[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 60 (Thursday, April 29, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       GEORGIA TRAVEL AND TOURISM

  (Mr. DEAL of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the travel and tourism industry in my State of Georgia and in my Ninth 
District. It is an industry that contributes some 190,000 jobs in my 
State.
  My district is blessed to be the home of Lake Lanier which is the 
most visited Corps of Engineers lake in the United States and has some 
$2 billion of economic impact annually. We also have some 750,000 acres 
of the Chattahoochee National Forest.
  The Appalachian Trail begins at Springer Mountain in my district and 
ends some 2,100 plus miles later in Maine.
  We also have the Etowah Indian Mound and the Tallulah Gorge State 
Park. And in Dahlonega, Georgia, the first actual gold rush in our 
country was ignited there in 1828. The gold museum there is the second 
most visited museum in our State.
  We also have the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Battle Park which 
is the first military park in our Nation that celebrates the fact that 
it was a bloody 2 days in which over 35,000 men were either killed, 
wounded or missing. We have visitors that come from all over the world 
to visit that park.
  A number of other attractions include our Prater's Mill, Chief Vann 
House and others. It is absolutely the reason why the tourism industry 
is referred to as America's largest services export.

                          ____________________