National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center Commemorative Coin Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3229) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the legacy of the United States Army Infantry and the establishment of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to advise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

The oldest and largest branch of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army infantry, was established on June 14, 1775, when the Continental Congress ordered the formation of 10 companies of riflemen. The riflemen comprised the first armed force of a new Nation, a Nation destined to become the greatest democracy the world has ever known. Since that time, the infantry has gone where other forces could not go and accomplished missions others could not attempt.

The story of the Queen of Battle has been written by individual infantrymen who have done their duty with pride, courage and honor. Their suffering and sacrifices won our freedom, preserved that freedom for over two centuries and will guarantee it in the future. Some were called heroes, some were not, but they were all members of a band of brothers who fought for their country in the cause of freedom.

For more than two centuries the United States infantry has fought alongside other armed forces to protect their freedom. Their missions have sent them around the world and literally brought them face-to-face with the enemy.

From the Siege of Boston of 1775 to San Juan Hill, to the Battle of New Orleans, to the Argonne Forest, where Sergeant York distinguished himself, to the beaches of Normandy, they hunted the enemy in the Shau Valley, parachuted into Panama, and currently subdue our enemies on cold mountainside and hot desert sands in both Iraq and Afghanistan. When policymakers finished talking, when debate has ceased, when negotiations have failed and orders are given, it becomes the mission of the United States infantry to execute our national policy.

Their courage, pride and sense of beauty to country and each other stood tall above any fear they faced. But the battle for our freedom has been costly. As many as 80 percent of all the servicemen and women who have died serving their country were part of the infantry.

To honor the infantry's decorated history, the National Infantry Foundation, in coordination with the United States Army, have broken ground on a new world-class museum honoring them. Located on a 200-acre site of Fort Benning, Georgia, the National Infantry Museum will serve as a tribute to the infantry's legacy of valor and sacrifice. This museum will honor these soldiers for their selfless service to our country, while also preserving for all time the artifacts so poignantly telling their stories.

It will tell the story of our ground soldiers, from the colonial period to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lessons of the past will be retold to help lead us in the future.

Our children must learn and know that there are values and beliefs worth living for and worth dying for, that the freedom and liberty we enjoy today has come at a high price, and that the American values of patriotism, duty, courage and leadership are the hallmarks of the infantry and must be preserved.

With 290 cosponsors, this bipartisan legislation honors the legacy of the United States infantry with the minting of the infantry coin. Money raised from the sale of the coins will go towards maintaining the National Infantry Museum.

I applaud the efforts of the National Infantry Foundation, its rich history deserves to be kept alive for all who follow. These heroes are perhaps too humble to tell their own story, so we will have to do it for them.

I thank the gentleman from Georgia for authoring this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop) such time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I submit the following correspondence:

House of Representatives,

Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC, May 22, 2008.

Hon. Barney Frank,

Chairman, Financial Services Committee, Rayburn House Office

Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Frank: I am writing regarding H.R. 3229, the

``National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center Commemorative

Coin Act.''

As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains

jurisdiction over bills that raise revenue. H.R. 3229

contains a provision that establishes a surcharge for the

sale of commemorative coins that are minted under the bill,

and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on

Ways and Means.

However, as part of our ongoing understanding regarding

commemorative coin bills and in order to expedite this bill

for Floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action.

This is being done with the understanding that it does not in

any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the

appointment of Conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives

on this bill or similar legislation in the future.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 3229, and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the record.

Sincerely,

Charles B. Rangel,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

It is my honor to be here today, and I do want to thank my colleague, Sanford Bishop, for his hard work and helping me get the required number of signatures to get this commemorative coin, and anybody who has ever done that knows what a challenge it is to get the number of signatures required. I want to thank him and his staff; and also Edward Jones from my staff for all of their hard work and dedication that we have had over the months trying to get the requisite number of signatures.

For more than 200 years the United States Infantry has sought to protect our freedom. H.R. 3229 will honor the legacy of the United States Infantry with the minting of a commemorative coin. Eighty percent, as has been mentioned before here today, of American casualties are young men and women who have lost their life in battle were members of the infantry.

The Infantry Museum Foundation, in coordination with the United States Army, have already broken ground on this new National Infantry Museum. It has been my honor to visit it, and with General White walk through the street, the World War II street, to see the buildings that will afford our young men and women an opportunity to see what Army life was like during World War II. It also has the parade field which is now under construction, and will be a place where many ceremonies in the future will be held. Also, this building is going to be a green building. It is high tech. There is geothermal heating and cooling in the building. And as Mrs. Capito mentioned, a professional museum planner has worked very hard on this.

I would like to tell one story General White told me. In doing some of the exhibits, they have one exhibit where paratroopers are flying on a plane to jump out, and the architect of this one ride told General White, ``I don't know how we are doing on this. A lot of the people who are testing it are getting motion sickness, almost to a point of losing their lunch.''

And General White said, ``Then you're almost there.''

This museum is going to be a place where people can go in and feel the sense of battle that these young men and women feel.

And as you know, Fort Benning is the place where about 80 percent of our young men and women go that are going into harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places that we may send them, and it will give a great opportunity for them to go and see some of the legacy that has come before them and also give their families a chance to visit this great facility.

So it is with great honor that I introduce this bill, and I want to thank all of the cosponsors of this bill. It was amazing the number of people that I would go up to and ask to sign this legislation that said, you know, I spent 3 months of my life at Fort Benning going through my military boot camp; and so I hope that when this thing is open next year, that these Members that have gone through there and experienced that type of military life will

come down and join us in a grand opening.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to please support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3229, the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center Commemorative Coin Act sponsored by our colleague from Georgia, Representative Westmoreland, and urge its immediate passage.

This legislation, as we have heard, authorizes the minting and sale of up to 350,000 silver $1 coins in the year 2012, with surcharges on the sale of the coin going to fund work on the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center being built in Patriot Park at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia.

The new National Infantry Museum will honor the legacy of the United States infantry on a 200-acre site that links Columbus, Georgia, with Fort Benning, the home of the infantry. The museum's galleries will trace infantry history from colonial times to the present and be designed to attract and educate all segments of the population with interactive learning, opportunities, high-tech classrooms, theatres and dramatic venues for sacred ceremonies.

An active education program will make the venue a must-see attraction for school groups and students of all ages. The focus of the educational effort will be to teach history, as the history of the United States Army Infantry parallels the history and growth of our country. Additional instruction will focus on leadership skills and the Army values of loyalty, duty, selfless service, respect, honor, integrity and personal courage. Research done by an internationally known museum planning firm estimates annual visitation of up to 400,000, which will make it one of Georgia's top tourist attractions.

In addition to the museum, there will be a 7-acre parade field for infantry and basic training graduations and change-of-command ceremonies. A Walk of Honor flanked by gardens and memorials will lead visitors to the museum and a recreated World War II-era Company Street, featuring the headquarters and sleeping quarters used by General George S. Patton in 1941 will take visitors back to the scenes of our country's largest wartime buildup. The facility will include a 3-D IMAX theater restaurant and museum store.

Visitors to this museum that is scheduled to open in just over a year will meet the infantryman face-to-face and join him on his journey. They will come to understand why an infantryman does what he does, why he puts himself in harm's way in defense of an idea. Surcharges on the sale of these coins will raise funds for a long-term endowment to ensure the maintenance of this important facility.

The infantryman is historic, and it is a heroic idea to build this museum to the infantry. I urge passage of this legislation, commend my colleague for offering it, and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge passage of the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleague from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland) and 288 other bipartisan cosponsors in support of H.R. 3229, the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center Commemorative Coin Act.

In the history of organized military operations, the infantry occupies a unique place of honor. Life as an infantryman is a constant barrage of exercise and training often in brutal situations that simulate combat zone operations.

Due to the very nature of an infantry position of work with arms, bombs, and physical stress, casualties occur in both war and peacetime situations. The infantry is the main combatant in war. It fights the battle at the root and cuts off the enemy at the knee. It is at once the most fearless, courageous, noble, intelligent and selfless branch of the military.

From crossing the ice-filled Delaware River to walking the streets of Baghdad, it is the infantryman who is willing to pay the ultimate price to protect American freedoms.

I am proud to represent ``The Home of the Infantry,'' Fort Benning, here in Congress, and I am humbled and honored to be a cosponsor of this legislation. A great nation is measured in part by how it remembers those who defended, preserved, and contributed to its heritage. The United States Army Infantry has contributed greatly over the years at a tremendous human cost, and it is incumbent upon those of us serving in Congress to pay tribute to their sacrifices.

The minting of the infantry coin will not cost the taxpayers any money and the sale of the coins will completely cover the cost of the minting. The mint will actually receive a small profit from every coin that is sold. Money raised from the sale of the coins will help make sure that the National Infantry Museum located at Fort Benning will always be the keeper of the history, artifacts, and memories of our brave Army Infantry.

The National Infantry Museum sits on a 200-acre site that will serve as a tribute to the infantry's legacy of valor and sacrifice, and will also serve as a functional area for basic training graduations and other special and community events. The museum will honor infantry soldiers for their selfless service to our country while also preserving for all time the history that so poignantly tells their stories.

I want to thank Major General (Retired) Jerry White and Colonel (Retired) Greg Camp for their years of hard work and dedication in making the National Infantry Museum a reality. In addition, I would like to thank Congressman Lynn Westmoreland as well as Edward Jones from Congressman Westmoreland's office, and Jonathan Halpern and Ed Larkin from my staff for their steadfast efforts on this project.

I urge my colleagues to please join me in supporting this legislation and in supporting our proud Army Infantry.

I urge the adoption of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3229, and would like to commend my good friend from Georgia, Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, for offering it.

The bill before us today will allow coins to be issued in support of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center during the year 2012. The coins will be emblematic of the courage, pride, sacrifice, sense of duty, and history of the infantry, and the proceeds received from issuance of the coin will be used to establish an endowment to support the maintenance of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center.

Mr. Speaker, as a Member of the House Armed Services Committee who previously had Ft. Benning--the Home of the Infantry--in my district, I have long supported the efforts of the National Infantry Foundation to establish the new National Infantry Museum and wholeheartedly support the issuance of this coin in support of the museum.

The National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center at Patriot Park will honor the 233-year heritage of the Army's largest branch, the infantry. This museum will be instrumental in helping to educate future generations about the vital role of the infantry in the history of our Nation. Furthermore, this building will honor the men and women who serve in and support the infantry, and preserve the infantry's legacy of service.

This legacy of service is indeed quite remarkable, Mr. Speaker. The first successful and systematic training of the U.S. infantry can be tracked back to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in 1778. It was not until 1826 that a formal post for infantry training was established, and over the course of history, the Infantry School has existed at the Jefferson Barracks in Missouri, Ft. Leavenworth in Kansas, in Monterrey, California, at Ft. Sill in Oklahoma, and at Fort Benning--the ``Home of the Infantry''--since 1918. Through the years the Infantry School at Ft. Benning has gradually emerged as the most influential infantry center in the modern world. The school has either trained in its officer courses or honed in its command structure some of the Nation's most prominent military figures, including five-star generals Omar Bradley, Dwight Eisenhower, and George Marshall, as well as George Patton and Colin Powell. And, Mr. Speaker, over the course of American history, nearly 80 percent of all servicemen and women who have died serving our Nation were part of the infantry.

This museum has one mission, Mr. Speaker: to honor the infantryman and his more than two centuries of proud service to our great Nation. This coin will support this mission.

I ask all of my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.