May 5, 2006 3 min read

If you haven’t already done so, “United 93” is a movie worth seeing, if only as a reminder of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the bravery of the passengers who attempted to wrest control of the airplane from fanatical terrorist hijackers. Their heroic, cockpit-crashing actions caused the plane to crash into a field in nearby Somerset County, instead of being used as a suicide missile on the White House or U.S. Capitol. Theirs could not have been an easy or comforting task, but your countrymen who prevented that from happening are worth remembering and, yes, honoring.

As such it’s absolutely stupefying that a U.S. representative from North Carolina, Republican Charles H. Taylor, has blocked federal funding to buy property to erect a memorial near Shanksville. Taylor, who heads the House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Interior Department, believes that private funding might not reach the $58 million level needed to build the memorial, leaving the feds to pick up that tab.

Organizers have already raised $9 million, including $1.4 million donated by Universal Pictures, which produced “United 93.” Their goal is $30 million.

Rep. Taylor should be reminded that when it comes to federal and state governments, many projects are built or take place piecemeal, as funding is or becomes available. Can he honestly say that in his home district that hasn’t been the case? Can he honestly say that all federal projects are fully funded from the get-go?

While it’s nice to see any member of Congress acting in the interest of fiscal restraint, it’s also a truism that the current GOP-controlled Congress is spending more money than ever. Surely Rep. Taylor doesn’t think that holding out on this specific project is going to make much of a dent in the federal deficit. But more perplexing than that is the reason he’s given for blocking any federal funding for this memorial project.

We’d have a hard time believing that Rep. Taylor would adopt this same “show me the money first” stance had United 93 and its true American hero passengers spiraled to Earth in his congressional district instead of Somerset County. Had that been the case, he’d probably be the first in line for a federal contribution to the memorial-building cause.

Rep. Taylor should ease up on his tight-fistedness just a little bit. Perhaps Universal Pictures – or U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Hollidaysburg) – should buy him a ticket to the movie. It might prompt Taylor to change his mind.