Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center Enforcement Act

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 16, 2006, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the nominations of Mr. James Lambright, of Missouri, to be President, Export-Import Bank of the United States; Mr. Armando J. Bucelo, Jr., of Florida, to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation; Mr.

Todd S. Farha, of Florida, to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation; Mr. Jon T. Rymer, of Tennessee, to be Inspector General, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Mr. John Cox, of Texas, to be Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Mr. William Hardiman, of Michigan, to be a member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 16, 2006, at 2 p.m., to conduct a hearing on the ``Role of Hedge Funds in our Capital Markets.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Tuesday, May 16, 2006, at 10 a.m., on the Transportation Security Administration's Transportation Worker Identification Credential--TWIC--Program.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, May 16 at 10 a.m. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony regarding the status of the Yucca Mountain Repository Project within the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management at the Department of Energy.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Tuesday, May 16, 2006, at 10 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to consider the nomination of Susan C. Schwab to be United States Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Executive Office of the President, vice Robert J. Portman.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet in Open Executive Session on Tuesday, May 16, 2006, in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to consider favorably reporting the nomination of W. Ralph Basham, of Virginia, to be Commissioner of Customs, Department of Homeland Security, vice Robert C. Bonner, resigned.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, May 16, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on Energy Security and Oil Dependence.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet in Open Executive Session on Tuesday, May 16, 2006, to review and make recommendations on proposed legislation implementing the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Retirement Security and Aging, be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 10 a.m. in SD-430.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet Tuesday, May 16, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Witness List

Panel I: Anita S. Earls, Director of Advocacy, University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Pamela S. Karlan, Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law, and Associate Dean for Research and Academics, Stanford University School of Law, Stanford, California; Keith Gaddie, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; Theodore S. Arrington, Chair, Department of Political Science, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina; and Richard H. Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Law, New York University School of Law, New York, New York.

select committee on intelligence

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 16, 2006 at 10:30 a.m. to hold a confirmation hearing on Kenneth Wainstein to be Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on National Parks of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, May 16, at 2:30 p.m.

The purpose of the hearings is to receive testimony on the following bills: S. 1686, a bill to amend the Constitution Heritage Act of 1988 to provide for the operation of the National Constitution Center; S. 2417 and H.R. 4192, bills to authorize the secretary of the Interior to designate the President William Jefferson Clinton birthplace home in Hope, Arkansas, as a national historic site and unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes; S. 2419 and H.R. 4882, bills to ensure the proper remembrance of Vietnam Veterans and the Vietnam War by providing a deadline for the designation of a visitor center for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; S. 2568, a bill to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail; S. 2627, a bill to amend the Act of August 21, 1935, to extend the authorization for the National Park System Advisory Board, and for other purposes; and S. Res. 468, a resolution supporting the continued administration of Channel Islands National Park, including Santa Rosa Island, in accordance with the laws (including regulations) and policies of the National Park Service.

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

(Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join Chairman Pombo as an original cosponsor of this measure, along with the ranking member on our Parks Subcommittee, Representative Donna Christensen. We urge our colleagues to approve H.R. 4882.

While the fighting ended more than 30 years ago, our work as a nation to reconcile with all that took place during the Vietnam Era continues.

Just as the Revolutionary War gave birth to our liberty, and the survival of our Union through the Civil War and two World Wars gave us strength, the lessons of the Vietnam War can grant us wisdom; and while the emotions stirred by that war in the hearts and minds of Americans are many and varied, the journey this Nation has taken with regard to Vietnam resembles nothing so much as a journey of grieving.

We grieve for the fallen, for the bereft families, for the survivors and their painful scars, and for the wounds inflicted on the country and the people of Vietnam.

Mr. Speaker, the experts tell us that there are stages to the grieving process. In those 30 years, we have experienced them each in turn.

The process began with denial and with anger. For a time, we denied Vietnam its rightful place in American history as we denied those who fought and died their rightful place in the pantheon of American heroes. And Lord knows we have felt the anger. To our shame, we directed much of that anger at those who served.

We have also lived through what the experts call the bargaining phase. We

have wished, we have hoped, and we have prayed that things might have turned out differently, that we might, as a nation, have responded differently. We have tried to negotiate away our failures.

And we have surely endured the next phase, the depression that comes with war and with death. Those who returned from Vietnam and the families of those who did not have felt the deep darkness of painful loss. And our Nation, as a whole, has endured a lingering sadness for so much that was lost during that time.

But, finally, Mr. Speaker, we reached the last stage; and it is here that the Vietnam Memorial plays such a powerful role. We have achieved some level of acceptance. We have, however belatedly, begun to treat those who sacrificed for their country in Vietnam with the reverence they have earned, and we have begun to heal. The Vietnam Memorial is a powerful symbol of that healing and an emotional catalyst for it.

The Wall's designer, the amazingly gifted Maya Lin, described her idea for the Wall as a ``rift in the Earth.'' The Wall literally stands as a deep, dark scar on the land, and it represents the deep scar we carry as a nation; but a scar is an important part of healing.

The National Park Service describes the goal of the memorial as ``nourishing national reconciliation,'' and in achieving reconciliation, the Memorial has succeeded beyond even the wildest dreams of its most ardent supports.

More than 20 million people have made the journey to the memorial and the journey through the memorial, leaving millions of personal items in tribute and in memory; and they have felt some measure of healing, of acceptance. Perhaps more important, the Wall, and the reaction to it by the millions who have seen it, has begun to make Vietnam veterans and their families feel some measure of acceptance as well.

The leadership of the House Resources Committee has pledged to work together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure that this process of healing and acceptance continues.

A visitors center will broaden and deepen the experience of those who come to the Wall. A visitor center will educate. Visitors can learn about the 57,939 names that were inscribed on the Wall when it was built and the more than 300 that have been added since. The center can offer information regarding the 151 people listed on the Wall who, in making the ultimate sacrifice for their country, were awarded the Medal of Honor, or the 16 clergy members, or the 120 people who hailed from foreign countries. We still have many lessons to learn.

A visitors center can help interpret as well. The center will provide space for a small sampling of the enormous volume of memorabilia left at the Wall, and as more and more visitors bring with them less and less personal experience of the war, a visitors center will provide them invaluable context and meaning.

Fittingly, Mr. Speaker, one end of the Vietnam Memorial points directly toward the grand statue of our 16th President housed inside the Lincoln Memorial. Written on the wall of that memorial are words from Lincoln's second inaugural address, which also speak to the role of the Vietnam Wall:

``With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the Nation's wounds.

``To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.''

H.R. 4882 will help finish the work we are in regarding Vietnam. It will help continue the healing provided by the memorial. It will help bind up the Nation's wounds, and we urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4882) to ensure the proper remembrance of Vietnam veterans and the Vietnam War by providing a deadline for the designation of a visitor center for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

H.R. 4882, introduced by Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, along with Ranking Member Nick Rahall, Congresswoman Donna Christensen and myself, would locate the congressionally approved underground visitors center for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on land adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial.

Chairman Pombo felt compelled to take this unusual action in direct response to what he and I and others believe is the unreasonable bureaucracy choreographed by the National Capital Planning Commission.

In November of 2003, the President signed the bill into law authorizing the creation of the visitors center. For 3\1/2\ years, this project has been under way with the National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund having promptly met all requests for environmental and related information on the siting of the center. Yet, the commission demands more.

Last November, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and the National Park Service gave the commission an extensive traffic analysis and met other information requests for a December 1 meeting at which the commission was expected to approve the site. However, without any notice to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the commission removed the visitors center from the meeting agenda and requested an extensive and unprecedented environmental analysis.

There is no need for an additional analysis. In compliance with the Commemorative Works Act, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund commissioned a site selection study environmental analysis in June 2005 that recommended the most appropriate site, which is cited in H.R. 4882, as amended. Site A, as it is known, would not interfere or encroach on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial or other memorials and protects the open space and visual sight lines of the National Mall as required by the authorizing legislation.

As a Vietnam veteran, I believe the visitors center is a long overdue complement to the most visited memorial in Washington, DC. While ``the Wall,'' as it has become known, certainly provides a visitor with an intense and solemn experience, it lacks personal context. Our brave soldier, sailors, and airmen desperately need something more, an experience that can help them heal while bringing closure. Their objectives were honorable and their sacrifice was exemplary. Yet their heroism remains unnoticed by younger generations.

As today's participants in the military, young men and women, fight the war on terror, there is no better way to reassure them that America will honor their sacrifice, no matter what the Nation feels. The greatest thing that we can do to reassure them is to honor our Vietnam veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I thank the gentleman for his comments and would note that in this past week I was able to tour a brand-new school in my district, the 2nd District of New Mexico, that is named after the Bataan March.

The Bataan Death March occurred because the Nation forgot a small increment, a small group of soldiers, most of them in the New Mexico National Guard. Those people were taken captive, and now I find young school members, school kids today understanding the sacrifices that were made in that Bataan March back in World War II.

I was in Vietnam when the Nation turned its back on the young soldiers of the Vietnam Era. I was there as we were spit on and cursed as we came back. Right now, most Vietnam veterans look for only one greeting, that is, welcome home. Even today, those words are enough to satisfy the Vietnam veteran to whom a nation turned its back.

For the National Capital Planning Commission to turn its back on our veterans from Vietnam one more time is beyond belief. I urge passage of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4882, as amended.

H.R. 4882, legislation I introduced along with Resources Committee Ranking Member Congressman Rahall, National Parks Subcommittee Chairman Pearce and Subcommittee Ranking Member Christensen, would locate the congressionally approved underground visitor center for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial.

I felt compelled to take this unusual action in direct response to what I believe is the unreasonable bureaucracy choreographed by the National Capital Planning Commission, NCPC. After having met with the NCPC chairman, I believed more than ever that I had to take such action when I asked him the simple question: When will the commission complete its unusually long evaluation for the placement of the center? His answer was that the commission was still collecting information and that he could not give me a day, month, week or year.

Following years of failed attempts to secure an authorization for the visitor center, I was able to get legislation to the President in November 2003. It is now March 2006 and the National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund have promptly met all NCPC requests for environmental and related information on the sitting of the center and yet the commission wants more. Enough is enough.

As late as November 2005, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and the National Park Service gave the NCPC an extensive traffic analysis and met other NCPC requests for a December 1 NCPC meeting. The commission was to approve the site for the center at this meeting.

Instead, without any notice to the National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the NCPC removed the visitor center from the meeting agenda and requested an extensive and unprecedented environmental analysis.

I do not believe there is a need for additional analysis. In compliance with the Commemorative Works Act and the NCPC policies and procedures, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund commissioned an environmental analysis/site selection study in June 2005. The recommended site for the visitor center is cited in H.R. 4882. Site A, as it is known, would not interfere or encroach on the Lincoln or Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and protects the open space and visual sightlines of the Mall as required by the authorizing legislation.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to thank John Reese and Scott Randall of the city of Danville, CA, and Mike Weber of the city of San Ramon, CA, for their service to this country and their leadership and strong support for the visitor center.

Finally, if there was any doubt as to the need for this important legislation, one should take a look at the article that appeared in the March 23, 2006, edition of the Washington Examiner. A spokeswoman for the NCPC is quoted as saying the commission is concerned that ``you could end up with a four- or five-story building next to the Lincoln Memorial.''

How is that possible when the visitor center is required by statute to be located underground? I think that quote sums up the agenda of the staff of the NCPC and their unfounded opposition to the visitor center.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4882, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, since 2001, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, under the leadership of Jan Scruggs, has been working towards the dedication of an underground visitors' center on the Memorial grounds. The proposal for the center was carefully planned to assure that America's youth learn the values of citizenship and duty to their nation. This process has been long and arduous for the Fund, but throughout it all their efforts have been supported by various legislative and public initiatives. Their efforts were officially validated when Congress passed a bill that authorized the construction of the site in November of 2003. The language of the legislation stated that the ``final approval shall not be withheld.''

Nevertheless, the progress and completion of the site continues to be held up, awaiting the pending approval of the National Capitol Planning Commission (NCPC). While the NCPC oversees planning and construction of any new structure within the Washington, D.C. city limits, in this case it appears to be impeding the construction of a facility authorized and sanctioned by Congress and under the law.

In December, the NCPC stalled the progress of the site by removing the Visitors Center from its December 1 monthly meeting agenda. Additionally, advocates for the Center, who were supposed to testify to the NCPC in July 2005, were told that they would have to wait to make their presentation until August 2006. Over and over again, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, under the leadership of Jan Scruggs, has complied with all the deadlines and requests of the NCPC and other governing organizations throughout the approval process. Yet, for some reason ground has yet to be broken on the construction of the site.

While the approval of the site awaits action from the NCPC, a series of actions have been taken on the proposal's behalf. In December 2005 the Resources Committee and National Parks Subcommittee began an inquiry of the actions of the National Capitol Planning Commission due to delays engineered on an effort approved by Congress in 2003. In February Congressman Pombo, chairman of the Resources Committee, requested that all internal documents from the NCPC, including emails and attorney client materials for review. After a careful review of the facts, Congressman Pombo informed the NCPC Chairman on March 2, 2006 that the NCPC appeared to be intentionally ignoring the will of the Congress with unnecessary internal delays. In response, Congressmen Pombo and Rahall, introduced H.R. 4882 to end the delays on this important project. I cosponsored the bill, which came out of committee with great support and was brought to the House floor. On March 28, 2006 the House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 4882. A companion bill, S. 2419 was later introduced in the Senate by Senators Kerry, Stevens and Hagel, and is currently awaiting legislative action.

I urge the NCPC to proceed expeditiously in accordance with the express wishes of Congress so that America's youth will soon have the opportunity to learn about citizenship and duty to our country at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitors' Center.