[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 4, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9853-S9854]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 2052. A bill to provide for disposal of certain public lands in 
support of the

[[Page S9854]]

Manzanar National Historic Site in the State of California, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce 
legislation that would allow the Federal Government to obtain 
expeditiously the lands designated as the Manzanar National Historic 
Site.
  As we look back in United States history, we see many triumphs, as 
well as many failures. We must be humble about our successes and 
apologetic for our errors. One of those mistakes was committed during 
World War II when 11,000 Japanese-Americans were held at the Manzanar 
Internment Camp. These individuals were some of the over 120,000 
Japanese-Americans interned at 10 sites throughout the United States.
  While we revel in the victory of World War II, we also make redress 
for the suffering that Japanese-Americans endured as a result of the 
internment. Legislation passed in 1988 directed an official apology by 
the Federal Government and symbolic payments to Japanese Americans that 
were interned. This legislation also included efforts to educate 
Americans about the internment.
  The National Park Service determined in the 1980's that, of the 10 
former internment camps, Manzanar was best suited to be preserved as a 
reminder to Americans of the blatant violation of civil rights that the 
internment represented. As a result, Congress passed legislation in 
1992 to establish a national historic site at Manzanar.
  My legislation will allow us to finish the process of creating the 
Manzanar national historic site and complete a necessary acknowledgment 
of mistaken practices. The bill will make it possible for the Federal 
Government to obtain the Manzanar site through a land exchange with the 
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power [LADWP], which currently owns 
the property. The LADWP, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land 
Management, and Inyo County have agreed to a land exchange that can 
occur rapidly once our legislation is passed. I commend these parties, 
as well as the Manzanar National Historic Site Advisory Commission and 
the Japanese-American community, for their work in bringing us to this 
stage in the process. I also deeply appreciate the commitment of my 
colleagues in the House, Congressman Bob Matsui and Congressman Jerry 
Lewis.
  In addition to the cultural significance of this legislation, the 
land transfer will allow for the completion of a necessary 
environmental restoration project. Through an agreement between the 
LADWP and Inyo County, 60 miles of the Owens River Valley will be 
revived--wetlands will be restored, riparian areas will be renewed, and 
wildlife will again thrive.
  The injustice that occurred at Manzanar should not be forgotten. 
Manzanar should be preserved as a reminder of a terrible mistake--one 
which should never have been committed and one we should never repeat. 
I urge my colleagues to support this bill, so that we can quickly make 
the Manzanar national historic site a reality and instill in our 
citizens a high level of public awareness about the internment.
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