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House Committee Passes
9/11 Memorial Bill

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2002 -- The House Resource Committee has unanimously approved a bill that would establish a memorial on the Mall, or elsewhere in Washington, to honor those killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

James V. Hansen

Friends and family of several of those who died September 11 have been pressing for the memorial to be built on the Mall despite legal and historic preservation obstacles. The committee chairman, Rep. James V. Hansen, Utah Republican, said he strongly favors a location on the Mall itself.

The measure sidesteps safeguards that Congress itself approved in 1986 to prevent the Mall from being overrun with new construction. The Commemorative Works Act, signed by former President Reagan, requires that 25 years pass between an event or person's death and the establishment of a memorial on federal land in the capital.

The National Capital Planning Commission also adopted a policy two years ago of not approving new memorials on the Mall's central axis after a study showed new memorials going up a rate of one a year since 1900.

The latest proposed memorial is intended to commemorate all victims of terrorism, past and present, its supporters say.

The full House and Senate and President Bush must all approve the memorial legislation before anything can be built.

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