To designate a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

May 22, 2003

Mr. CALVERT (for himself, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mrs. BONO, Mr. ISSA, and Mr. BACA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

To designate a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial Act'.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF PRISONER OF WAR/MISSING IN ACTION NATIONAL MEMORIAL, RIVERSIDE NATIONAL CEMETERY, RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA.

(a) FINDINGS- Congress finds the following:

(1) The most reliable statistics regarding the number of members of the United States Armed Forces who have been held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action indicate that more than 586,000 members of the Armed Forces have been taken prisoner since the American Revolution and more than 89,000 members have been listed as missing.

(2) The Department of Defense continues to locate and identify the remains of members of the Armed Forces who have been missing in action since the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

(3) The United States currently lacks a national memorial dedicated to the bravery and sacrifice of those members of the Armed Forces who have been held as prisoners of war and listed as missing in action.

(4) An appropriate memorial to former prisoners of war and members of the Armed Forces listed as missing in action, including those who remain unaccounted for, is under construction at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

(5) The memorial will honor all those members of the Armed Forces who have been held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action and is dedicated to the memory of those members who remain missing in action.

(b) DESIGNATION- The memorial to former prisoners of war and members of the Armed Forces listed as missing in action that is under construction at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California, is hereby designated as the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial.

(c) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION- The national memorial designated by this section is not a unit of the National Park System, and the designation of the national memorial shall not be construed to require or permit Federal funds (other than any funds provided for as of the date of the enactment of this Act) to be expended for any purpose related to the national memorial.

END