Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today, H.R. 1073, authorizes the National Park Service to construct a visitor services facility that includes a restroom at the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial. The memorial is located in Arlington, Virginia, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, and a short drive from the Pentagon and from here. This iconic statue of marines raising the flag over Iwo Jima is one of the country's most recognized memorials--the most recognized memorial in the whole world--and receives a tremendous amount of visitation. Unfortunately, there are no permanent restroom facilities at the site. It goes without saying that this is a major hurdle to visitor comfort, especially given that this is a popular destination of our veterans, not all of whom are able-bodied. However, once this bill becomes law, the National Park Service will be able to construct a restroom with funds that have already been donated for this purpose. This is in keeping with a broad policy of improving accessibility of all the memorials on and around The National Mall. This bill is a long time coming. I want to thank my bill cosponsors for their support, Mr. Cook of California and Mr. Graves of Louisiana. I understand that our good friends from the Park Service are watching with excitement and pleasure this afternoon as we take this up on the floor. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.…”