Greatest Generation Commemorative Coin Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I thank Chair Waters for moving this bill and I thank Ranking Member Hill, as well, on behalf of the American people.

The dedication of the World War II Memorial on our National Mall was the culmination of a 17-year effort in Congress to construct the first national memorial dedicated to the 16 million Americans who served in the Armed Forces during World War II and the more than 400,000 who died for liberty.

As the Representative who in 1987 introduced the original legislation to construct the national memorial, I am thrilled to rise tonight in support of H.R. 1057, the National World War II Memorial Greatest Generation Commemorative Coin Act.

I also rise, respectfully, in memory of World War II Army combat veteran Roger Durbin of Berkey, Ohio, who first suggested this meritorious idea to me, as well as my own uncle Stanley Rogowski, who fought in D-day and across France to free Paris and on to Brussels and Belgium and Luxembourg, and Anthony Rogowski, his brother, who fought in the Office of Strategic Services building the Burma Road in the very difficult battles in Asia.

This bipartisan piece of legislation authorizes the U.S. Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. The coin will serve as an important symbol of the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the brave Americans who fought to defend liberty, defeat tyranny, and establish institutions to safeguard peace and freedom in the 20th and 21st centuries and beyond.

This legislation will ensure the memorial is properly maintained for years to come and, importantly, that the historical, educational, and commemorative programming is prepared to better inform the millions of people who visit each year and allow collections to be shared nationwide.

Since the memorial's inception in 2004, nearly 80 million people have visited the site, making it one of the most popular sites in our Nation. Approximately 240,000 World War II veterans are still living with us today, including 9,000 Ohioans.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Sustaining the World War II Memorial for them and, importantly, to better inform and enhance interpretation of the purposes for which the war was fought will provide generations to come with a greater sense of America's history, and of course this is near and dear to all of our hearts.

Please let me thank our partners at the Friends of the World War II Memorial, Holly Rotondi and Paul Marcone, and our staff assistant Margaret McInnis for their wonderful service in helping us move this bill forward to where it is today.

I also thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger) and the 300 House Members who sponsored this bipartisan bill as well as our Senate counterparts, Senators Mike Rounds and Jeanne Shaheen, for their bipartisan support. It is nice to do things on a bipartisan basis.

Let me finally express gratitude to the marvelous, talented, and caring Chairwoman Maxine Waters for moving this bill along with so many, many others and for her dutiful service to the Nation, and her colleagues, Ranking Member Patrick McHenry as well as Congressman French Hill for their very generous support. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1057.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source