Norton Applauds Bipartisan Senate Bill to Add Harry Truman’s Name to Union Station, Will Cosponsor House Companion Bill
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) made the following statement on a bill introduced by Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) today to name Union Station "Harry S. Truman Union Station."
"I applaud the bipartisan McCaskill-Blunt bill to name Union Station, a federal building, for Harry Truman, a president much admired in this city," said Norton. "From integrating the armed forces and the Marshall Plan to the Fair Deal and the creation of the United Nations, Harry Truman was one of our nation's greatest presidents and deserves recognition in the nation's capital. My only concern was that the historic name, Union Station, not be lost, but Senators McCaskill and Blunt have thoughtfully kept the name, with the addition of Harry S. Truman. I am particularly pleased to see bipartisan attention paid to Union Station. I hope and believe a new high-profile name will reinvigorate the commitment of Congress to help in our efforts to make Union Station a world-class, 21st-century intermodal facility."
The Congresswoman spoke with Senator McCaskill's office about the bill and about becoming an original cosponsor in the House. Norton is a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which will likely have jurisdiction of the bill in the House.
Since coming to Congress, Norton has led the effort in Congress to revitalize Union Station and to make it truly intermodal. Earlier this year, the audit Norton requested of Union Station by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General was released. It is the first audit of Union Station since its revitalization was authorized by Congress in 1981. After spending more than a decade trying to get intercity bus service into Union Station, Norton last September cut the ribbon on the new Union Station intercity bus deck. In 2010, Norton's efforts resulted in the first intercity bus service at Union Station. In addition, Union Station developed its first-ever master plan following Norton's request at a 2009 hearing she held on the facility. In 2002, at Norton's urging, the General Services Administration sold 15 acres of air rights over the Union Station rail yard for the development of Burnham Place, where plans are already underway for a mixed-use development.
Published: May 8, 2014