[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17469-17470]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    OKLAHOMA CITY NATIONAL MEMORIAL INSTITUTE FOR THE PREVENTION OF 
                               TERRORISM

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I am pleased to rise today to lend my 
support for the inclusion of $15,000,000 million for the Oklahoma City 
National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. This 
important funding brings to completion the creation of the Oklahoma 
City National Memorial Trust as specified by PL. 104-58.
  During the 104th Congress, we created the Oklahoma City National 
Memorial Trust to commemorate the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah 
Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma City National Memorial 
will consist of three components: the actual Memorial, an interactive 
learning museum, and the Memorial Institute now funded in this 
legislation.
  Fundraising for the symbolic Memorial and the Memorial Center is 
nearly complete and construction for the symbolic Memorial is complete. 
With the funding provided in this legislation, the Memorial Institute 
is one step closer to a reality. Already, an implementation plan for 
the Memorial Institute is complete and work has begun to prepare for 
the construction.
  In preparation, the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation and 
the Oklahoma City Memorial Trust have entered into a partnership with 
the Oklahoma Alliance for Public Policy Research to establish an 
operational relationship for the Memorial Institute. The Alliance 
consists of all of Oklahoma's research universities (Oklahoma State, 
University of Oklahoma, and Tulsa University), while the University of 
Oklahoma Health Sciences Center will perform the administrative and 
functional duties as directed by the Institute's management team.
  The Alliance meets the joint public-private partnership arrangement 
provided for in the Oklahoma City National Memorial Trust Act. This 
joint

[[Page 17470]]

partnership is both prudent and necessary as Oklahoma and the nation 
begins to consider the broader implications of domestic terrorism.
  The Memorial Institute will be the only institute of its kind in the 
nation dedicated to understanding, deterring, and mitigating against 
terrorism. Naturally, it is only fitting that such a center is located 
in Oklahoma given our close, personal relationship with domestic 
terrorism. Yet this Memorial Institute will go beyond being just 
another reminder of the tragic event that struck Oklahoma and the 
nation early in the morning of April 19, 1995.
  The Memorial Institute will also provide a collaboration and exchange 
of knowledge between public and private, Federal and state, and 
military and civilian efforts to counter terrorism. Another important 
issue that will be researched at the Memorial Institute is how to 
better coordinate and integrate health care and medical efforts 
associated with our response to terrorism. This collaborative research 
on emerging counter-terrorism projects will lend key insights to 
ensuring that the events of April 19 never occur again.
  Mr. President, I thank the Chairman, Senator Gregg, and the Ranking 
Member, Senator Hollings, for efforts to secure this important funding 
for the Memorial Institute. Their efforts will long be remembered by 
the researchers who spend time at the Memorial Institute and the 
American public who stand to gain countless benefits from their 
research. Oklahoma and the Nation thank them.

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