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2001 SESSION

019247412
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 442
Offered January 19, 2001
Requesting the Department of Conservation and Recreation to study the feasibility of establishing a National Veterans Visitors Center in Virginia.
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Patron-- Colgan
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, Virginians have throughout the history of this nation been engaged in a noble effort to sustain freedom at home and abroad; and

WHEREAS, Virginia’s rich historical legacy is well documented through its numerous colonial and civil war sites and monuments; and

WHEREAS, there also exists an extensive military presence throughout the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the presence of these sites and monuments and military installations engender a deep sense of appreciation of the nation’s veterans and others who were committed to maintaining democracy; and

WHEREAS, the present veteran population is estimated at 25.6 million persons and almost one-third of the nation's population, approximately 70 million persons, are veterans or dependents and survivors of deceased veterans; and

WHEREAS, while millions of individuals annually visit Virginia to learn more about this nation’s rich heritage, less emphasis has been placed on the sacrifice of the nation’s veterans to the preservation of the freedoms that we all enjoy; and

WHEREAS, because of Virginia’s proximity to the Washington, D.C. area and its 22 million visitors a year, as well as the extensive military presence throughout the Commonwealth, Virginia is potentially an attractive location for the establishment of a visitors center that will be dedicated to serving the nation’s veterans and dependents and survivors of deceased veterans; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Department of Conservation and Recreation be requested to study the feasibility of establishing a National Veterans Visitors Center in Virginia. In conducting the study, the Department of Conservation and Recreation shall examine the costs of establishing a National Veterans Visitors Center and locations that will attract a sufficient number of visitors to defray operational costs.

The Department shall seek the assistance of the City of Manassas, Prince William County, and the Freedom Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, in conducting the study. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Department of Conservation and Recreation for this study, upon request.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation shall complete its work in time to submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 2002 Session of the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents.