[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 139 (Thursday, October 14, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S12645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Fitzgerald):
  S. 1734. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
contribute funds for the establishment of an interpretive center on the 
life and contributions of President Abraham Lincoln; to the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources.


                  abraham lincoln presidential library

 Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be joined by 
my Illinois colleague, Senator Fitzgerald, in introducing legislation 
that would authorize an important Department of the Interior project--
the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois.
  I should begin by confessing a Lincoln bias. Obviously, I'm an 
Illinoisan, but I hail from the same city, Springfield, that Abraham 
Lincoln once called home. I practiced law in an office not far from the 
historic Lincoln-Herndon Law Office. I also represented a district in 
the U.S. House of Representatives that included portions of the 
district Congressman Abraham Lincoln represented in the 30th Congress--
1847 to 1849. My home state, the ``Land of Lincoln,'' holds the former 
President in very high regard.
  Abraham Lincoln is considered to be one of our nation's greatest 
Presidents. Yet, his works and the story of his life and public service 
are spread over numerous historic sites, monuments, museums, and 
private collections of Lincoln memorabilia. The State of Illinois has a 
more than 42,000-item Lincoln Collection which contains national 
treasures such as the Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation 
Proclamation, and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. The Collection is 
part of the State's 12-million-item historical library, which is the 
nation's only public institution engaged in ongoing research on the 
life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln.
  Currently, 13 former Presidents, including Confederate leader 
Jefferson Davis, have presidential libraries. Our 16th President 
certainly deserves such a facility so children and people from around 
the world can learn from the excellent examples Lincoln set during his 
life and his Presidency and historians can continue to discover more 
about the man who preserved the Union.
  The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library would serve as a state-of-
the-art, interactive library, museum, and interpretative center where 
visitors could learn about Abraham Lincoln and the events and places 
that shaped his life and the history of our country. It would also 
serve as an academic archive and research facility for scholars to 
study Illinois' collection of Lincoln documents and personal effects.
  The legislation we are introducing today would require that for every 
dollar of federal funds directed toward this project, two dollars must 
come for other non-federal sources. The State of Illinois and the City 
of Springfield have already pledged significant financial support for 
the Library. Also, it is important to note that the U.S. Department of 
the Interior is not being asked to operate or maintain the facility. 
The State of Illinois, through the Illinois Historic Preservation 
Agency, would run the day-to-day operations and handle upkeep of the 
Library.
  Mr. President, the Illinois Congressional Delegation, Illinois 
Governor George Ryan, and the City of Springfield strongly support this 
important project and this authorizing legislation. I urge my 
colleagues to join me and Senator Fitzgerald in constructing a lasting 
legacy for Abraham Lincoln.

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