On the recordJune 17, 2013
This is a very important issue before us today. The Senate amended H.R. 588 to allow any new memorial in D.C. to acknowledge donors. The original bill passed by the House only allowed donor acknowledgement for the Vietnam Memorial Visitor Center. The Senate amendment also provided a 4-year extension of the legislative authority for the Vietnam Memorial Visitors Center. The resolution before us today would narrow the Senate language back to apply only to the Vietnam Memorial Visitor Center while continuing to provide the visitor center with a 4-year extension of their authorization. Mr. Speaker, our preference would be to send a bill to the President to sign today; however, the majority is insisting on amending the Senate legislation and sending this bill back to the Senate instead of to the President. While we do not object to a policy of allowing donor acknowledgement, we are concerned that amending the Senate amendment will unnecessarily delay enactment of this legislation. Given this is the only option we have to support the Vietnam Memorial Visitor Center, we support passage of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
