President Trump has signed into law bipartisan legislation allowing for the creation of a national memorial that will honor slain journalists killed on the job, the White House announced late Wednesday.
The White House said Mr. Trump signed the Fallen Journalist Memorial Foundation Act, paving the way for a new addition to the numerous commemorative works currently dotting the nation’s capital.
Mr. Trump’s stamp of approval now means the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation that formed last year can move forward with plans to have its namesake constructed on federal land in Washington, D.C.
David Dreier, the foundation’s chairman, said in a statement the memorial will honor reporters, photojournalists, producers, editors and others who have died while performing their jobs as journalists.
“It will demonstrate to our citizens and to visitors from around the world that our country values a free press, honors the sacrifices of journalists and supports the family, friends and colleagues of the fallen,” said Mr. Dreier, a longtime former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California.
The legislation and foundation were both announced in June 2019 near the first anniversary of the shooting that killed five people inside the office of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis.
Democratic and Republican members of the House and Senate co-sponsored the bill, and it was passed without objection in both chambers of Congress prior to being sent to Mr. Trump to sign.
Mr. Dreier, who previously served as chairman of Tribune Publishing, which owns the Gazette, thanked his former colleagues in Congress for passing the bill and commended Mr. Trump for signing it into law.
“The Foundation looks forward to beginning a collaborative process that brings together the journalism community, freedom of the press advocates and other stakeholders to design, develop, construct and maintain a memorial of historical and lasting significance with private funds,” Mr. Dreier said.
The Washington Times President and Executive Editor Christopher Dolan is a member of the foundation’s board of advisers.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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