OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Establishment of A Visitor Services Facility on the Arlington Ridge Tract

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 6, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Arts, Entertainment, and History

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Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4789 is an uncontroversial technical provision authorizing construction of a small restroom facility on the grounds of the Marine Corps Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Recently, billionaire David Rubenstein donated more than $5 million to the National Park Foundation to be used for repairs and rehabilitation of the memorial and the surrounding grounds.

Because of the donation, the National Park Service was able to look closely at the needs of the memorial and the visitors who come there, and one amenity it clearly lacks is public restrooms. At the moment, the only restrooms available are Park Service-supplied porta potties.

With visitation steady and possibly increasing because of the memorial rehabilitation, there is a clear need to address this deficiency in visitor services, and this is especially concerning because this is a very popular destination for veterans, not all of whom are able-bodied.

The current statutory ban on additional structures on the Marine Corps Memorial dates to 2002, and it was part of this debate over the location of the Air Force Memorial. Well, in the meantime, the Air Force Memorial was ultimately located somewhere else, but we still need this legislation to authorize construction of restroom facilities.

The provision has already been passed by the Senate, and I am pleased by its consideration in the House. The National Park Service has long wanted to build a small structure with water and restrooms at the Marine Corps Memorial because there are no such facilities within several miles, and this is in keeping with the broader policy of improving accessibility of all the memorials on and around the National Mall.

I am particularly thankful for Mr. Cook's support in putting this together and for Mr. Thompson's leadership and for the chairman's support.

I urge all Members to support this bipartisan bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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