[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 59 (Tuesday, May 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4726-S4727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE:
  S. 2070. A bill to provide for an Underground Railroad Educational 
and Cultural Program; to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


         the underground railroad educational and cultural act

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Underground 
Railroad Educational and Cultural Act. This legislation will provide 
for the establishment of programs to research, display, interpret, and 
collect artifacts relating to the history of the Underground Railroad.
  Let me tell you how important the Underground Railroad is to Ohio--
and to me personally. In the 20 years prior to the Civil War, more than 
40,000 slaves escaped bondage and made their way to free soil on the 
trails of the Underground Railroad. More than 150 key Underground 
Railroad sites have been identified in Ohio--sites that symbolized 
freedom for thousands of enslaved Americans.
  When I visit these places, it gives me some real cause for hope about 
the future of America. When we talk about race relations in this 
country, we would do well to remind ourselves that at one of the 
darkest times in our nation's history--the period of slavery--some 
blacks and whites took immense personal risks to work together to 
liberate slaves.
  That is the part of the American story that we should be proud of--
and build on. In Ohio, we are very proud of the part our ancestors 
played in this great story--and why I think this legislation is so 
important.
  Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation. It is 
very important to recognize this period in our history.
  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. 2070

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

     SECTION 1. UNDERGROUND RAILROAD EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Act''.
       (b) Program Established.--The Secretary of Education, in 
     consultation and cooperation with the Secretary of the 
     Interior, is authorized to make grants to 1 or more nonprofit 
     educational organizations that are established to research, 
     display, interpret, and collect artifacts relating to the 
     history of the Underground Railroad.
       (c) Grant Agreement.--Each nonprofit educational 
     organization awarded a grant under this section shall enter 
     into an agreement with the Secretary of Education. Each such 
     agreement shall require the organization--
       (1) to establish a facility to house, display, and 
     interpret the artifacts related to the history of the 
     Underground Railroad;
       (2) to demonstrate substantial private support for the 
     facility through the implementation of a public-private 
     partnership between a State or local public entity and a 
     private entity for the support of the facility, which private 
     entity shall provide matching funds for the support of the 
     facility in an amount equal to 4 times the amount of the 
     contribution of the State or local public entity, except that 
     not more than 20 percent of the matching funds may be 
     provided by the Federal Government;
       (3) to create an endowment to fund any and all shortfalls 
     in the costs of the on-going operations of the facility;
       (4) to establish a network of satellite centers throughout 
     the United States to help disseminate information regarding 
     the Underground Railroad throughout the United States, if 
     such satellite centers raise 80 percent of the funds required 
     to establish the

[[Page S4727]]

     satellite centers from non-Federal public and private 
     sources;
       (5) to establish the capability to electronically link the 
     facility with other local and regional facilities that have 
     collections and programs which interpret the history of the 
     Underground Railroad; and
       (6) to submit, for each fiscal year for which the 
     organization receives funding under this section, a report to 
     the Secretary of Education that contains--
       (A) a description of the programs and activities supported 
     by the funding;
       (B) the audited financial statement of the organization for 
     the preceding fiscal year;
       (C) a plan for the programs and activities to be supported 
     by the funding as the Secretary may require; and
       (D) an evaluation of the programs and activities supported 
     by the funding as the Secretary may require.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $6,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 1999, $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, $6,000,000 
     for fiscal year 2001, $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and 
     $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.

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