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UNITED STATES SENATE PASSES HUNTER BILL TO SAVE MT. SOLEDAD MEMORIAL
Today Ron Nehring, Chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County and Vice Chairman of the California Republican Party, issued the following statement following the U.S. Senate vote to preserve the Mt. Soledad Memorial with HR 5683.
We're proud and relieved that the Senate today chose to protect the veterans memorial on Mt. Soledad with its unanimous passage of Congressman Hunter's legislation to acquire the land on which the memorial stands.
Majority Leader Bill Frist and Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions deserve special credit for their leadership in winning unanimous consent to protect a memorial that is important not just to San Diego, but to the families of America's fallen veterans. The memorial stands in respect and honor of the sacrifices they made to protect this nation.
The Republican Party of San Diego County unanimously endorsed Proposition A on the 2005 special election ballot to protect the memorial. Today's action in the Senate moves us another step closer to permanently protecting this San Diego landmark.
In the House, the legislation passed with a strong bipartisan vote of 349 to 74, as all Republicans in the House were joined by a majority of Democrats to protect the memorial.
Statement by Majority Leader Bill Frist
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., (R-Tenn.) made the following statement on legislation to protect the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Cross, which passed today by unanimous consent:
“I am proud that the Senate chose to protect an important memorial honoring our nation’s fallen veterans. With the passage of this legislation, the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, California, will be controlled by the federal government who will ensure that the men and women it memorializes will continue to be honored.”
Since 1954, a 29-foot cross has stood atop Mt. Soledad in San Diego, California memorializing the American war dead of World War I, World War II and the Korean conflict. Over the years, the Memorial has grown and now includes six large, concentric walls covered with granite plaques commemorating individual servicemen and women, bollards, pavers and a flagpole proudly flying the American flag. The Mt. Soledad Memorial, in its entirety, is a world class war memorial.
In 1989, a plaintiff who claimed to be offended by the memorial sued the city for its removal. The City of San Diego went to great lengths to divest themselves of the property by selling it to a private party who could choose to keep the Memorial cross. That sale was blocked, however, by the 9th circuit court of appeals. Last year, the voters of San Diego passed a ballot measure providing for the donation of the memorial to the federal government, but again that transfer was blocked by the courts. H.R. 5683 directs the federal government to acquire the property, and enables the Mt. Soleded memorial to be federally owned and continue to memorialize Americans who have fallen in service to their country.
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