,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bbjf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bc1     
#bjai,mr4 ,tillis 7for himself and ,mr4 
,durbin7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,energy and ,natural     
,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to express the  
sense of ,congress regarding restoration
 and maintenance of the ,mardasson      
,memorial in ,bastogne1 ,belgium4  #a4  
,sense of ,congress regarding agreement 
between the ,american ,battle ,monuments
 ,commission and the ,government of     
,belgium by which the ,commission would 
acquire1 restore1 operate1 and maintain 
the ,mardasson ,memorial in ,bastogne1  
,belgium  7a7 ,findings ,congress make  
the following findings3 7#a7 ,the       
,battle of the ,bulge was one of the    
largest land battles fought by the      
,united ,states during ,world ,war ,,ii1
 yielded more than #ge1jjj ,american    
casualties over the winter of           
#aidd-aide1 and stopped the last major  

,german offensive on the ,western       
,front4  7#b7 ,the ,battle of the ,bulge
 is a legendary battle in the history of
 the ,united ,states ,army4  7#c7       
,following the war1 ,belgian groups     
raised funds to construct the ,mardasson
 ,memorial in ,bastogne1 ,belgium1 to   
honor ,americans killed1 wounded1 and   
missing in action during the ,battle of 
the ,bulge4  7#d7 ,the ,mardasson       
,memorial1 inaugurated in #aiej1 is a   
five-pointed ,american star with the    
history of the battle1 the names of the 
units that fought1 and the names of the 
,states engraved in gold letters        
throughout4  7#e7 ,the ,mardasson       
,memorial1 owned and maintained by the  
,government of ,belgium1 is in need of  
extensive repair to restore it to a     
condition commensurate to the service   
and sacrifice it honors4  7b7 ,sense of 
,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress 
to support an agreement between the     
,american ,battle ,monument ,commission 
7hereinafter referred to as ,,abmc7 and 

the ,government of ,belgium--  7#a7     
under the monument maintenance program  
of the ,,abmc1 and subject to the       
requirements of such program1 by which  
the ,,abmc would use its expertise and  
presence in ,europe to oversee          
restoration of the ,mardasson ,memorial 
in preparation for the #geth anniversary
 of the ,battle of the ,bulge2 and  7#b7
 under the monument trust fund program  
of the ,,abmc1 and subject to the       
requirements of such program1 by which  
the ,,abmc assumes ownership and        
responsibility for the ,mardasson       
,memorial1 ensuring that the ,memorial  
stands for decades to come1 honoring    
,american service and sacrifice1 and    
inspiring future generations4