110 HCON 226 IH: Calling on the United States Postal Service U.S. House of Representatives 2007-10-04 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 226 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 4, 2007 Mr. Davis of Illinois submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Calling on the United States Postal Service to create a special exterior light display on March 4, 2008, to reignite public awareness and appreciation of the accomplishments of the New Deal and the legacy of those programs for our Nation today, and for other purposes.

Whereas the New Deal was a comprehensive series of social and economic programs enacted during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the economic crisis known as the Great Depression; Whereas during the famous First Hundred Days that followed Roosevelt’s inauguration, between March and June 1933, Congress passed fifteen major pieces of legislation; Whereas among the major New Deal initiatives eventually enacted were the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which provided funding to farmers to curtail production to stabilize prices; the National Industrial Recovery Act, which provided for codes of fair competition to regulate industry and, for the first time in American history, guaranteed the right of labor to bargain collectively; the Public Works Administration, which constructed roads, dams, and public buildings; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which served to insure deposits in banks; the Tennessee Valley Authority, which provided for navigation, flood control, electricity generation, and economic development in the Tennessee River Valley, which was then one of the poorest and least developed regions in America; the Rural Electrification Administration, which was responsible for the development of a system to provide electricity to rural America; and the Social Security Administration, which established a secure pension system for senior citizens; Whereas two of the most memorable programs of the New Deal were the Civilian Conservation Corps, a special work program whose enrollees planted trees and fought forest fires, built public parks, drained swamps to fight malaria, restocked rivers with fish, worked on flood control projects, and engaged in many other initiatives that helped to conserve our environment and make recreation facilities available for millions of Americans, and the Works Progress Administration (later known as the Works Projects Administration), which provided employment for artists, musicians, actors, authors, and laborers, thereby helping to put millions of men, women, and youth back to work; Whereas the New Deal created much of our Nation’s infrastructure, including roads, electrical systems, municipal power plants, water and sewage systems, and schools; Whereas the New Deal social programs laid the basis for many key programs in public education, public health, and public recreation; Whereas the New Deal economic policies established banking regulations, social security, and collective bargaining; Whereas men and women working in New Deal programs constructed many public buildings and parks; created public art, including murals, sculptures, and paintings; and made important contributions to literature, music, theater, and oral histories; and Whereas the New Deal restored the people’s faith in our Nation and its institutions: Now therefore be it

That Congress calls on the United States Postal Service to create a special exterior light display on March 4, 2008, at all postal facilities which either were created by or are decorated with New Deal public art or interior fixtures, in order to reignite public awareness and appreciation of the accomplishments of the New Deal and the legacy of those programs for our Nation today, and in recognition of the men and women who left this enormous legacy by participating in one or more of the New Deal public works programs.