,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ajcg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #ad1       
#bjag,mr4 ,lynch 7for himself1 ,mr4     
,king of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,ruiz1 ,mr4   
,lipinski1 ,mr4 ,duncan of ,south       
,carolina1 ,mr4 ,heck1 ,ms4 ,clark of   
,massachusetts1 ,mr4 ,walz1 ,mr4        
,mc,govern1 ,miss ,rice of ,new ,york1  
,mr4 ,keating1 and ,mr4 ,kennedy7       
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,natural 
,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to authorize the
 ,national ,emergency ,medical ,services
 ,memorial ,foundation to establish a   
commemorative work in the ,district of  
,columbia and its environs1 and for     
other purposes4  #a4 ,findings ,congress
 finds as follows3 7#a7 ,each year1 in  
every corner of the ,nation1 the        
#hej1jjj first responders of ,emergency 
,medical ,services answer more than     
#cj1jjj1jjj calls to serve #bb1jjj1jjj  
patients in need of life-saving care and
 comfort at a moment's notice and       

without reservation4 ,with little regard
 for their own safety and in the face of
 all hazards the men and women of       
,emergency ,medical ,services respond   
across the spectrum of incidents from a 
single person's medical emergency to the
 naturally occurring or man-made        
disasters1 including terrorist attacks  
that threaten the entire ,nation4 ,this 
commitment to others1 at a moment's     
notice and despite risk1 exemplifies the
 finest traditions of ,american spirit4 
7#b7 ,as an element of the ,nation's    
homeland defense strategy1 ,emergency   
,medical ,services stands on the        
,nation's first line of defense in the  
prevention and mitigation of risk from  
terrorist attacks1 man-made incidents1  
and natural disasters4 ,the men and     
women of ,emergency ,medical ,services1 
alongside those in ,law ,enforcement and
 the ,fire ,service1 serving in both the
 public and private sectors as career   
and volunteer emergency medical service 
providers1 are a critical element of the

 ,nation's homeland and national        
security efforts and provide for the    
domestic tranquility of its citizens4   
7#c7 ,all too often the risks associated
 with the critical role of ,emergency   
,medical ,services results in an        
unacceptable rate of injury and fatality
 to these responders4 ,statistics       
compiled by the ,united ,states         
,department of ,labor and the ,national 
,highway ,safety ,administration        
indicate that emergency medical services
 providers die in the line of duty at a 
rate more than twice the national       
average for all occupational fatalities 
and during their careers experience an  
injury rate of virtually #ajj percent4  
7#d7 ,we as a ,nation have historically 
and continually rely on the selfless and
 ultimate sacrifices made by the men and
 women of this great country1 their     
families1 and loved ones in order to    
maintain the domestic tranquility1      
safety1 and security of this ,nation4   
,the men and women of ,emergency        

,medical ,services continue to serve in 
this finest tradition1 in the face of   
unacceptable sacrifice1 risk and danger 
in service to the ,nation and its       
citizens4  7#e7 ,the scope of           
responsibility assumed by the men and   
women of the ,emergency ,medical        
,services is broad and unique and their 
sacrifice and commitment in service to  
our ,nation are deserving of a          
commemorative work that recognizes such4
  #b4 ,authorization to ,establish      
,commemorative ,work  7a7 ,in general   
,the ,national ,emergency ,medical      
,services ,memorial ,foundation may     
establish a commemorative work on       
,federal land in the ,district of       
,columbia and its environs to           
commemorate the commitment and service  
represented by emergency medical        
services4  7b7 ,compliance ,with        
,standards for ,commemorative ,works    
,the establishment of the commemorative 
work under this section shall be in     
accordance with chapter #hi of title    

#dj1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly    
known as the ,commemorative ,works      
,act74  7c7 ,prohibition on the ,use of 
,federal ,funds  7#a7 ,in general       
,federal funds may not be used to pay   
any expense of the establishment of the 
commemorative work under this section4  
7#b7 ,responsibility of ,national       
,emergency ,medical ,services ,memorial 
,foundation ,the ,national ,emergency   
,medical ,services ,memorial ,foundation
 shall be solely responsible for        
acceptance of contributions for1 and    
payment of the expenses of1 the         
establishment of the commemorative work 
under this section4  7d7 ,deposit of    
excess funds  7#a7 ,in general ,if upon 
payment of all expenses for the         
establishment of the memorial 7including
 the maintenance and preservation amount
 required by section #hijf7;b77#a7 of   
title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code71 there
 remains a balance of funds received for
 the establishment of the commemorative 
work1 the ,foundation shall transmit the

 amount of the balance to the ,secretary
 of the ,interior for deposit in the    
account provided for in section         
#hijf7;b77#c7 of title #dj1 ,united     
,states ,code4  7#b7 ,on expiration of  
authority ,if upon expiration of the    
authority for the commemorative work    
under section #hijc7;e7 of title #dj1   
,united ,states ,code1 there remains a  
balance of funds received for the       
establishment of the commemorative work1
 the ,foundation shall transmit the     
amount of the balance to a separate     
account with the ,national ,park        
,foundation for memorials1 to be        
available to the ,secretary of the      
,interior or ,administrator 7as         
appropriate7 following the process      
provided in section #hijf7;b77#d7 of    
title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code1 for   
accounts established under #hijf7;b77#b7
 or 7#c7 of title #dj1 ,united ,states  
,code4