[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5540-S5541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN (for herself and Mr. DeWine):
  S. 887. A bill to establish in the National Park Service the National 
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


    the national underground railroad network to freedom act of 1997

  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, I am pleased to have the 
opportunity today to introduce the National Underground Railroad 
Network to Freedom Act of 1997.
  The Underground Railroad, as my colleagues know, was among the most 
successful efforts in history in helping to undermine and destroy the 
institution of slavery in the United States. Beginning during the 
colonial period, this clandestine resistance movement reached its peak 
in the 19th century, helping hundreds of thousands of African-Americans 
flee servitude in the South and begin new lives in the North, and in 
Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
  Despite its historical significance, the Underground Railroad has not 
been officially recognized in any fashion. Consequently, in 1990, my 
distinguished former colleague, Senator Paul Simon, and former 
Congressman Pete Kostmayer of Pennsylvania, introduced legislation 
directing the National Park Service to explore and study options for 
commemorating the Underground Railroad. Congress passed that 
legislation later that year, and the National Park Service went to work 
gathering information on the routes and sites used by the Underground 
Railroad.
  That study, completed in 1996, found that the Underground Railroad 
story was of national significance. The study documented over 380 
sites, including 27 national park units, national historic landmarks, 
routes, privately owned buildings, and churches associated with this 
resistance movement. The study also found that many of these sites were 
in imminent danger of being lost or destroyed, and that despite a 
tremendous amount of interest in the Underground Railroad, little 
organized coordination and communication existed among interested 
individuals and organizations. The study reached a final recommendation 
that the U.S. Congress should authorize and fund a national initiative 
to support, preserve, and commemorate the sites and routes associated 
with the Underground Railroad.
  Mr. President, the bill I am introducing today, along with my 
distinguished colleague from Ohio, Senator DeWine, will enact many of 
the findings of that National Park Service study into law. Our bill, 
the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act, will create 
within the National Park Service a nationwide network of historic 
buildings, routes, programs, projects, and museums that have 
certifiable thematic connections to the Underground Railroad. The bill 
will also allow the National Park Service to produce and disseminate 
educational and informational materials on the Underground Railroad, 
and enter into cooperative agreements with Federal agencies, State and 
local government, and historical societies to provide technical 
assistance and coordination among network participants. Participation 
in the network by private property owners is purely voluntary.
  This bill does not create a new park unit in the traditional sense. 
In order to ensure the maximum safety and secrecy of its activities, 
the Underground Railroad was an amorphous and loosely organized system. 
No single site or route, therefore, completely characterizes the 
Underground Railroad, making it unfeasible that these sites could have 
boundaries and be operated as a traditional national park. Instead, it 
is the intent of this bill to create a network of cooperative 
partnerships, identified by an official or unifying symbol or device, 
at a limited annual operating cost.
  Mr. President, we will never know how many individuals were freed 
from servitude, or how many Americans, black and white, women and men, 
mayors, ministers, businessmen, housewives, or former slaves endangered 
or sacrificed their lives in the defense of the belief that no 
American, and no human, should be bought, traded, or sold.
  That's why I urge my colleagues to swiftly pass the Underground 
Railroad Network to Freedom Act. This bill grants Federal recognition 
to the Underground Railroad as a significant aspect of American 
history. This bill helps to preserve the structures and artifacts of an 
organized resistance movement for freedom. And finally, and most 
important, this bill commemorates those Americans whose efforts helped 
destroy the ugly legacy of slavery in this country.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 887

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``National Underground 
     Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the Underground Railroad, which flourished from the end 
     of the 18th century to the end of the Civil War, was 1 of the 
     most significant expressions of the American civil rights 
     movement during its evolution over more than 3 centuries;
       (2) the Underground Railroad bridged the divides of race, 
     religion, sectional differences, and nationality, spanned 
     State lines and international borders, and joined the 
     American ideals of liberty and freedom expressed in the 
     Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to the 
     extraordinary actions of ordinary men and women working in 
     common purpose to free a people;
       (3) pursuant to title VI of Public Law 101-628 (16 U.S.C. 
     1a-5 note; 104 Stat. 4495), the Underground Railroad Advisory 
     Committee conducted a study of the appropriate means of 
     establishing an enduring national commemorative Underground 
     Railroad program of education, example, reflection, and 
     reconciliation;
       (4) the Underground Railroad Advisory Committee found 
     that--
       (A) although a few elements of the Underground Railroad 
     story are represented in existing National Park Service units 
     and other sites, many sites are in imminent danger of being 
     lost or destroyed, and many important resource types are not 
     adequately represented and protected;
       (B) there are many important sites that have high potential 
     for preservation and visitor use in 29 States, the District 
     of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands;
       (C) no single site or route completely reflects and 
     characterizes the Underground

[[Page S5541]]

     Railroad, since the Underground Railroad's story and 
     associated resources involve networks and regions of the 
     country rather than individual sites and trails; and
       (D) establishment of a variety of partnerships between the 
     Federal Government and other levels of government and the 
     private sector would be most appropriate for the protection 
     and interpretation of the Underground Railroad;
       (5) the National Park Service can play a vital role in 
     facilitating the national commemoration of the Underground 
     Railroad; and
       (6) the story and significance of the Underground Railroad 
     can best engage the American people through a national 
     program of the National Park Service that links historic 
     buildings, structures, and sites, routes, geographic areas, 
     and corridors, interpretive centers, museums, and 
     institutions, and programs, activities, community 
     projects, exhibits, and multimedia materials, in a manner 
     that is both unified and flexible.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to recognize the importance of--
       (A) the Underground Railroad;
       (B) the sacrifices made by slaves who used the Underground 
     Railroad in search of freedom from tyranny and oppression; 
     and
       (C) the sacrifices made by the people who helped those 
     slaves; and
       (2) to authorize the National Park Service to coordinate 
     and facilitate--
       (A) Federal and non-Federal activities to commemorate, 
     honor, and interpret the history of the Underground Railroad;
       (B) the Underground Railroad's significance as a crucial 
     element in the evolution of the national civil rights 
     movement; and
       (C) the Underground Railroad's relevance in fostering a 
     spirit of racial harmony and national reconciliation.

     SEC. 3. NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NETWORK TO FREEDOM 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred to 
     in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall establish in the 
     National Park Service a program to be known as the ``National 
     Underground Railroad Network to Freedom'' (referred to in 
     this Act as the ``National Network''). Under the program, the 
     Secretary shall--
       (1) produce and disseminate appropriate educational 
     materials, such as handbooks, maps, interpretive guides, or 
     electronic information;
       (2) enter into appropriate cooperative agreements and 
     memoranda of understanding to provide technical assistance 
     under subsection (c); and
       (3) create and adopt an official and uniform symbol or 
     device for the National Network and issue regulations for use 
     of the symbol or device.
       (b) Elements.--The National Network shall include--
       (1) any unit or program of the National Park Service 
     determined by the Secretary to pertain to the Underground 
     Railroad;
       (2) any other Federal, State, local, or privately owned 
     property pertaining to the Underground Railroad that has a 
     verifiable connection to the Underground Railroad and that is 
     included on, or determined by the Secretary to be eligible 
     for inclusion on, the National Register of Historic Places;
       (3) any other governmental or nongovernmental facility or 
     program of an educational, research, or interpretive nature 
     that is directly related to the Underground Railroad.
       (c) Cooperative Agreements and memoranda of 
     Understanding.--To achieve the purposes of this Act and to 
     ensure effective coordination of the Federal and non-Federal 
     elements of the National Network referred to in subsection 
     (b) with National Park Service units and programs, the 
     Secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement or 
     memorandum of understanding with, and provide technical 
     assistance to--
       (1) the head of another Federal agency, a State, a 
     locality, a regional governmental body, or a private entity; 
     or
       (2) in cooperation with the Secretary of State, the 
     Government of Canada, Mexico, or any appropriate country in 
     the Caribbean.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this Act--
       (1) $500,000 for fiscal year 1998; and
       (2) $1,000,000 for each fiscal year thereafter.

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