[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 176 (Wednesday, December 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H7328-H7330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VIETNAM HELICOPTER CREW MEMORIAL ACT
Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 4298) to direct the Secretary of the Army to place in
Arlington National Cemetery a memorial honoring the helicopter pilots
and crew members of the Vietnam era, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4298
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 ``Vietnam Helicopter Crew
Memorial Act''.
SEC. 2. PLACEMENT OF MEMORIAL HONORING HELICOPTER PILOTS
DURING THE VIETNAM WAR.
(a) In General.--Subject to the requirements of section
(c), the Secretary of the Army shall place in Arlington
National Cemetery a memorial honoring helicopter pilots and
crew members who served on active duty in the Armed Forces
during the Vietnam era.
(b) Design.--The memorial placed under subsection (a) shall
measure 4 feet in height, 5 feet in width, and 1 foot in
depth, and shall be based on a design approved by the
Secretary of the Army and the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots
Association.
(c) Agreement for Upkeep and Maintenance.--The Secretary of
the Army may only place a memorial under subsection (a) if
the Secretary enters into an agreement with the Vietnam
Helicopter Pilots Association under which the Association
agrees to pay all costs necessary to construct, install, and
maintain the memorial, and to such other provisions as the
Secretary may require.
(d) Approval of Site.--The Secretary of the Army shall
approve an appropriate site within Arlington National
Cemetery for the memorial under subsection (a) to be placed.
(e) Waiver of Environmental Assessment.--Section 102 of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332)
shall not apply with respect to the memorial placed under
subsection (a).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Nevada (Mr. Heck) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada.
[[Page H7329]]
General Leave
Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and to insert extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Nevada?
There was no objection.
Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 4298, which directs the Department of the
Army to place in Arlington National Cemetery a memorial honoring
helicopter pilots and crew members who served on Active Duty in the
Armed Forces during the Vietnam war.
Mr. Speaker, it is hard to think about the Vietnam war without
thinking about the significant role both man and machinery played
throughout the war effort. The helicopter was the mainstay for
operational mobility, with approximately 12,000 helicopters used during
the war by the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force.
These helicopters, flown by tremendously skilled pilots and manned by
brave and competent crew chiefs, door gunners, and medics, brought a
constant stream of troops and supplies to the battlefields and carried
the wounded from the battlefields--all while operating under extreme
conditions and at tremendous personal risk. Helicopter support to
combat operations in Vietnam was not without significant loss. An
estimated 5,000 helicopter pilots and crew members made the ultimate
sacrifice during the war.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nevada for introducing this
bill to permanently honor and remember the sacrifice by the
extraordinary helicopter pilots and crew members who served in Vietnam
by placing a memorial in their honor in Arlington National Cemetery.
Therefore, I strongly urge all Members to support this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Amodei), my friend and
colleague and the sponsor of this bill.
Mr. AMODEI. I thank my colleague from the Silver State and also the
ranking member from the subcommittee.
Mr. Speaker, I really shouldn't be here talking about this bill right
now. The reason this bill was necessitated is that the public law says
that the Secretary of the Army can have monuments placed only in those
sections of Arlington National Cemetery that are designated by the
Secretary for such placement and only on land that the Secretary deems
not suitable for burial. There are about 30 million square feet at
Arlington National Cemetery when you take the presently under-
construction addition and the planned additional constructed addition--
30 million square feet. This bill seeks this amount of space out of 30
million square feet.
For those of you who are challenged by visual numbers, that is 5
square feet that they have asked for for all services--not just the
Army but all services--and to commemorate the fact that they were
nearly 10 percent of the casualties in the Vietnam war--the Helicopter
war.
I understand graves to be the primary mission for Arlington National
Cemetery, and I respect that. I understand that there is a concern
about being overrun with requests for memorials, and I concur with that
concern. My problem is that that public law doesn't say there will be
no memorials at Arlington National Cemetery.
By the decision that the administration at Arlington has made that
says you can't have 5 square feet, they have basically changed the law
effectively to: there are no memorials. The high bar that there should
be for memorials, in effect, has been set up there, touching the
ceiling. If these folks--for all services and for nearly 10 percent of
the casualties in the Vietnam war--can't qualify, I wonder who can. So
the necessity for this legislation: 5 square feet.
By the way, in the last quarter of a century, do you know how many
memorials have been approved for placement at Arlington? You don't need
all of the fingers on one hand. Four. You need all of the fingers; you
just don't need the thumb. Four. We are not overrun with memorials.
As we sit here on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor and as we talk
again about some Vietnam veterans, isn't it funny that we now have to
come to Congress and run a bill to respect those folks who, by the way,
probably kept a heck of a lot more names off that wall a little farther
down the Mall from here.
I thank the bipartisan support that I have received from Members in
both Houses--nationwide support. My request is this: if we want to say
``no more memorials at Arlington,'' then we ought to say that in the
law. We shouldn't talk about space not being available for graves, and
we shouldn't talk about people who represent almost 10 percent of the
casualties in a conflict not being entitled to 5 square feet. By the
way, at no cost to the government and with maintenance at no cost to
the government.
With that in hand, I urge bipartisan nationwide support to do the
right thing for almost 5,000 people who paid the ultimate sacrifice in
the Helicopter war in the service, in these--what were then--cutting-
edge iconic machines.
I thank my colleagues.
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, as my colleague stated, the service,
commitment, and dedication of the helicopter pilots during the Vietnam
war were critical to saving many lives. As somebody who was an Army
flight surgeon, who spent hundreds of hours in the back of a
helicopter, and who served as the chief of aeromedical evacuation for
the 325th Combat Support Hospital in Iraq in 2008, I can personally
attest to the dedication, bravery, and commitment of the helicopter
pilots and of the crew members and what they do for our men and women
in uniform. Therefore, I strongly urge the House to support this bill
and provide this memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I include the following exchange of
letters in the Record during consideration of H.R. 4298:
House of Representatives,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Washington, DC, December 6, 2016.
Hon. William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry,
Chairman, Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to you concerning H.R.
4298, the Vietnam Helicopter Crew Memorial Act. There are
certain provisions in the legislation which fall within the
Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
In the interest of permitting your committee to proceed
expeditiously to floor consideration of this important bill,
I am willing to waive this committee's right to sequential
referral. I do with the understanding that by waiving
consideration of the bill, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
does not waive any future jurisdictional claim over the
subject matters contained in the bill which fall within its
Rule X jurisdiction. I request that you urge the Speaker to
name members of this committee to any conference committee
which is named to consider such provisions.
Please place this letter into the committee report on H.R.
4298 and into the Congressional Record during consideration
of the measure on the House floor. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jeff Miller,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC, December 6, 2016.
Hon. Jeff Miller,
Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Miller: Thank you for your letter regarding
H.R. 4298, the Vietnam Helicopter Crew Memorial Act. As you
noted, the bill contains subject matter that falls within the
Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
I am most appreciative of your decision to waive formal
consideration of H.R. 4298 so that it may proceed
expeditiously to the House floor. I acknowledge that although
you waived formal consideration of the bill, the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs is in no way waiving its jurisdiction over
the subject matter contained in those provisions of the bill
that fall within your Rule X jurisdiction. I will urge the
Speaker to appoint Members of the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs to any conference committee named to consider this
legislation.
I will include a copy of our letters in the Congressional
Record during consideration of this legislation on the House
floor.
Sincerely,
William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry,
Chairman.
[[Page H7330]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Heck) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 4298.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________