[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 214 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H7249-H7251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JIMMY CARTER NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK REDESIGNATION ACT
Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5472) to redesignate the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
as the ``Jimmy Carter National Historical Park''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5472
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Jimmy Carter National
Historical Park Redesignation Act''.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF JIMMY CARTER NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.
(a) In General.--The Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
shall be known and designated as the ``Jimmy Carter National
Historical Park''.
(b) Amendments to Public Law 100-206.--Public Law 100-206
(54 U.S.C. 320101 note; 101 Stat. 1434) is amended--
(1) in section 1(a), in the matter preceding paragraph (1),
by striking ``National Historic Site'' and inserting
``National Historical Park'';
(2) in section 3--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``provisions of law
generally applicable to national historic sites'' and
inserting ``provisions of law generally applicable to units
of the National Park System''; and
(B) in subsection (d), in the second sentence, by striking
``National Historic Site'' and inserting ``National
Historical Park'';
(3) in section 6(2), by striking ``National Historic Site''
and inserting ``National Historical Park'';
(4) by striking ``historic site'' each place it appears and
inserting ``historical park'';
(5) by striking ``historic site'' each place it appears and
inserting ``historical park''; and
(6) by striking ``Historic Site'' each place it appears and
inserting ``Historical Park''.
(c) References.--Any reference in any law, regulation,
document, record, map, or other paper of the United States to
the
[[Page H7250]]
Jimmy Carter National Historic Site shall be considered to be
a reference to the ``Jimmy Carter National Historical Park''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Gallego) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.
General Leave
Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5472, the Jimmy Carter
National Historical Park Redesignation Act, introduced by
Representative Sanford Bishop from Georgia.
Established by Congress in 1987, the Jimmy Carter National Historic
Site and Preservation District protects and shares the stories of key
sites associated with the life of President Jimmy Carter.
Today, the site consists of President Carter's boyhood farm; Plains
High School, which the Carters attended; the Carter home and compound
where the Carters currently live; and the Plains Railroad Depot, which
served as Carter's campaign headquarters during the 1976 Presidential
campaign.
H.R. 5472 would redesignate the National Historic Site as the Jimmy
Carter National Historical Park to conform with the Park Service's
standard pattern of nomenclature and to help promote increased
visitation to the area.
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Bishop for his
efforts to elevate the life of Jimmy Carter, and I urge my colleagues
to support this bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WITTMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 5472 redesignates the Jimmy Carter National
Historic Site as Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. This site
includes President Carter's resident and boyhood home. Plains High
School serves as the site's visitor center. And the railroad depot,
which served as campaign headquarters during the 1976 Presidential
election, and also houses additional exhibits. Redesignation of the
site does not affect the laws or policies that govern the area, and the
primary impact of the passage of this legislation would be changing
signs, maps, and handouts.
Redesignation of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site as a
national historical park does not affect the laws or policies that
govern the area, and I urge adoption of this measure.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop).
Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R.
5472, the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park Redesignation Act.
The legislation would change the name of the Jimmy Carter National
Historic Site in Plains, Georgia, to the Jimmy Carter National
Historical Park, thereby ensuring that its nomenclature conforms to
other noncontiguous sites within the National Park System.
It would also honor the wishes of our Nation's 39th President, who is
a dear friend of mine, as well as my constituent.
On March 22, 2019, President Carter also became our Nation's longest-
living President, surpassing the lifespan of George H.W. Bush. In
October, he celebrated his 96th birthday.
As many of you are aware, President Carter has had a number of health
challenges recently, which has created a sense of urgency around this
legislation and the rich legacy that he and Mrs. Rosalynn Carter want
to leave for their longtime home in Plains, Georgia.
After the Carters left the White House, the Carters and Plains
community took the initiative to preserve and protect the history of
this small, rural, agricultural community.
In 1987, Congress established the Jimmy Carter National Historic
Site. As you have heard, it consists of the Plains Railroad Depot,
which served as Jimmy Carter's campaign headquarters during the 1976
Presidential campaign; Jimmy Carter's boyhood farm; Plains High School,
which the Carters both attended, and which now serves as the visitor
center and museum; and the Carter home and compound, where the Carters
currently live, which is now closed to the public.
In fact, the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site is the only site in
the National Park System, aside from the White House, that is still an
active Presidential home. I have taken my entire staff there on a
number of occasions so that they could get a better feel and
understanding of the values that shaped this great Georgian.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 5472 enjoys the bipartisan support of the entire
Georgia congressional delegation, as well as the Plains community.
Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Grijalva and Ranking Member
Bishop on the full committee, and Chairwoman Haaland and Ranking Member
Young on the National Park Subcommittee. I thank Mr. Gallego and his
able staff members, Brandon Bragato and Lily Wang, for all of their
help in bringing this legislation to the House today under suspension
of the rules.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
Mr. WITTMAN. Madam Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Judiciary
Committee, and a representative from the New South that President Jimmy
Carter symbolized, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5472, the ``Jimmy
Carter National Historical Park Redesignation Act,'' bipartisan
legislation that elevates the designation of the Jimmy Carter National
Historical Site to accurately reflect its status in the National Park
System and accord with a standard pattern of nomenclature.
National historical parks are typically areas of greater physical
extent and complexity than national historic sites; often they contain
multiple discontiguous sites.
According to the National Park Service, the Jimmy Carter National
Historic Site, which was established by Congress in 1987, is comprised
of facilities at several sites in and around the town of Plains,
Georgia and has the characteristics that make the designation of
``national historical park'' a more appropriate title than ``national
historic site.''
Congress passed the legislation in 1987 to preserve the key sites and
structures associated with President Jimmy Carter during his life,
provide for the interpretation of the life and presidency of Jimmy
Carter, and present the history of a small rural southern town.
The historic site consists of President Carter's boyhood home in the
community of Archery; Plains High School, now used for a visitor center
and headquarters for the historic site; the Plains depot, which was
used as a headquarters for Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign; and
the Carter compound, where President and Mrs. Carter have resided since
1981.
It is therefore fitting and proper that we pass this bipartisan
legislation, supported unanimously by the Georgia congressional
delegation, designating this complex of historically significant places
as the ``Jimmy Carter National Historical Park,'' in honor of the 39th
President of the United States, whose post-presidency is universally
regarded as the greatest and most consequential in history.
Madam Speaker, Jimmy Carter was little known outside the South before
he became president and I vividly recall his acceptance speech in July
1976 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, which he began by
saying simply: ``My name is Jimmy Carter and I'm running for
president.''
It was at that convention that the great Congresswoman Barbara
Jordan, who held the seat I now hold, made history by being the first
African American woman to give the keynote address at a major political
party nominating convention.
Madam Speaker, it is perhaps a failing of all us that we do not
acknowledge nearly enough the enormous achievements and contributions
to our country of the Carter Administration.
Let me list briefly some of the enormous positive changes wrought by
President Carter, this most moral of public men was awarded the Medal
of Freedom in addition to being the 2002 recipient of the Nobel Peace
Prize.
[[Page H7251]]
During his administration, President Carter signed into law many
legislative proposals that have changed our lives for the better and
made living in America safer, more affordable, fairer, and better.
For example, President Carter signed into law the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, known as the
Superfund Act (Pub. L. 96-510).
The U.S. Department of Energy was created in 1977 with the enactment
of Department of Energy Organization Act, signed into law as Pub. L.
95-91.
The U.S. Department of Education was created in 1979 with the
enactment of Department of Education Organization Act, signed into law
as Pub. L. 96-88.
Airline travel was deregulated, making it affordable for millions of
Americans to travel by air for the first time with the passage of the
Airline Deregulation Act, Pub. L. 95-504.
Under President Carter, both the trucking and rail industry were
deregulated leading to reduced shipping costs and lower prices for
consumers with the signing of the Motor Carrier Act, Pub. L. 96-296,
and the Staggers Rail Act, Pub. L. 96-448.
Madam Speaker, a little recalled fact is that under the Carter
Administration, 9.8 million jobs were created, more than any president
from Nixon until Clinton, thanks to economic legislation like the
Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act, signed into law as the Full
Employment and Balanced Growth Act (Pub. L. 95-523) and Comprehensive
Employment and Training Act Amendments (Pub. L. 95-524.
A full listing of the important laws signed by President Carter would
take more time than we have available but includes the Civil Service
Reform Act, Pub. L. 95-454, which created the Office of the Inspector
General, and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Pub.
L. 96-487, which designated certain public lands in Alaska as units of
the National Park, National Wildlife Refuge, Wild and Scenic Rivers,
National Wilderness Preservation and National Forest Systems, resulting
in 79.54 million acres of refuge land in Alaska, of which 27.47 million
acres were designated as wilderness.
President Carter was the first president to express to the nation the
interrelation between national security and energy independence and to
take action to enhance both, with the passage of the:
1. National Energy Act, Pub. L. 95-617 through 621,
2. Emergency Natural Gas Act, Pub. L. 95-2,
3. Reorganization Act of 1977, Pub. L. 95-17,
4. Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act, Pub. L. 96-223, and
5. Energy Security Act, Pub. L. 96-294.
Other major legislation signed into law by President Carter were the
Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act, Pub. L.
96-221; the Trade Agreements Act, Pub. L. 96-39, and the Panama Canal
Treaties.
In the areas of foreign affairs and national security, President
Carter deescalated and normalized diplomatic relations with China,
brokered the historic Camp David Accord between Israel and Egypt, and
hastened the collapse of the Soviet Union by supporting the mujahideen
as it fought to repel and defeat the invading forces of the Soviet
Union.
President Carter proudly and firmly made promotion and protection of
human rights a cornerstone of American foreign policy and made clear
that the United States would not overlook or tolerate human rights
abuses, whether committed by adversary or ally, which helped hasten the
end of apartheid in South Africa and authoritarian governments in South
and Latin America.
President Carter appointed the first woman of color to a cabinet
position when he chose the Hon. Patricia Roberts Harris as his
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and then as Secretary of
Health and Human Services.
It was President Carter who appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the
federal judiciary when he nominated her to be a judge of the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980.
It was President Carter who appointed Stephen Breyer to the federal
judiciary when he nominated him for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the First Circuit in 1980.
In fact, when President Carter took office, just eight women had ever
been appointed to one of the 500 federal judgeships in the country, he
doubled that number and appointed 40 women, including eight women and
33 men of color.
President Carter changed the face of the federal judiciary to make it
more representative of the American people and set the example which
Presidents Clinton and Obama followed.
After leaving office, President Carter embarked on an energetic and
tireless post-presidency, founding in 1982 the Carter Presidential
Center at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which is devoted to
issues relating to democracy and human rights.
Most everyone has seen Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter working with Habitat
for Humanity International building housing and helping underprivileged
persons realize the dream of home ownership.
President Carter has served as a freelance ambassador for a variety
of international missions, including mediating disputes between
countries, observing elections in nations with histories of fraudulent
voting processes, and advising presidents on Middle East issues.
He has also made time to be a prolific author, writing more than 30
books, including Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President (1983), Turning
Point (1992), and An Hour Before Daylight (2001).
The United States and the world are better off because Jimmy Carter
emerged from humble origins to become the 39th President of the United
States.
Not bad for a Georgia peanut farmer, Annapolis graduate, and nuclear
submariner, not bad at all.
I strongly support this bipartisan legislation and urge all Members
to join me in voting to pass H.R 5472, the ``Jimmy Carter National
Historical Park Redesignation Act.''
God bless President Carter, and the United States of America.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5472.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________