The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, which commemorates the 1995 terrorist bombing that killed 168 people, will receive the final $1 million in a federal spending bill it was promised almost two decades ago.
According to an article in The Oklahoman, the $1.5 trillion federal spending bill that primarily funds road and water projects contains the final $1 million payment pledged 19 years ago.
Kari Watkins, president and CEO of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, provided some background in an email:
The Omnibus bill passed by both the House and Senate this week contained the final $1 million of a promise made in 2003 (FY2004) when the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum went to a NPS Affiliate site and Congress authorized $5 million for the Memorial’s endowment which allows us to keep this story relevant and being told years from now.
Congress paid the first $3 million in 2005 and another in 2010 and this is the final $1 million. Senator Inhofe has led the charge on the Senate side and when elected, Congresswoman Bice understood the need to get this promise completed and led the charge on the House side. We remain grateful for their leadership in a divisive political world and appreciate them leading these efforts when it is not always politically popular to do so.
“We are grateful to Senator Inhofe and his leadership in getting this done. He and Congresswoman Bice and Congressman Cole have helped us get this through the House and Senate and we appreciate President Biden’s support as well. This has been a long time coming and we are so appreciative as we approach the 27th Anniversary that Congress has kept their promise,” Watkins said. “This is another perfect example of finding common ground on this sacred ground.”
Ironically, Inhofe missed the vote on the bill because he still was experiencing the effects of COVID-19. Inhofe is scheduled to retire later this year.
The bombing occurred the morning of April 19, 1995, in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. In addition to the 168 dead, the blast injured more than 600 people, destroyed more than one-third of the Murrah Building and damaged more than 300 other buildings. It’s described as the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
The co-conspirators in the bombing, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, were caught. McVeigh, who lit the fuse on the bomb, was found guilty of murder and conspiracy and was executed in 2001. Nichols is serving life without parole.
The structurally compromised Murrah Building was torn down and the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum was built at the site about five years later. The memorial includes a field of symbolic bronze and stone chairs – one for each person who died there — and a “survivor tree” that is part of the building’s original landscaping that survived the blast.
The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum sits about 1 1/2 miles south of Route 66 and is a common side trip for travelers who remember that day.
(Images courtesy of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum)