[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 116 (Tuesday, July 18, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  1996

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                               speech of

                          HON. ELIZABETH FURSE

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 13, 1995

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1977) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1996, and 
     for other purposes:

  Ms. FURSE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this amendment to 
transfer $2 million from the salaries and administrative expenses of 
the Department of the Interior to the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation, which is slated for elimination under the current 
language of the bill. In this day and age of shifting decisionmaking 
power to the local level, it makes sense to keep the Advisory Council.
  An independent Federal agency, the Advisory Council plays a critical 
role in ensuring that local residents have an opportunity to provide 
input on Federal projects that affect the historic and cultural 
resources in their community. If the Advisory Council is eliminated, 
citizens will not be guaranteed a voice and the process will suffer as 
decisionmaking becomes less participatory and, hence, less 
representative.
  Without the Advisory Council and the accompanying section 106 
process, the average person would be shut off from the consultation 
process. Decisionmaking will become exclusive and subject to domination 
by Federal officials and narrow interest groups.
  It is imperative that we maintain funding for the Advisory Council to 
allow communities to continue to have a voice. After all, it is the 
people at the local level--not the Federal bureaucrats in Washington, 
DC--whose neighborhoods and towns will be impacted by Federal projects.
  In my home State of Oregon, the section 106 process allowed public 
comment on the construction of the federally-assisted light rail 
transit project as it was being planned in the 1980's. The local 
landmarks commission and Portland businessowners, among others, were 
able to suggest ways to counteract the negative effects of the new 
construction on two important downtown historic areas--Skidmore Old 
Town and Yamhill District, both of which are recognized as national 
historic landmarks.
  As a result of local involvement through the section 106 process, 
special historic-styled benches and shelters were installed and the 
cobblestone paving around the historic Skidmore Fountain was restored. 
As the inscription on the Skidmore Fountain reads, ``The riches of the 
city are its citizens.'' The section 106 process carried out by the 
Advisory Council similarly recognizes the importance of citizens.
  Eliminating the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation runs 
counter to the very principles of citizen involvement on which our 
country was founded. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation 
deserves our support, and I urge the passage of this amendment.


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