Bipartisan commission defeats Manhattan Project park
“We should not diminish the brave soldiers who put their lives on the line in World War II by crediting the bomb with winning the war. Our soldiers won the war.”
Washington D.C. (September 20, 2012) – Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today led a bipartisan coalition of 180 Members of Congress to stand for veterans, for fiscal responsibility and friendship with the Japanese people, voting against H.R. 5987, which would have established a new national park celebrating the technological achievements of the Manhattan Project. The park would have cost American taxpayers $21,000,000 over five years. The bill was considered under a parliamentary procedure that required a 2/3 majority for the bill to pass.
Congressman Kucinich led opposition to the legislation in a late night debate and rallied Members of Congress on the floor today. Kucinich cited the precedent of the Bradbury Science Museum at Los Alamos where the bomb is celebrated, while the devastation wrought from the bomb is given short shrift.
“Today’s vote goes to show that Congress can still work in the interest of the American people. This bipartisan coalition stood strong to defend the moral position of the American nation. The technology which created the bomb cannot be separated from the horror the bomb created. We should not celebrate the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians or the destruction of two major Japanese cities no matter how proud we are of our ability to innovate,” said Kucinich.
“Many of our top military officials, including President Eisenhower, have stated that the bomb was not necessary to win the war; it was used for political reasons. We should not diminish the brave soldiers who put their lives on the line in World War II by crediting the bomb with winning the war. Our soldiers won the war.”
Congressman Kucinich distributed this leaflet to his colleagues throughout the day. See Congressman Kucinich leading on the opposition on the House Floor here.
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