WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a letter to the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) called for a temporary memorial to be displayed in the Capitol Rotunda honoring U.S. soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The lawmakers make their request as the country approaches the three year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

       “As our nation approaches the third anniversary of the war  in Iraq, we are writing to ask for your assistance in establishing a temporary memorial in the Capitol Rotunda to honor the 2,596 Americans who have sacrificed their lives while serving our country in Afghanistan and Iraq.  We request that this memorial be set up from Memorial Day through July 4, 2006,” wrote Lautenberg and Emanuel in their letter to their respective congressional leaders.

         Lautenberg and Emanuel attempted in September 2004 to create a memorial in the Capitol to honor those who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, but their request was not granted. Since then, both of the lawmakers have displayed the names and photographs of fallen soldiers outside their personal offices.

       “It is time for Congress to honor every soldier who has made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Senator Lautenberg. “A memorial in the Capitol will give thousands of visitors every day an opportunity to pause for a minute and look at the faces and read the names of those brave men and women who have given their lives for their country.”

        "We invoke the sacrifices of our fallen in the abstract, but we never take the time to honor them individually," Emanuel said. "Congress has a responsibility to let the families of these heroes know that their sacrifice will always be remembered by a grateful nation."

A copy of the letter is below.

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                                                March 16, 2006

The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert                                                     Senator William H. Frist
Speaker of the House of Representatives                                      Senate Majority Leader
Room H232, U.S. Capitol                                                                 Room S230, U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC 20515                                                                     Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mr. Speaker and Majority Leader Frist:

As our nation approaches the third anniversary of the conflict in Iraq, we are writing to ask for your assistance in establishing a temporary memorial in the Capitol Rotunda to honor the 2,596 Americans who have sacrificed their lives while serving our country in Afghanistan and Iraq.  We request that this memorial be set up from Memorial Day through July 4, 2006.

The time has come for the House and Senate to join in a bipartisan, bicameral tribute in the Capitol Rotunda to our brave men and women.  The Rotunda has been the site of many solemn remembrances, including the recent lying in honor of Rosa Parks and the upcoming Holocaust memorial ceremony.  Veterans such as Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy, as well as the unknown soldiers of World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, have lain in state in this sacred chamber.  Honoring the fallen of Iraq and Afghanistan in this setting is equally appropriate.  In the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, each of these heroes “stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live.”

Both chambers recently participated in moving, bipartisan tributes to our fallen troops. On March 2, Congressman Steve Buyer asked for a moment of silence on the House floor in honor of the family of the late Army Sergeant Ricky Jones, and all families who have lost loved ones in the name of freedom.  Every Member participated.  On December 16, Senator Lautenberg introduced S.Res.338, honoring each of the fallen by name, and the resolution passed unanimously with every Senator signing on as a cosponsor.  And last July, 21 Members participated in a bipartisan reading of the names of the fallen on the House floor.

A temporary memorial in the Capitol Rotunda will demonstrate the support of the full Congress for those families to whom we owe a debt that can never be fully repaid.  It will also provide the thousands of people who visit the Capitol every day with an opportunity to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.  We look forward to working with your offices to honor our fallen heroes and their families.

                                                            Sincerely,

Rahm Emanuel                                                              Frank R. Lautenberg
Member of Congress                                                    United States Senator