House Democrats Kill Funding to Run WWII Memorial

The House of Representatives failed to pass a bill Tuesday night which would have reopened Washington, DC’s World War II memorial thanks to Democratic opposition.

175 Democrats voted against a continuing appropriations resolution that would have funded the National Park Service operations and other museums and national attractions, so the measure did not gain the needed two-thirds vote to pass the House. Twenty-two Democrats did vote for the resolution, while only one Republican, Rep. Don Young (R-AK), voted against it.

The resolution would have enabled national parks and sites like Washington, DC’s World War II Memorial to remain open during the government shutdown. Veterans who fought in World War II as well as the Korean War were scheduled to visit the memorial on Tuesday and were welcomed by law enforcement tape and barricades surrounding the open-air memorial and a government shutdown sign. GOP members of Congress went to the memorial, according to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), and helped the elderly vets remove the barricades and tape.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) joined the veterans at the memorial and told Breitbart News he thought the administration’s move to shut down the memorial was “mean-spirited.” 

“They’re trying to punish these World War Two Veterans,” said Gohmert as he described his discussions with different vets who tearfully told him about the different areas of the world they fought in. “This isn’t like a ride at Disney World that you have to monitor. This is just an open-air roll through granite. I don’t understand why anyone would be this petty,” he remarked.

Additionally, two other continuing appropriation resolutions pushed by House Republicans failed to garner enough Democrats to gain a two-thirds majority for these votes. 164 Democrats voted against 2014 fiscal appropriations for veterans’ benefits. Only 33 Democrats voted for this particular resolution.

The other failed resolution was an appropriation for local funds of the District of Columbia. 163 Democrats voted against this resolution. However, 34 Democrats voted for it, the highest number within the party voting for any of the resolutions.