WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Last night President Clinton signed Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's (D-NY) bill into law, House Joint Resolution 46. HJ Res. 46 grants honorary veteran status to Zachary Fisher. Mr. Fisher, a resident of Maloney's district, devoted his life to supporting the American military. The President, when awarding Mr. Fisher with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998, called Mr. Fisher one of the "best friends of freedom this country ever had."

"Zachary Fisher was an extraordinary man that received every honor our country could bestow on him, save for one - he wanted to be a member of the military family. Today, Mr. Fisher's well deserved wish was granted," Maloney said.

Although he was never able to serve himself, Mr. Fisher was a tireless advocate for the men and women of our nation's armed forces. Fisher tried to enlist during World War II, but was turned down for a physical disability he acquired as a young man working on construction projects. In 1990, he founded the Fisher Armed Service Foundation, which has established twenty-five Fisher Houses throughout the country. Fisher Houses provide homes for the families of servicemen and women who are undergoing medical treatment on military bases. In addition, Mr. Fisher was the driving force behind the effort to save the U.S.S. Intrepid. Thanks to his efforts, the Intrepid is now a nationally-recognized Sea-Air-Space Museum which attracts over 500,000 visitors each year.

Mr. Fisher developed a foundation to provide scholarships to those who have served in the military and the sons and daughters of service members to go to college. More than 700 students have been able to go to college -- a goal that might otherwise have been out of their reach. Zachary Fisher's most recent contribution was to create a partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation for a state-of-the-art Research center on Alzheimer's Disease at Rockefeller University. This center's technologies will help expand and accelerate Alzheimer's research effecting many of our veterans today. Mr. Fisher died at the age 88 of cancer on June 4, 1999.

"I knew Zachary Fisher well and I knew that it was not the accumulation of great wealth which he valued, but the judicious use of that wealth for humanity. He often said to me, 'It is not what I make in life, but what I give that lives after me that lasts for eternity.' By that standard, he was successful," Maloney continued.

House Joint Resolution 46 was authored by Maloney, along with Ranking Member of the Defense Appropriations Committee, John Murtha, Appropriations Chairman, Bill Young, and Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde. Granting honorary veteran status to an individual has only been done once before, and that was to entertainer Bob Hope.