Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, this is indeed an honor for me today, to stand on this most important bill in recognition of our Marine Corps, and I want to start my remarks by recognizing a distinguished Marine himself, the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), who is the primary author of this legislation.

Today, Madam Speaker, we take up the Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act, H.R. 3277. This measure passed the Committee on Financial Services by voice vote with my support.

November 10, 2005, marks the 230th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps. The United States Marine Corps has, over the course of its illustrative 230-year history, fought gallantly in defense of the United States.

This commemorative coin bill will direct the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 500,000 $1 coins with the emblem of the warrior ethos of the United States Marine Corps. The surcharge proceeds from the sale of this commemorative coin, which would have no net cost to the taxpayers, will raise valuable funding for the construction of the Marine Corps Heritage Center.

In 2001, the Congress authorized the construction of the Marine Corps Heritage Center. The facility will be used for historical displays, curation, and the storage of artifacts, research facilities, classrooms and offices. The Marine Corps Heritage Center is scheduled to open on November 10, 2005.

I strongly support the Marine Corps, especially since in Georgia we have a Marine Corps presence at the Marine Corps Logistics Base, in Albany, Georgia. The base comprises a depot maintenance complex that provides world-wide expeditionary logistics support to the Fleet Marine Force, and other forces and agencies.

The repair facility operates as a multi-commodity maintenance center. The maintenance center is an integral part of the Marine Corps Logistics Base and works closely with other organizations in carrying out the mission of the base, which is to provide logistics support to Marine forces that will maintain continued readiness and sustainment necessary to meet operational requirements.

The Marine Corps Maintenance Center, MC, is capable of supporting Marine Corps ground combat and combat support equipment, as well as other customers with similar needs. Personnel are cross-trained to apply common skills to work on a variety of equipment and different commodities. This affords the Marine Corps MCs the flexibility to rapidly realign their work force to meet the changing requirements of the FMF and other customers. It should be noted that while the MCs' capacities for each major commodity is highly flexible, their total capacity is relatively constant.

The Marine Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia, is critical, because during the late 1990s, Marine Corps units deployed to several African nations, including Liberia, the Central African Republic and Zaire in order to provide security and assist in the evacuation of American citizens during periods of political and civil instability in these nations.

Humanitarian and disaster relief operations were also conducted by Marines during the 1998 situation in Kenya and in the Central American nations of Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.

In 1999, Marine units deployed to Kosovo in support of Operation Allied Forces.

Soon after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York City and here in Washington, D.C., Marine units deployed to the Arabian Sea and in November set up a forward operating base in southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Today the Marine Corps stands ready to continue in the proud tradition of those who valiantly fought and died at Iwo Jima, in the Chosin Reservoir and Khe Sanh, combining a long and proud heritage of faithful service to this Nation, with the resolve to face tomorrow's challenges, and will continue to keep the Marine Corps the best of the best.

Madam Speaker, from the foundation of this country, from the Revolutionary War, to the War of 1812, to the Mexican-American War, to the Civil War, to the Spanish-American War,

World War I and World War II, to the Korean War, from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, from the jungles in Vietnam to the hot sand in the Middle East, our Marine Corps has been there, on the cutting edge, standing strong and fighting and dying for our freedom and freedom around this world, and oftentimes standing when there is nothing left to do but stand and die for a noble cause, freedom and democracy.

Madam Speaker, I know that every American in this country joins me in recognizing the Marine Corps with this 230th commemorative coin that will go a long way in simply saying thank you, our Marines.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans).

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3277), to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the 230th Anniversary of the United States Marine Corps, and to support construction of the Marine Corps Heritage Centers, as amended.

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 on H.R. 3277, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3277, the Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act, authored by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), himself a Marine, and ask for its immediate passage.

Madam Speaker, this legislation authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and issue in 2005 $1 silver commemorative coins in observation of the 230th anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps, which will be celebrated November 10, 2005.

The corps of Marines was create in 1775 by the Continental Congress even before the formal creation of the United States to provide a landing force for the evolving country's fleet.

Moving forward from that tradition of service on land and sea, the Marines have played pivotal roles in every major conflict in which the United States has been involved, often taking the most grueling tasks with pride.

Madam Speaker, proceeds from surcharges on the sale of the commemorative coins will be applied after the raising of the matching funds towards the construction of a Marine Corps Heritage Center being built at Quantico, Virginia, by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. The foundation is dedicated to the preservation and chronicling of Marine Corps history through scholarly research, education and outreach efforts detailing the Marine Corps' contributions to the Nation. The center is scheduled to open on the 230th anniversary of the founding of the corps.

Obviously, the Marine Corps, with its storied tradition, has played an important part in the defense of this country and our values, and I believe the Marine Corps is a distinguished group of men and women worthy of a commemorative coin and the heritage center is a fine endeavor to receive the funds raised.

It is my understanding that some of the artifacts that will be in the center now are housed in a World War II-era Quonset hut, and I think we can all agree that a better environment to preserve and teach about these important artifacts is necessary.

Finally, Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), as I mentioned, himself a Marine, for his diligent and tireless work on behalf of this legislation, which is supported by more than 300 bipartisan cosponsors, myself included.

I would also like to recognize, in addition to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), the five Members of the United States House of Representatives who served in the United States Marine Corps: the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton), the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline), and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder). We thank these gentleman and all the men and women of the United States Marine Corps for their service to our country.

Madam Speaker, I ask for immediate passage of H.R. 3277, which was approved on voice votes in both subcommittee and the full Committee on Financial Services.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, in yielding back, let me just thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) for his service to this country on a couple of fronts, obviously, here in Congress and as a Marine, and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) for his touching speech for the Marines, for whom we all owe a great debt of gratitude. I urge everyone to support the legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3277, the Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act.

As a representative of one of the largest military constituencies in the Nation and as the chairman of the House Navy and Marine Corps Caucus, I am proud to support this bill.

This is about memorializing the heritage of the United States Marine Corps, both in silver, and through the financial support that this will bring to funding the Marine Corps Heritage Center, which will allow us to preserve the over 200 years of brave service to our country that the Marine Corps has rendered.

The Marine Corps fought during America's first war on terror, when then President Thomas Jefferson launched a war against the Barbary pirates, who for nearly 200 years had terrorized shipping in the Caribbean, raiding ships, and forcing American merchant sailors into slavery until ransom was paid for their release.

Like today, the actions of these terrorists were openly supported by foreign nations who had no respect for law. Like today, few other countries in the world were willing to stand up and fight.

Many European nations calculated that paying tribute to the Barbary pirates to leave their merchant ships alone gave them an edge over young countries like the United States in commercial trade.

As part of Jefferson's war on the Barbary pirates, in 1805, a brave force of U.S. Marines crossed over 600 miles of West African desert and successfully assaulted the Barbary pirate harbor fortress at Derna, on the shores of Tripoli.

Following this victory, these Marines were the first U.S. forces to hoist the flag of the United States over territory in the Old World.

This early success of the Marines struck a blow for the forces of lawful nations against the terrorism of their day, and contributed to a change in the policy of European nations paying tribute, eventually bringing an end to the terrorism of the Barbary Coast nations.

This heritage is what we are commemorating with the passage of this bill. It is the same heritage that we will be preserving through the Marine Corps Heritage Center.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to support this Commemorative Coin Act. I want to thank my friend and fellow Marine, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), for sponsoring this legislation. We have worked hard together to get our colleagues out in cosponsoring this legislation.

I am really impressed how eager our colleagues are to support the United States Marine Corps. There are currently only six enlisted men serving in the United States House of Representatives that were in the Marine Corps.

My friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton), is the oldest Marine; and I am proud to serve with him. As we all know, the gentleman is retiring this year and will be missed. He represents the generation of Marines that motivated my brother and myself to join the corps. It was his generation and their heroics in Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and other places of legend and lore that seduced thousands of men and women to join.

Madam Speaker, many people can point to a time in their life when everything changed. For me, it was my time in the United States Marine Corps. Not only did it give me discipline and rigorous physical conditioning, but it gave me a purpose in life.

The Marine Corps has continued to give generations of young Americans a purpose for their lives. So I thank the Chair for sponsoring this and for helping us to get it to this point.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3277, the Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act, authored by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Murtha, and ask for its immediate passage.

All of us know the grit the Marines have shown in the face of some of the worst of the fighting necessary to protect our Nation. All of us know the esprit de corps for which the Marines are famous. But, I think, few of us know all of the history of the Marines--that they were formed even before the United States became a country, for example. Passage of this legislation will help rectify that problem.

Surcharges from the sale of the coins authorized in this bill will help fund construction of a facility at Quantico to house Marines memorabilia currently held in a 60-plus-year-old corrugated-metal building that isn't going to last forever. The Marine Corps Heritage Center that would be partially funded by surcharges and matching funds will provide a permanent center for preserving those artifacts, and a place to do research on the Marines.

I would like to congratulate Mr. Murtha for his legislation and for all the hard work to get the co-sponsorship of more than two-thirds of this body, and as well to thank Chairman Thomas for his help in expediting consideration of the bill. With that, I urge immediate passage of this legislation.