I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5415 

To designate the Memorial of Perpetual Tears, which honors victims of 

driving while impaired, as the official National DWI Victims Memorial. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2010 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. LUJA ́N, and Mr. TEAGUE) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate the Memorial of Perpetual Tears, which honors 

victims of driving while impaired, as the official National 

DWI Victims Memorial. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National DWI Victims 

5 Memorial Designation Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities represent 

approximately 1 9 ⁄3 of all highway fatalities in the 

10 United States each year. 


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1 (2) In 2008, there were 11,773 alcohol-im2 paired driving fatalities in the United States. 

3 (3) The Memorial of Perpetual Tears, located 

4 adjacent to Interstate 40 in the City of Moriarty, 

5 New Mexico, opened in November 2008 to honor the 

6 victims of Driving While Impaired (hereinafter re7 ferred to as ‘‘DWI’’). 

8 (4) The mission of the Memorial of Perpetual 

9 Tears is to raise awareness of the devastation caused 

10 by DWI crashes by recognizing their victims, edu11 cating the public, and encouraging preventive meas12 ures. 

13 (5) The Memorial of Perpetual Tears is the 

14 only memorial of its kind in the United States. 

15 (6) The Memorial of Perpetual Tears is a visi16 ble statement to the world expressing what words 

17 cannot by portraying fatalities and injuries caused 

18 by DWI. 

19 (7) The Memorial of Perpetual Tears resembles 

20 a veterans’ cemetery with markers representing the 

21 most recent 5-year period of deaths attributed to 

22 DWI in New Mexico. 

23 (8) The Memorial of Perpetual Tears includes 

24 a site dedicated to victims of DWI nationwide. 


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1 (9) The Memorial of Perpetual Tears gives rec2 ognition to innocent victims of DWI nationwide by 

3 displaying Victim Tribute books in the memorial vis4 itor center. The Victim Tribute books include stories 

5 and pictures submitted by injured victims and family 

6 members of those killed in DWI crashes. 

7 (10) The Memorial of Perpetual Tears offers 

8 public education on DWI prevention as well as na9 tional and local DWI information to visitors. 

10 (11) The Memorial of Perpetual Tears is visible 

11 from Interstate 40 and attracts visitors traveling on 

12 that major Interstate Highway. 

13 (12) The Memorial of Perpetual Tears attracts 

14 visitors from across the United States, many of 

15 whom make the Memorial of Perpetual Tears the 

16 destination of their trip. 

17 (13) The City of Moriarty and the State of New 

18 Mexico invite travelers on Interstate 40 and all 

19 Americans to visit the Memorial of Perpetual Tears. 

20 (14) The Memorial of Perpetual Tears helps 

21 focus attention on the need to eliminate DWI as a 

22 national priority. 


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1 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF THE MEMORIAL OF PERPETUAL 

2 TEARS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Memorial of Perpetual Tears, 

4 located adjacent to Interstate 40 in the City of Moriarty, 

5 New Mexico, shall be known and designated as the ‘‘Na6 tional DWI Victims Memorial’’. 

7 (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, reg8 ulation, document, record, or other paper of the United 

9 States to the memorial described in subsection (a) shall 

10 be considered to be a reference to the ‘‘National DWI Vic11 tims Memorial’’. 

Æ 


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