[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16056-16057]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   RECOGNIZING HEROES PLAZA IN CITY OF PUEBLO, COLORADO, AS HONORING 
                      RECIPIENTS OF MEDAL OF HONOR

  Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 351) recognizing Heroes Plaza 
in the City of Pueblo, Colorado, as honoring recipients of the Medal of 
Honor.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 351

       Whereas the Medal of Honor was established by Congress in 
     1862 and is the highest military declaration bestowed by the 
     Nation;
       Whereas the criteria for receiving the Medal of Honor are 
     extraordinarily stringent, requiring that an individual, 
     while a member of the Armed Forces, have ``distinguish[ed] 
     himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the 
     risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty'' while 
     engaged in combat and that there have been at least two 
     eyewitnesses to the act;
       Whereas fewer than 155 of the approximately 3,500 Americans 
     who have been awarded the Medal of Honor are alive, including 
     two who are natives of the City of Pueblo, Colorado;
       Whereas the City of Pueblo, Colorado, will be the site for 
     the September 2000 reunion of living recipients of the Medal 
     of Honor; and
       Whereas during that reunion, a Medal of Honor memorial, to 
     be known as ``Heroes Plaza'', will be dedicated: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Heroes Plaza in the City of Pueblo, 
     Colorado, is recognized, effective as of the September 2000 
     reunion of living Medal of Honor recipients in that city, as 
     honoring the recipients of the Medal of Honor and honoring 
     their commitment to the United States and to serving in the 
     Armed Forces with courage, valor, and patriotism.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore Mrs. Emerson). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Arizona Mr. Stump) and the gentleman from Illinois Mr. 
Evans) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona Mr.  Stump).


                             General Leave

  Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material therein on H. Con. Res 351.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H. Con. Res. 351, recognizes Heroes Plaza in the City 
of Pueblo, Colorado, as honoring recipients of the Medal of Honor. The 
city will host the annual convention of the Medal of Honor Society 
later this year. I urge my colleagues to support passage of H. Con. 
Res. 351.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. EVANS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 351. This 
resolution recognizes Heroes Plaza in the City of Pueblo, Colorado, as 
honoring the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. During 
September of this year, the City of Pueblo will be host to a reunion of 
the living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. In 
conjunction with this gathering, it is indeed fitting and appropriate 
to recognize Heroes Plaza in Pueblo as honoring the recipients of the 
Congressional Medal of Honor.
  I want to thank all Members who have worked on this resolution. The 
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. McInnis) is a leader in this effort, and 
sometime I will have to get down to Pueblo and see the program with the 
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. McInnis); and I salute him again for his 
work on this issue.
  Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. McInnis), the sponsor of this resolution.
  Mr. McINNIS. Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the 
chairman, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump), for yielding me this 
time. I appreciate the fact that he expedited this resolution. Without 
his assistance, we would not have been able to move forward.
  Madam Speaker, I also wish to acknowledge the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Evans) and appreciate very much his cooperation, and I would 
wholeheartedly invite the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) to 
Pueblo, Colorado, but only based on a commitment from him that he give 
me an extra day or two to take him up into the mountains and do a 
little skiing or see a little of that snow, show him the third 
district.
  Anyway, I appreciate the assistance of both of these gentlemen. 
Clearly, the resolution is very simple in its writing, but it is very 
deep in its thought. Pueblo, Colorado, has a population of 100,000 
people; and of that population four of them have received the Medal of 
Honor, probably the highest number of Medal of Honor winners 
proportionate to population of any city in the country.
  The City of Pueblo takes deep pride in the military. Their schools 
incorporate, within their schools, what the real definition of the word 
``hero'' means.
  The Medal of Honor winners, when they come to Pueblo for these annual 
dinners, take extra time and go around

[[Page 16057]]

to these schools. Many of these schools are poor schools. They go 
around and speak to these students, and I will say it is really 
refreshing and relives or brings back up a deep sense of patriotism, 
for those of us who feel that it is very important.
  So this year, the City of Pueblo is recognizing Heroes Plaza and have 
actually commissioned, and it is a very expensive undertaking, but they 
have commissioned four statues representing each of the four Medal of 
Honor winners of the City of Pueblo.
  Unfortunately, two of those four have passed away in the past year 
and will not be present, obviously, for the occasion in September; but, 
nonetheless, we expect a very large gathering, and we think that this 
resolution adds to the patriotism of that particular gathering. So I do 
appreciate the expedited schedule, again thanks to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Stump), thanks to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), 
and thanks to the Speaker pro tempore.
  Mr. STUMP. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I would like at this time to thank once again the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) for all his cooperation in bringing 
these bills to the floor today, and also thank the chairman of the 
Committee on Armed Services, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. 
Spence), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Skelton), for allowing us to expedite this measure today.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump) that the House suspend the rules and 
agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 351.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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