HB77 CD1

Report Title:

Women's Military Memorial

 

Description:

Appropriates funds to the department of defense to enable the State of Hawaii to make a donation on behalf of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. (HB77 CD1)

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	77
TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 1
		C.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO THE WOMEN IN MILITARY SERVICE FOR AMERICA MEMORIAL.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The words "duty", "honor", and "pride", reflect the spirit of generations of Americans who have sought to defend the rights and freedom of others. At the Women In Military Service For America Memorial, these words come to life in the stories and memories of the nearly two million women who have served to defend our nation. The Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Incorporated, a nonprofit organization established to build the memorial, continues to raise the funds needed to operate and maintain the Memorial Education Center. The Foundation broke ground on June 22, 1995, for the only major national memorial in our nation's history to honor and pay tribute to all servicewomen of the United States armed forces--past, present, and future. The Women’s Memorial was dedicated on October 18, 1997, and officially opened to the public on October 20, 1997.

The history of women in the armed forces began more than two hundred twenty years ago during the American Revolution and continues through the present. The Women’s Memorial honors all the women who have served courageously, selflessly, and with dedication in times of conflict and in times of peace--women whose achievements have for too long been unrecognized or ignored.

The Women’s Memorial was authorized by Congress and is supported by the United States Departments of Defense, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs. Legislation passed in 1986 stated that the Memorial had to be built with nonfederal funds. With the exception of federal grants to restore the existing structure and to complete the Memorial, the Memorial has been financed solely through private donations. Thus far, notable donors include foreign governments, forty-nine state governments, all except Hawaii, leading corporations, veterans organizations, a number of foundations, and individuals. Proceeds from the sale of a commemorative coin are a continuing resource.

The Foundation has a National Tribute Committee whose members include current and former members of Congress, governors, corporate leaders, and government and civic leaders. Active support for the Memorial is also demonstrated by the prestigious National Sponsors Committee, made up of all living former presidents and secretaries of defense. State chairs have been appointed in key states to lead the effort to locate, register, and honor servicewomen and women veterans throughout the nation. State chairs work in coordination with the Foundation’s volunteer force of field representatives, which number approximately eighteen hundred.

Freedom is not free, nor should it ever be taken for granted. It has been, and must continue to be, defended vigorously through constant vigilance and personal sacrifice. The Women’s Memorial preserves an important legacy for all generations by capturing the undocumented history of our American servicewomen. It is a place of remembrance for the loved and lost, and a place of honor for those who served in the past, those who serve today, and those who will serve in the future.

The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds to the department of defense to enable the State of Hawaii to make a long overdue donation on behalf of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $7,800 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001-2002 to enable the State of Hawaii to make a donation on behalf of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of defense for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.