[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 116 (Tuesday, September 26, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H8144-H8146]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK BOUNDARY REVISION

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1324) to expand the boundaries of the Gettysburg 
National Military Park to include the Wills House, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1324

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

     SECTION 1. GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK BOUNDARY 
                   REVISION.

       (a) In General.--Section 1 of the Act entitled ``An Act to 
     revise the boundary of the Gettysburg National Military Park 
     in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes'' 
     approved August 17, 1990 (16 U.S.C. 430g-4) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
       (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
       ``(b) Additional Land.--In addition to the land identified 
     in subsection (a), the park shall also include the property 
     commonly known as the Wills House located in the Borough of 
     Gettysburg and identified as Tract P02-1 on the map entitled 
     `Gettysburg National Military Park' numbered MARO 305/80,011 
     Segment 2, and dated April 1981, revised May 14, 1999.''; and
       (3) in subsection (c) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)), 
     by striking ``map referred to in subsection (a)'' and 
     inserting ``maps referred to in subsections (a) and (b)''.

     SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AND DISPOSAL OF LAND.

       Section 2 of the Act entitled ``An Act to revise the 
     boundary of the Gettysburg National Military Park in the 
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes'' 
     approved August 17, 1990 (16 U.S.C. 430g-4) is amended by 
     striking ``1(b)'' each place it appears and inserting 
     ``1(c)''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-
Barcelo) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1324, introduced by Senator Rick 
Santorum of Pennsylvania. This legislation has a House companion, H.R. 
2435, sponsored by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling). Both 
the senator and congressman are to be commended for crafting 
legislation which helps modify the boundaries of the Gettysburg 
National Military Park to include an historic resource known as the 
Wills House located within the Borough of Gettysburg.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, S. 1324, which passed the Senate on 
November 1999, expands the boundaries of Gettysburg National Military 
Park to include the Wills House. The Wills House was a place where 
President Lincoln stayed when he went to Gettysburg to deliver his 
famous Gettysburg Address.
  A similar bill, H.R. 2435, by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Goodling), was ordered reported by the Committee on Resources on August 
4, 1999, but the majority took no further action on that measure.

                              {time}  1830

  The substance of S. 1324 is noncontroversial. The National Park 
Service wishes to acquire the property, and the acquisition is 
supported by the local community and historic preservation groups. We 
support the bill as well, and we recommend our colleagues to vote for 
its adoption by the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), who has a companion bill to 
this legislation.
  (Mr. GOODLING asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GOODLING. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I would imagine if the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) 
and his staff said what was really on their mind about Christine 
O'Connor on my staff and myself, it may be something different; but I 
have bad news for him,

[[Page H8145]]

because the Battle of Gettysburg will continue even after I am gone 
because four or five different groups will still agree to totally 
disagree on what is best. But here is one that they can all agree on.
  On November 19, 1863, Mr. Speaker, President Abraham Lincoln 
delivered America's most famous speech during a brief visit to 
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for the dedication of a military cemetery for 
the war dead. But what few people really know is that President Lincoln 
edited his final draft of the Gettysburg Address just a few blocks away 
in the Wills House located in Lincoln Square in the heart of 
Gettysburg.
  Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Governor Andrew 
Curtin appointed David Wills, a Gettysburg resident, to acquire 17 
acres for a cemetery to bury the thousands of Union soldiers who died 
during one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. With the 
dedication ceremony set for November 19, Mr. Wills sent a letter to 
President Lincoln inviting him to stay at his house along with Governor 
Curtin and the Honorable Edward Everett. Little did Mr. Everett, a 
well-known orator who had been asked to be the main speaker, know he 
would be upstaged by the President, who had been asked by Mr. Wills to 
make a few appropriate remarks.
  The day before the dedication, President Lincoln arrived at the 
Gettysburg railroad station, was escorted to the Wills House where he 
retired to the second floor to finish his remarks. The next day, 
President Lincoln would deliver a 2-minute speech that would so move 
the American people that it would later be inscribed on the south wall 
of the Lincoln Memorial, dedicated in his memory and to the Union. 137 
years later, the Gettysburg Address continues to be recited by students 
in classrooms across America and still reminds Americans how close we 
came to destroying the world's greatest and most enduring republic.
  In light of this historical context, I believe it is fitting that the 
House pass S. 1324, which expands the boundaries of Gettysburg National 
Military Park to include the Wills House. But I want to make sure that 
I clarify that only Congress has the authority to expand the boundaries 
of the park which I worked so hard to get finalized in stone in the 
1990 Gettysburg Park boundary legislation. This legislation is a win-
win situation for both preservationists and the Borough of Gettysburg. 
It not only will help to protect the building but also benefit the 
community by providing an opportunity for nearly 2 million park 
tourists to visit downtown Gettysburg.
  I am pleased that Governor Tom Ridge and the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania have committed resources toward the building's acquisition 
and preservation costs. I am also pleased the Borough of Gettysburg, 
which has committed itself to acquiring the Wills House, will work with 
the National Park Service in making the Wills House a keystone in the 
borough's historic pathway plan.
  In closing, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. It was 
introduced and shepherded through the other body by Senator Santorum. I 
again would like to thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) and his 
staff for their tenacity in doing what is best for the Gettysburg 
community.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I want to express my strong support of this 
legislation expanding the Gettysburg National Military Park.
  The Wills House is an important historical property in the borough of 
Gettysburg. It is important in a number of ways.
  The Battle at Gettysburg was critical to preserving the Union, and 
was the high water mark of the Southern invasion of the North while the 
victory was hardly decisive, or even much more than a draw, it 
nevertheless was a pivotal point in the Civil War.
  But it is a legitimate question as to whether Gettysburg would be 
remembered as much today were it not for the Gettysburg Address by 
President Abraham Lincoln.
  Arguably, the Gettysburg Address along with the Declaration of 
Independence, are the most known documents to Americans. Many of the 
phrases in the Gettysburg Address are among the only famous passages 
recognized by most Americans. Some simple--``four score and seven years 
ago'' and ``government of the people, by the people, for the people''--
and some more complex--``our fathers brought forth on this continent, a 
new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that 
all men are created equal.''
  Garry Wills, a brilliant author who is sometimes very wrong-headed, 
has written one of the best books I've ever read. It is titled 
``Lincoln at Gettysburg, The Words That Remade America.'' He lays out 
the background of the speech, of the times, and, most importantly, the 
significance of the words themselves and their impact.
  This remarkable short address shaped how we think about ourselves as 
a nation. Building on his book on the Declaration, Wills demonstrates 
that the Gettysburg Address redefined much of how we view government 
and our Nation. Lincoln did this without mentioning Gettysburg, 
slavery, the North, the South, or even the Emancipation Proclamation. 
In other words, he didn't speak to the immediate issues before him but 
in a timeless way about the principles of our Nation.
  Gettysburg today is not just about the battle.
  But it is also about the Address, in how it helped turn the 
bitterness of the Civil War into nationally uniting themes.
  The Wills House is a key site to Gettysburg. Not only did 
President Lincoln spend the night before his speech at the Wills House, 
and probably did his final editing at the home, but without David Wills 
efforts there would have been no ``Gettysburg Address.''

  David Wills had studied law under Thaddeus Stevens, the Radical 
Republican from Pennsylvania who was key leader in the House for many 
years. He owned the largest house on the Gettsyburg Town Square. As a 
leading citizen, he put an end to land speculation for the burial of 
soldiers killed at Gettysburg, and formed an interstate commission to 
collect funds for the cleansing of the battlefield.
  But in Garry Wills book on Gettysburg, he points out that David Wills 
had another goal. ``He wanted to dedicate the ground that would hold 
them even before the corpses were moved. He felt the need for artful 
words to sweeten the poisoned air of Gettysburg.''
  First, David Wills asked the poets to appear--Longfellow, Whittier 
and Bryant--but they declined. But he was able to attract Edward 
Everett, perhaps the foremost orator of the time. President Lincoln was 
kind of an afterthought, included among many officials. No one really 
understood the potential impact he would have, or even understood it at 
the time.
  But key facts remain--it was David Wills who led the effort to create 
the cemetery and he specifically hoped to accomplish what Lincoln 
actually did accomplish, an act of healing aimed at the ages.
  In a historical sense, it is a bonus that Lincoln actually stayed at 
the Wills House, finished the polishing of the speech at that house, 
and delivered a brief speech that evening to those gathered to greet 
him at the house. It is indeed a site worth inclusion in this national 
battlefield so vital to our national memory.
  Furthermore, this can be an important part of resolving some of the 
conflict at the most recent battle of Gettysburg.
  Clearly Gettysburg needs to move its visitor center from the critical 
area of the battlefield.
  It is also essential that additional storage space for priceless 
artifacts, with proper climate control, be created as rapidly as 
possible.
  Because the new location is farther from the town, in which many 
local businesses have developed concessions dependent upon visitors to 
the park, there is concern that the new visitor center could result in 
financial damages to the borough of Gettysburg. While I disagree with 
this concern because I believe a new visitor center will draw more 
visitors for longer periods, regardless of one's views on that subject, 
it is clear that development of the Wills House site in town, along 
with creative changes around the cemetery to better highlight the 
exalted place in American history of the Gettysburg Address, would draw 
visitors to the village itself. It would probably also add to the 
length of stay of the visitors, which would also benefit those in the 
borough.
  And, from a national perspective, this Wills House site and further 
highlighting the memorable address that stands as a seminal document in 
understanding who we are as Americans, will make every American-
including the thousands of schoolchildren who visit Gettysburg each 
year--much richer.

     Address delivered at the dedication of the cemetery at 
         Gettysburg.
       Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on 
     this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and 
     dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
       Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether 
     that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can 
     long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. 
     We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final 
     resting place for those who here gave their lives that that 
     nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that 
     we should do this.
       But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate--we can not 
     consecrate--we can not hallow--this ground. The brave men, 
     living and

[[Page H8146]]

     dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our 
     poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor 
     long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what 
     they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be 
     dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought 
     here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to 
     be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that 
     from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that 
     cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--
     that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have 
     died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new 
     birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the 
     people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
       November 19, 1863.
                                                  Abraham Lincoln.

  Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hutchinson). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1324.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________