WASHINGTON, D.C. — The bill calling for a national monument honoring Medal of Honor recipients has passed the U.S. Senate–the first bill introduced by Senator Jim Justice after he arrived at the Senate.
Justice praised the bipartisan support on the senate floor Wednesday night. He said it comes after bipartisan support.
“If we talked and we trusted and we absolutely told the truth to one another, there may just be passage of lots and lots of staff that we should be doing here,” Justice said.
The bill’s passage came on National Medal of Honor Day. The bill is called the Hershel “Woody” Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act, named after West Virginia’s own Woody Williams who was the last living World War II Medal of Honor recipient when he died a few years ago.
The bill was approved by unanimous consent.
“I look up in the gallery and see some incredible Medal of Honor recipients. I think about what they’ve given to this country, and it truly takes my breath away. Then my mind goes back home to West Virginia and to the namesake of this bill, Woody Williams. I had the real honor of getting to know Woody, hearing his stories, and learning from a true American hero,” Justice said. “:That’s something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. It makes this moment even more meaningful that the first bill I’ve passed in the Senate honors Woody. Today, this win is for Woody, West Virginia, and for every Medal of Honor recipient who has given more to this country than we could ever repay.”
According to news release from Justice’s office, “the bill directs the National Park Service to designate and construct a monument in honor of Medal of Honor recipients on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The monument will come at no cost to the taxpayer and The Medal of Honor Foundation has been crucial in leading the way for funding this monument and assisting in moving this bill across the finish line.”