HOUSE BILL REPORT

HJM 4021

As Passed Legislature

Brief Description:  Honoring West Point on its 200th Anniversary.

Sponsors:  By Representatives Buck, Rockefeller, Chandler, Holmquist, Schoesler, Mulliken, Sump, Cox, Pflug, Delvin, Cairnes, Sehlin, Armstrong, Jackley, Ballasiotes, Ahern, Talcott, Nixon, Jarrett, Skinner, Anderson, Lovick, Kenney, Morell, Schmidt, Miloscia, Simpson, Berkey, Lantz, Darneille, Fromhold, Hunt, Cooper, Conway, Casada, Esser, Campbell, Dunshee, Sommers, Gombosky, Ruderman, Eickmeyer, Kagi, Tokuda, Doumit, Sullivan, Cody, Wood, Pearson, Van Luven, Kessler, Chase, Ogden, Haigh and Woods.

Brief History:

Floor Activity:

Passed House: 2/1/02, 94-0.

Passed Senate: 2/1/02, 48-0.

Passed Legislature.

Brief Summary of Bill

$Asks the President of the United States and Congress to join Washington and other states in honoring the 200th Anniversary of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Majority/Minority Report:  None.

Staff:  Catherine Blinn (786‑7114).

Background:

On March 16, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson signed into law a bill of the United States Congress authorizing the establishment of "a military academy to be located at West Point in the State of New York."  West Point was originally created as an academic institution devoted to the arts and sciences of warfare.  The academy later emphasized engineering to serve the needs of the nation and eliminate the country's reliance on foreign engineers and artillerists.

Isaac I. Stevens, the first graduate of West Point's Class of 1839, served as the first Governor of the Territory of Washington, and organized and led the Northern Railway Survey that paved the way for the transcontinental railroads to Washington.  United States Military Academy graduates were responsible for the construction of many of the nation's initial railway lines, bridges, harbors and roads, and responsible for the surveys and mapmaking used in the infrastructure development of the United States, including the state of Washington.  The United States Military Academy led Army forces into the wilderness area that became the Territory and state of Washington, providing protection and development services until a civil authority was able to assume these functions.

The United States Military Academy is preparing for its third century of service to the nation by attracting some of the nation's best and brightest young men and women from throughout the country and the state of Washington.  The United States Military Academy continues its commitment to its motto:  Duty, Honor, Country.

Summary of Bill:

The Washington State Legislature asks the President of the United States and Congress to join Washington and other states in honoring the 200th Anniversary of the United States Military Academy at West Point.  The United States Military Academy is a living testament to the accomplishments of the United States throughout its history, and West Point and its graduates are recognized as they move forward into the Academy's third century of service to the Nation.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not Requested.

Testimony For:  None.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  None.