Steve Stivers: “I thank the gentleman from Florida for everything he is doing to lead this bill on the floor today. I would like to also…”

“I thank the gentleman from Florida for everything he is doing to lead this bill on the floor today. I would like to also thank the ranking member from Minnesota for his good-faith effort and his work. We worked in a collaborative way to address his concerns. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank my colleague from Columbus, Joyce Beatty; and my other colleague from Columbus, Pat Tiberi, for their work in a bipartisan fashion for making this bill better, helping this bill pass the House. I hope we can get it passed in the Senate here shortly as well. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to speak today in support of the bill that will designate the National Veterans Memorial and Museum being built in Columbus, Ohio, as America's National Veterans Memorial and Museum. The National Veterans Memorial and Museum will serve as a civic landmark to honor, connect, inspire, and educate all Americans about the service and sacrifice of our Nation's 22 million veterans. It will be the only public museum of its kind that exists for the exclusive role of sharing the experiences of veterans across all eras, conflicts, and branches of military service. You might ask: Why would we want to do this in Columbus, Ohio? Well, first and foremost, Ohio has the sixth largest veterans population in the United States, and it is easily accessible to almost anyone in the United States. We are within a 10-hour's drive of almost 60 percent of the veterans in the United States.…”