[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12933-12934]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      KOREAN WAR VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL OF REMEMBRANCE ACT OF 2016

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 572, H.R. 1475.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 1475) to authorize a Wall of Remembrance as 
     part of the Korean War Veterans Memorial and to allow certain 
     private contributions to fund that Wall of Remembrance.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources, with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause 
and insert in lieu thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Korean War Veterans Memorial 
     Wall of Remembrance Act''.

     SEC. 2. WALL OF REMEMBRANCE.

       (a) Authorization.--
       (1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 8908(c) of title 
     40, United States Code, the Korean War Veterans Memorial 
     Foundation, Inc., may construct a Wall of Remembrance at the 
     site of the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
       (2) Requirement.--
       (A) In general.--The Wall of Remembrance shall include a 
     list of names of members of the Armed Forces of the United 
     States who died in the Korean War, as determined by the 
     Secretary of Defense, in accordance with subparagraph (B).
       (B) Criteria; submission to the secretary of the 
     interior.--The Secretary of Defense shall--
       (i) establish eligibility criteria for the inclusion of 
     names on the Wall of Remembrance under subparagraph (A); and
       (ii) provide to the Secretary of the Interior a final list 
     of names for inclusion on the Wall of Remembrance under 
     subparagraph (A) that meet the criteria established under 
     clause (i).
       (3) Additional information.--The Wall of Remembrance may 
     include other information about the Korean War, including the 
     number of members of the Armed Forces of the United States, 
     the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army, the 
     Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and the other nations of the 
     United Nations Command who, in regards to the Korean War--
       (A) were killed in action;
       (B) were wounded in action;
       (C) are listed as missing in action; or
       (D) were prisoners of war.
       (b) Commemorative Works Act.--Except as provided in 
     subsection (a)(1), chapter 89 of title 40, United States Code 
     (commonly known as the ``Commemorative Works Act''), shall 
     apply.
       (c) No Federal Funds.--No Federal funds may be used to 
     construct the Wall of Remembrance.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported 
amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and 
passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon 
the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
agreed to.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed, and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.
  The bill (H.R. 1475), as amended, was passed.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I want to applaud Senate passage of H.R. 
1475, the Korean War Veterans Memorial Act, which is the House 
companion to the bill I introduced with Senator Boozman, S. 1982. This 
legislation honors Americans who died during the Korean war by adding a 
wall of remembrance to the Korean War Veterans Memorial without the use 
of public funds.
  The Korean war, often referred to as the Forgotten War, began on June 
25, 1950, when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea launched a 
surprise attack on the neighboring Republic of Korea. Against the 
expectations of the North Koreans and the Soviet Union, the United 
States immediately provided military support to South Korea, and the 
United Nations Security Council passed a resolution, UNSC resolution 
82, demanding a North Korean withdrawal to the 38th Parallel. The 
conflict ended with the signing of an armistice on July 27, 1953. By 
the time this armistice was signed, 36,575 Americans had sacrificed 
their lives, 103,284 were wounded, 7,140 were captured, and 664 were 
missing.
  To honor the Americans who served during the Korean war, Congress 
passed a law on October 28, 1986, authorizing the construction of a 
Korean War Veterans Memorial. This Korean War Veterans Memorial, 
however, does not honor the Americans who died during the war by 
displaying the names of the fallen.
  The wall of remembrance H.R. 1475 authorizes will list the names of 
members of the Armed Forces of the United States who died in theater in 
the Korean war, as well as the number of servicemembers who were 
wounded in action, are listed as missing in action, or who were 
prisoners of war during the Korean war. The wall may also list the 
number of members of the Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, the 
Republic of Korean Armed Forces, and other nations of the United 
Nations Command who were killed in action, wounded in action, are 
listed as missing in action, or were prisoners of war.

[[Page 12934]]

  Building a wall of remembrance to honor the 36,575 Americans who died 
in the Korean war would not deviate from the norm: many countries who 
fought in the war also honor their fallen, and the Vietnam Veterans 
Memorial Wall contains the name of Americans who died during that war. 
Korean war veterans' memorials that display the names of a nation's 
fallen soldiers can be found across the globe in the 22 UN coalition 
countries. The Republic of Korea even displays the personal names of 
the 36,575 Americans who died during the war. These names are etched on 
bronze tablets and listed by home State. The Vietnam Veterans 
Memorial's wall also lists the names of those who died in the theater 
of its respective war. It has also been augmented with the additions of 
the three-soldier sculpture and Nurse Memorial.
  The addition of the wall of remembrance would also not cost any 
taxpayer dollars. Korean war veterans who have campaigned for this wall 
have also been raising money for the wall's construction. This 
legislation would not allow any Federal funds to be used for the 
construction of this wall. Construction, therefore, would be privately 
financed.
  I want to thank Senator Boozman and the other Senators who 
cosponsored S. 1982 and have helped me to pass this legislation. I also 
want to thank my colleagues in the House of Representatives--especially 
Representatives Sam Johnson, Charlie Rangel, and John Conyers--for 
their service to our Nation during the Korean war and for their 
tireless efforts to honor their fellow servicemen and women. And 
finally, I want to thank the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, 
Inc., for its support, on behalf of all Korean war veterans, to build 
this wall. Authorizing the construction of a wall of remembrance is 
just one way we can help ensure that those who died while serving our 
country in the ``Forgotten War'' are no longer forgotten.

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