Date: 2010-12-14
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. let me thank the chairwoman of the subcommittee. first of all. for her kind generosity and the excellent staff of the chairperson. and as well my friend and my good friend from Florida. Congressman MARIO DIAZBALART. who is the ranking member of this committee. for the wisdom and for their staffs excellent work that has generated relief for hardworking veterans. In one sense. the Texas Military Museum. it speaks to individuals who have found themselves now living in the State of Texas. But these are heroes that served the Nation. proudly so. and they welcome the Nation to come and to celebrate the idea of a military museum. I dont think we can have enough of these facilities. And so I am very grateful that this nonprofit institution. in the wisdom of my bipartisan cosponsors. of which I want to express deep and abiding appreciation as I indicated to the ranking member for his sponsorship and to the chairwoman for her leadership. because it is preserving the honor and the memory of citizens who served defending the United States freedom and liberty. and. as well. we emphasize. serving the entire country. This will include all branches of the Armed Forces. including the Reserves and the National Guard. This will allow these individuals who have nurtured and cared for military vehicles and other equipment for display since the beginning of their operations. critical components of the military history. These individuals. these soldiers have restored and preserved this military equipment and memorabilia with enduring kindness. volunteerism. and they have stood fast just like they stood fast on the battlefield on behalf of the Nation. The museum has had to turn down historic military equipment for display and restoration given their space limitations. so this museum will in essence be an asset for the American people. What will it do? In addition to saying thank you to veterans. to those who have served. it will be a benefit to the community. schools. as well as veterans and militaryrelated groups. It will teach the children to value a soldier. both old and young. both active and nonactive. It will teach them to understand what sacrifice is all about. It will explain to them. these tough vehicles that children rarely see. what they mean to their freedom. The Military Museum provides educational programs. You cant imagine the different schools that are eager to see them. Live reenactments from military personnel. interactive exhibits. provide internships to military history and preservation. as well as research databases available for educational and historical institutions and the public. I might deviate just for a moment. A fallen hero that all of us admired. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. took his arms of peace. He was of course the envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan. where a war is raging in Afghanistan. What I would say to you is that he understood the partnership and the work that has to be done with the military. That is why this museum is so important. They work together for peace. diplomacy and peace. It is enormously important that we provide an opportunity for these to be recognized. Now. we are grateful that the General Services Administration has a light bulb on. and we thank those who have recognized the fact. how important it is to be able to fix this. if you will. That is what we are doing. But we are fixing it for the right reasons. This will be conveyed for market value. the title and interest to the benefit of the United States of America. Therefore. this particular land will not go unused or misused. It. in actuality. will be for the Military Museum of Texas that can really be called the Military Museumone of themof the United States of America. We support honoring our soldiers. So let me thank Ron Kendall. Elliot Doomes. Ward McCarragher. Johanna Hardy. Major Keithen Washington of my office. who was a Department of Defense detailee. We thank him for his fine work. and my deputy chief of staff for her untiring efforts to keep moving this bill. Certainly we want to acknowledge all of the original cosponsors: MARIO DIAZ-