[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.

                          ____________________