I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5646 

To designate the FAA Air Control Tower located at Memphis International 

Airport as the Freedom Tower. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 30, 2010 

Mr. COHEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To designate the FAA Air Control Tower located at Memphis 

International Airport as the Freedom Tower. 

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The city of Memphis has played and con6 tinues to play a key role in securing American free7 doms. 

8 (2) Because of its history, Memphis represents 

9 the struggle for freedom for millions of Americans 

10 and millions more across the world. 


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1 (3) Memphis and its airport have long symbol2 ized America’s fight for freedom—from Memphis fe3 male pilot Phoebe Omlie, who served our country 

4 well and broke gender barriers, to the city’s many 

5 great civil rights leaders who fought for freedom and 

6 equality, to our airport’s pivotal national security 

7 role on one of our Nation’s darkest days, 9/11. 

8 (4) The tower will serve as a tribute to the 

9 thousands of men and women who persevered 

10 throughout the Civil Rights Movement to fight for 

11 freedom for all men and women of America, no mat12 ter their race, gender, or creed. 

13 (5) Memphis is home to hundreds of freedom 

14 fighters including Benjamin Hooks, Vasco and Max15 ine Smith, Russell Sugarmon, and Jesse Turner, 

16 whose fight for freedom occurred throughout Mem17 phis in the form of sit-ins at department store lunch 

18 counters and at the main public library. 

19 (6) Many of these heroic men and women dem20 onstrated their desire for freedom, in spite of threats 

21 of violence and death, by riding buses in Memphis 

22 and throughout the South proclaiming their equality. 

23 (7) The tower will honor all of these freedom 

24 fighters as well as individuals throughout the Nation 


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1 who marched, protested, and spoke out for civil 

2 rights, equality, and freedom for all. 

3 (8) The tower will safely guide thousands of in4 dividuals each year on their journey to the National 

5 Civil Rights Museum, which chronicles key episodes 

6 of the American Civil Rights Movement and main7 tains the legacy of this freedom movement to inspire 

8 participation in civil and human rights efforts glob9 ally. 

10 (9) The existing air tower at MEM is named 

11 the Omlie Tower after Phoebe Omlie, who led the 

12 way for women’s rights in the aviation industry and 

13 broke the glass ceiling to allow women the freedom 

14 to pursue careers traditionally reserved for men. 

15 (10) Named by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt 

16 as one of the twelve greatest women in the United 

17 States, Omlie is most renowned for being the first 

18 woman to hold an official aviation post in the U.S. 

19 Federal Government. 

20 (11) Omlie’s legacy of fighting for freedom and 

21 equality for women will be memorialized in the new 

22 tower. 

23 (12) The tower, located in the Volunteer State, 

24 will also serve as a tribute to those who have led, 


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1 fought, sacrificed, and perished to secure and pre2 serve American freedoms. 

3 (13) The tower will provide vital aviation serv4 ices to the 164th Airlift Wing, located at the Mem5 phis Air National Guard Base at MEM, who protect 

6 our country and guarantee our freedom. 

7 (14) The 164th Airlift Wing fights for our free8 doms by providing the Air Mobility Command airlift 

9 in support of United States national defense and is 

10 capable of carrying fully equipped combat-ready 

11 military units to any point in the world. 

12 (15) On September 11, 2001, when al Qaeda 

13 attacked on American soil because of their opposi14 tion to our freedoms, MEM served a vital role by 

15 landing more aircraft than any other airport in 

16 America immediately after the FAA closed U.S. air17 space on that fateful morning. 

18 (16) Given MEM’s and the city of Memphis’s 

19 long history of protecting freedom by advancing civil 

20 rights, women’s rights, and national security, it is 

21 appropriate that the new FAA control tower at 

22 MEM be named the ‘‘Freedom Tower’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION. 

2 The new FAA Air Control Tower located at Memphis 

3 International Airport shall be known and designated as 

4 the ‘‘Freedom Tower’’. 

Æ 


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