,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ajaba  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of 
,,representatives  ,august #bj1         
#bjbf,mr4 ,bilirakis 7for himself1 ,mr4 
,soto1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 ,mr4             
,reschenthaler1 ,mr4 ,hernndez1 and ,mr4
 ,kelly of ,pennsylvania7 introduced the
 following bill2 which was referred to  
the ,committee on ,house ,administration
  ,a ,,bill  ,to obtain and direct the  
placement in the ,capitol or on the     
,capitol ,grounds of a statue to honor  
,american humanitarian and star athlete 
,roberto ,clemente of ,puerto ,rico4    
#a4 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3 7#a7 ,roberto ,clemente      
,walker was born in ,san ,antn ,ward1 at
 the time a sugarcane growing community 
in ,carolina1 ,puerto ,rico1 on ,august 
#ah1 #aicd1 to working class parents    
,melchor ,clemente and ,luisa ,walker4  
7#b7 ,showing an early athletic talent1 
,clemente excelled in track and field   
events at ,vizcarrondo ,high ,school1   
but baseball was his true passion1 and  

he began his professional baseball      
career in the ,puerto ,rico ,winter     
,league at age #ag4  7#c7 ,scouted by   
the ,dodgers at age #ah1 he spent a     
short time in the minor leagues in that 
organization before being drafted by the
 ,pittsburgh ,pirates1 where he remained
 for his entire time in ,major ,league  
,baseball4  7#d7 ,clemente was one of   
the pioneers who still had to face      
persistent discrimination and negative  
attitudes related to his origin and     
culture on and off the field and in the 
media1 but his talent and discipline    
soon spoke louder4  7#e7 ,he proved his 
mettle in the ,pirates teams1 reaching  
championships in two ,world ,series1    
including in #aiga when he was named    
,most ,valuable ,player4 ,he was named  
the #aiff regular season ,most ,valuable
 ,player4 ,he won #ab ,gold ,gloves as  
one of the most effective1              
hard-throwing1 and precise outfielders  
in the game4 ,he won four batting       
titles1 had a lifetime 4#cag batting    

average and #c1jjj hits1 and was a      
#ab-time member of the ,all-,star team4 
7#f7 ,clemente was an exemplary figure  
off the baseball field as well4 ,having 
received a rare opportunity1 he made    
sure that he could be of service to     
others4  7#g7 ,during his rookie season1
 ,clemente also served as a member of   
the ,marine ,corps ,reserve1 fulfilling 
his commitment to the ,nation4  7#h7    
,once he reached stardom1 he would spend
 the off-season actively supporting     
community efforts in ,puerto ,rico and  
in neighboring countries in the         
,caribbean region1 using sports as a    
vehicle to motivate the progress of     
communities and specially to provide    
opportunities for social development for
 disadvantaged families4 ,one of his    
desires was the founding of a center for
 developing underprivileged youth       
through sport and education4  7#i7 ,a   
man of strong family values1 ,clemente  
in #aifd married ,vera ,cristina        
,zabala1 with whom he started a family  

that grew with the birth of his sons    
,roberto ,jr4 in #aife1 ,luis in #aiff1 
and ,enrique in #aifi4 ,upon winning the
 #aiga ,world ,series ,,mvp1 he showed  
that strong bond and his faith when in  
his interview he sent a blessing to his 
children and asked for one from his     
parents4  7#aj7 ,after the ,december    
#bc1 #aigb1 earthquake in ,managua1     
,nicaragua1 having earlier that year    
worked in that country with an          
international tournament1 ,roberto      
,clemente was a leader in efforts to    
obtain relief supplies for the victims  
and mobilize aid4  7#aa7 ,concerned over
 reports that this help may not reach   
those who needed it but was instead     
being diverted or misused1 on ,december 
#ca1 #aigb1 he boarded an aid flight1 so
 that he could participate directly in  
delivering it4  7#ab7 ,that flight1     
tragically1 suffered a mechanical       
failure during takeoff climb and crashed
 into the sea just off the coast1 with  
all on board perishing4 ,the loss of    

,roberto ,clemente was traumatic across 
the ,puerto ,rican and general ,latino  
community and the sports world4  7#ac7  
,the accolades received by ,clemente are
 many1 and to this day he continues to  
accumulate recognition on his home soil 
and away from it1 not only as a sports  
superstar with lasting fame in that     
endeavor1 but as an example of          
commitment to humanity in its times of  
need1 even to the ultimate consequences4
 ,the ,baseball ,writers ,association   
almost immediately waived the waiting   
period requirement and named ,roberto   
,clemente ,walker to the ,baseball ,hall
 of ,fame in #aigc4 ,the ,major ,league 
,baseball ,roberto ,clemente ,award is  
given every year to the player who best 
exemplifies the game of baseball1       
sportsmanship1 community involvement1   
and the individual's contribution to his
 team4 ,the ,puerto ,rico ,winter       
,league is now named the ,roberto       
,clemente ,professional ,baseball       
,league4  7#ad7 ,roberto ,clemente      

,walker is a hero for whom respect and  
love is shared by all segments of       
,puerto ,rican communities in the       
,island and across the ,nation and the  
world4  #b4 ,statue honoring ,roberto   
,clemente ,walker  7a7 ,obtaining of    
statue  7#a7 ,in general ,not later than
 #b years after the date of the         
enactment of this ,act1 in consultation 
with the ,committee on ,house           
,administration of the ,house of        
,representatives and the ,committee on  
,rules and ,administration of the       
,senate1 and under such terms and       
conditions as the ,joint ,committee on  
the ,library considers appropriate      
consistent with applicable law1 the     
,joint ,committee shall enter into an   
agreement to obtain a statue honoring   
humanitarian and star athlete ,roberto  
,clemente ,walker4  7#b7 ,consideration 
of artists of variety of backgrounds ,in
 selecting an artist for the statue     
under paragraph 7#a71 the ,joint        
,committee shall consider artists from a

 variety of backgrounds1 including      
artists from the ,puerto ,rican         
community and underrepresented          
demographic groups1 and shall make      
public announcements targeting such     
artists4  7#c7 ,donation ,the ,joint    
,committee may obtain the statue under  
paragraph 7#a7 by donation1 subject to  
the laws and rules governing the        
acceptance of donated works of art4  7b7
 ,installation ,the ,architect of the   
,capitol1 under the direction of the    
,joint ,committee on the ,library1 shall
 permanently install the statue obtained
 under subsection 7a7 in an appropriate 
location in the ,united ,states ,capitol
 or on the ,capitol ,grounds1 as        
described in section #eajb of title #dj1
 ,united ,states ,code4  7c7            
,authorizing funding with amounts in    
,capitol ,preservation ,fund  7#a7      
,authorization ,notwithstanding section 
#hjc of the ,arizona-,idaho             
,conservation ,act of #aihh 7#b         
,u4,s4,c4 #bjhc71 the ,united ,states   

,capitol ,preservation ,commission      
established under section #hja of such  
,act 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #bjha7 may transfer  
amounts in the ,capitol ,preservation   
,fund established under section #hjc of 
such ,act 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #bjhc7 to the   
,joint ,committee on the ,library and   
the ,architect of the ,capitol for      
purposes of obtaining and installing the
 statue under this ,act4  7#b7          
,limitation on amount transferred ,the  
amount transferred under paragraph 7#a7 
may not exceed #ejj1jjj4