Bill Preserving D.C. War Memorial for D.C. Residents Only Passes House

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House today passed by voice vote a bill (H.R. 6364) that Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) co-sponsored to preserve the District of Columbia War Memorial for D.C. veterans only, re-designate the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri as the "National World War I Museum and Memorial," establish a site on federal land in the District for a national World War I memorial, and establish a commission to ensure a suitable observance of the centennial of World War I. Norton, who managed the bill on the House floor this afternoon, said she was pleased not only about the bill itself but also about how the bill was achieved. She agreed to co-sponsor the bill in a series of negotiations that preserved the D.C. War Memorial for D.C. residents only, but she also worked in cooperation with co-sponsors Congressmen Ted Poe (R-TX) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) to ensure that their concerns were met. Norton said she was particularly appreciative of the efforts of D.C. residents who turned out in droves to support her fight to prevent the D.C. War Memorial from being rededicated as a national World War I memorial.

"I had to oppose altering the integrity of the D.C. memorial," Norton said on the House floor today. "The D.C. memorial was built with the blood and treasure of D.C. residents, including funds from school children. Of themore than 26,000 D.C. residents who served in World War I, the 499 who died, more than the number from three states, have their names engraved on the memorial. It has always been my position that a national memorial dedicated to all Americans who served in World War I should be located in the nation's capital, and I have been committed to working with my colleagues to suggest suitable locations in D.C. for a national World War I memorial."

Published: December 12, 2012