[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               THE NATIONAL MARITIME HERITAGE ACT OF 1994

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                               speech of

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 1994

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my thanks to Chairman 
Studds, Representative Andrews, and the many others who worked for the 
passage of H.R. 3059, the National Maritime Heritage Act of 1994. This 
bill represents a long-overdue effort to provide much-needed support 
for maritime historical preservation projects all over the country.
  From Seattle to Newport News to San Francisco to the Rio Grande 
Military Museum, this legislation will perpetuate our maritime history 
by allowing States, local governments, and nonprofit organizations to 
apply for maritime heritage grants which will be used for educational 
purposes. I am proud to have the world's largest fleet of historic 
ships located in my district at the San Francisco Maritime Park. This 
important grants program will fund much-needed and long-delayed repairs 
on these ships.
  Mr. Speaker, the National Maritime Heritage Act is also a fiscally 
responsible measure. Funding for the program will be derived from 
scrapping obsolete National Defense Reserve Fleet [NDRF] vessels. These 
funds will then be apportioned between maritime heritage projects, the 
maritime administration, and State maritime academies for training and 
educational purposes.
  Mr. Speaker, in the last 60 years, over 400 of the most important 
historical vessels in this country have been lost because of erratic 
Federal support for maritime preservation. This bill attempts to 
reverse that course and I am grateful that my colleagues have given it 
their support.

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