introduced companion legislation both in this session of Congress 
and the 112th session. In fact, the House passed my legislation on 
January 24, 2012, by a vote of 386-26, but, unfortunately, the Senate 
failed to act in 2012.
  However, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of D-day this year, the 
Senate came around and passed this legislation. Once we pass this bill 
today, it will go on to the President's desk, and I hope he wastes no 
time in signing it into law.
  This legislation directs the Secretary of the Interior to install at 
the World War II Memorial a suitable plaque or an inscription with the 
words that President Franklin Roosevelt prayed with the Nation on the 
morning of the D-day invasion. This prayer, which has been entitled 
``Let Our Hearts Be Stout,'' gave solace, comfort, and

[[Page H5608]]

strength to our Nation and our brave warriors as we fought against 
tyranny and oppression.
  The memorial was built to honor the 16 million who served in the 
Armed Forces of the United States during World War II, as well as the 
more than 400,000 who died during the war.
  Prior to introducing the legislation in 2011, I spoke to many World 
War II veterans in Ohio and asked them if they thought putting this 
prayer on the memorial would be appropriate. The answer was a 
resounding ``yes.''
  It seems to me that if the remaining veterans of World War II are 
supportive of the prayer being added, we as a Nation should honor that 
request.
  You don't have to take my word for it, though, because 2 years ago, 
Poppy Fowler, a constituent of mine, testified before the House Natural 
Resources Committee in favor of this legislation. Poppy is now 90 years 
young, and served 3 years, 10 days, 1 hour, and 10 minutes in the 
United States Navy during World War II. He flew 35 missions in Air 
Group 15 on an SB2C Helldiver as both a rear gunner and photographer.
  I had the pleasure of escorting Poppy on an Honor Flight trip to 
visit the World War II Memorial, and he and I became friends. Here is a 
brief excerpt of Poppy's testimony at that hearing:

       I feel, with no doubt, that it would be appropriate that 
     this prayer be inscribed in some manner at the World War II 
     Memorial. Those reading this prayer will be able to recall 
     the sacrifices made by our military, also those on the home 
     front.
       This prayer came at a perilous time, yet it was answered in 
     victory at a dear cost of lives.
       Today, this prayer can pertain to any military action. 
     Under present circumstances, it is also appropriate.

  I don't think anyone in this body could be more succinct and 
articulate than Mr. Fowler.
  Like Poppy, I also have no doubt that the prayer should be included 
among the tributes to the Greatest Generation memorialized on the 
National Mall.
  It is vitally important that the President signs this legislation as 
quickly as possible because time is of the essence. As some may know, 
there is estimated to be just over 1.5 million World War II veterans 
still living. Furthermore, it is estimated that roughly 600 World War 
II vets are dying every day.
  In other words, each week that goes by that this legislation does not 
become law, approximately 4,000 more World War II vets will have passed 
away without seeing this prayer added to their memorial.
  I want to thank Chairman Hastings and Chairman Bishop for their hard 
work and efforts to get to where we are today. They have been champions 
of this legislation over the past 3 years, and we wouldn't be here 
without their help.
  I strongly encourage all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this 
legislation and to take this opportunity to honor the Greatest 
Generation by adding this prayer to the World War II Memorial.
  Ms. TSONGAS. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this 
legislation. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good piece of legislation. In the last two 
Congresses, both bodies have acted on this. It is now our time to pass 
this legislation and get it to the President's desk.
  With that, I urge adoption of the legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 1044.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas 
and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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