House votes to acquire Soledad cross

The House voted 349-74 Wednesday to acquire a monumental cross and the park around it from the city of San Diego.

The 29-foot cross has been the target of a 17-year court battle between an atheist and the city, which owns the hilltop property where the monument stands.

A federal judge ruled in May that the cross cannot stand in the municipal park because it violates a state constitutional prohibition on the governmental endorsement of any one religion. That ruling is being appealed by the city.

San Diego-area congressman Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, said in floor debate that federal ownership would make the existing lawsuit moot and might also insulate the cross from further legal challenges under the U.S. Constitution.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court said it might be willing to consider the case once appeals have been exhausted.

City officials have argued that the cross, a symbol of Christianity, is part of a secular memorial commemorating veterans of the Korean War.

Under federal law, which is more flexible than California law, religious displays may stand on public property if they have a secular meaning.

In May, Hunter asked President Bush to exercise his powers of eminent domain to federalize the park property. The president declined to act on that request, but the administration endorsed Hunter's bill in a policy statement Wednesday.

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions has introduced an identical bill in the Senate.