Connie Mack: “last year I joined the distinguished senior Senator from New York, Mr. Moynihan, in introducing a bill to authorize the…”

“last year I joined the distinguished senior Senator from New York, Mr. Moynihan, in introducing a bill to authorize the placement of a memorial to Mohandas K.--Mahatma--Gandhi, on Federal land in the District of Columbia in the vicinity of the Indian Embassy. A similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives. I am pleased to report that the House unanimously passed their version of this bill on September 15 and it now rests here in the Senate awaiting our action. It is my hope that the Senate will pass this bill and it is for this reason that I rise today. The proposed memorial will comply with the Commemorative Works Act and will be placed at no cost to the U.S. government; the Indian government will be responsible for the construction and maintenance of the memorial. In addition, the National Capital Memorial Commission and the National Park Service have designated and approved the site. At midnight on August 15, 1947, 400 million people received their independence and an institution in world history came to an end. This is the date that India became a free nation, and the mighty British empire, in effect, ceased to exist. One man more than any other is credited with bringing this profound change to the world.…”