A bill to express the sense of Congress regarding restoration and maintenance of the Mardasson Memorial in Bastogne, Belgium.

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2206 To express the sense of Congress regarding restoration and maintenance of the Mardasson Memorial in Bastogne, Belgium. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 23, 2019 Mr. TILLIS (for himself and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To express the sense of Congress regarding restoration and maintenance of the Mardasson Memorial in Bastogne, Belgium. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2206.IS S2206 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2206 IS SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING AGREEMENT 1 BETWEEN THE AMERICAN BATTLE MONU- 2 MENTS COMMISSION AND THE GOVERNMENT 3 OF BELGIUM BY WHICH THE COMMISSION 4 WOULD ACQUIRE, RESTORE, OPERATE, AND 5 MAINTAIN THE MARDASSON MEMORIAL IN 6 BASTOGNE, BELGIUM. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress make the following find- 8 ings: 9 (1) The Battle of the Bulge was one of the 10 largest land battles fought by the United States dur- 11 ing World War II, yielded more than 75,000 Amer- 12 ican casualties over the winter of 1944–1945, and 13 stopped the last major German offensive on the 14 Western Front. 15 (2) The Battle of the Bulge is a legendary bat- 16 tle in the history of the United States Army. 17 (3) Following the war, Belgian groups raised 18 funds to construct the Mardasson Memorial in Bas- 19 togne, Belgium, to honor Americans killed, wounded, 20 and missing in action during the Battle of the 21 Bulge. 22 (4) The Mardasson Memorial, inaugurated in 23 1950, is a five-pointed American star with the his- 24 tory of the battle, the names of the units that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2206.IS S2206 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2206 IS fought, and the names of the States engraved in 1 gold letters throughout. 2 (5) The Mardasson Memorial, owned and main- 3 tained by the Government of Belgium, is in need of 4 extensive repair to restore it to a condition commen- 5 surate to the service and sacrifice it honors. 6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 7 gress to support an agreement between the American Bat- 8 tle Monument Commission (hereinafter referred to as 9 ‘‘ABMC’’) and the Government of Belgium— 10 (1) under the monument maintenance program 11 of the ABMC, and subject to the requirements of 12 such program, by which the ABMC would use its ex- 13 pertise and presence in Europe to oversee restora- 14 tion of the Mardasson Memorial in preparation for 15 the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge; and 16 (2) under the monument trust fund program of 17 the ABMC, and subject to the requirements of such 18 program, by which the ABMC assumes ownership 19 and responsibility for the Mardasson Memorial, en- 20 suring that the Memorial stands for decades to 21 come, honoring American service and sacrifice, and 22 inspiring future generations. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Jul 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2206.IS S2206 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS