[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 93 (Friday, June 21, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6669-S6670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           NOTICE OF HEARING


               committee on energy and natural resources

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the 
information of the Senate and the public that an oversight hearing has 
been scheduled before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  The hearing will take place on Thursday, July 11 at 9:30 a.m. in SD-
366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.
  The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on the issue of 
competitive change in the electric power industry. It will focus on the 
FERC wholesale open access transmission rule, Order No. 888.
  Those who wish to testify or to submit written testimony should write 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 
Washington, DC 20510. Presentation of oral testimony is by committee 
invitation. For further information, please contact Shawn Taylor or 
Howard Useem at (202) 224-6567.

[[Page S6670]]



                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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         DEDICATION OF THE PENCE RECEPTION CENTER AND GIFT SHOP

 Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, on Sunday, June 9, as part of 
Tennessee's year-long bicentennial celebration, I traveled to 
Kingsport, TN, to deliver remarks at the dedication of the Pence 
Reception Center and Gift Shop, a part of Netherland Inn complex. I ask 
that my remarks be printed in the Record.
  The remarks follow:

 Dedication of the Pence Reception Center and Gift Shop, Kingsport, TN

       It's always great to be home in Tennessee, but it's even 
     more wonderful when being here gives me the opportunity to 
     help celebrate Tennessee history, and pay tribute to 
     Tennessee volunteers. And what could be more appropriate--in 
     this place that was once a favorite stop on the Old Great 
     Stage Road from Washington City to Nashboro--than that I 
     should also travel from Washington to be here with you today.
       Two hundred years ago, our pioneer forefathers banded 
     together to forge a new future for the Southwest Territory. 
     Like the path to the West, the road to Statehood was replete 
     with obstacles--from land disputes with North Carolina to 
     Party disputes that held the territory's Statehood petition 
     hostage to Presidential politics. But the spirit of 
     Tennessee's founding fathers prevailed, and on June 1, 1796 
     Tennessee became the 16th state in the Union.
       One hundred years ago, our Centennial celebration 
     highlighted that pioneer spirit for Tennesseans--and for all 
     the world. Today, with ongoing Bicentennial celebrations like 
     this one in every city and county, that legacy is being 
     carried forth--not just to another generation and into 
     another century, but into the next millennium! What a proud 
     heritage to pass along.
       Over the past 100 years, we've watched this area change 
     from one that was almost entirely agricultural to one with 
     modern cities and industrial development. But the Tennesseans 
     who live here have retained their roots in the land, just as 
     the neighborhoods in which they live still retain much of the 
     charm of early America.
       Another thing that has not--and will not--change is our 
     volunteer spirit. Ever since that day in 1848, when Governor 
     Brown called for 3,000 volunteers to help win the war with 
     Mexico and 30,000 charged to the fight, our reputation as 
     ``The Volunteer State'' has gone unchallenged.
       Nothing better exemplifies that spirit than this cabin 
     which we dedicate today. Like the entire Netherland Inn 
     complex, it is rich with stories of selflessness and 
     volunteerism--from the foresight of Joe Wimberly, who first 
     proposed the idea of making the Pence cabin part of the 
     Netherland Inn complex, to the generosity of the Carl Brauns 
     who donated it, to the tireless efforts of the entire crew of 
     the Bent Nail Construction Company--and countless others--who 
     helped make this project possible, especially Mr. Ben Brown.
       For thirty years, Ben Brown has been a tireless advocate 
     for the Netherland Inn, and this project is but one example 
     of his dedicated support. As Karyn and I--and I'm sure many 
     others--have discovered, once Ben makes a commitment to 
     someone or some project, that support never waivers. We could 
     not have a better friend, nor Kingsport a better community 
     leader, than Ben Brown.
       As a result of all your efforts, the Pence cabin will now 
     be preserved forever, not only as a part of Tennessee 
     history, but as a monument to Tennessee's volunteer spirit.
       This year, when so much history is being made in 
     Washington, when we are struggling to restore our Nation to 
     the kind of land envisioned by our Founding Fathers--a land 
     where taxes are low and government is limited, where states 
     have rights, and people have power--I can't help but 
     appreciate even more the rich history of our State and the 
     contributions it has made to our national heritage.
       Think about it--right here in this place three Presidents 
     of the United States stopped frequently on their trips to and 
     from Washington--Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, and James K. 
     Polk.
       And on a personal note, as a native Nashvillian, I am 
     personally indebted to Col. John Donelson because if he 
     hadn't taken his flotilla of flatboats from Kingsport to Big 
     Salt Lick, my home town of Nashville might never have been 
     founded--and who knows where I would have been born!
       Tennessee has a proud history to look back on. But let's 
     not forget that we also have a bright future before us. The 
     volunteers of Tennessee are no longer living on the frontier, 
     but their pioneering minds and spirits continue to drive them 
     toward success. When our descendants celebrate the next 
     hundred years of Tennessee history, I know that they will be 
     just as proud of their ancestors as we are of ours today.
       Thank you all for coming. God bless you, and God bless the 
     great State of Tennessee!

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