Bipartisan legislation spearheaded by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) to build a memorial on the National Mall honoring the veterans of the Global War on Terrorism became law on Dec. 27 with the president’s signature as part of a larger defense bill.
“Today, after a years-long effort, I can proudly say that this memorial will soon become a reality,” Sen. Ernst said on Monday following President Joe Biden’s signing of the bill. “The time has finally come — it’s a done deal!”
The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act, S. 535, which is the version Sen. Ernst introduced in March with lead original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), on Dec. 15 passed the Senate as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022.
Sen. Ernst’s bill is related legislation to the same-named H.R. 1115, introduced in February by U.S. Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI) that passed as an amendment to the NDAA in September.
The measure calls for a memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., honoring the veterans of the Global War on Terrorism and recommends three different sites for consideration, according to the senator’s office.
“In the wake of 9/11, millions of Americans answered the call to keep America safe, sacrificing life and limb to protect our homeland and to fight the enemies of freedom the world over,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, a combat veteran of the Global War on Terrorism. “The time to honor these heroes of our nation’s longest war and their families is now, and there is no more fitting of a way to do that than with a memorial on our National Mall to serve as a permanent testament of their selflessness for generations to come.”
Sen. Hassan said she was honored to have helped lead the bill with Sen. Ernst and to see it signed into law. “It is a testament to the service members and their families who have given so much to their country and continued to advocate for this memorial’s rightful place on our National Mall,” she said.
Their bill gained support from several key groups and public figures who also commended it being signed into law, including Gold Star Wife Jane Horton, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Ted Skokos, Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller, and American actors Gary Sinise and Milo Ventimiglia, among others.