[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    AMERICAN LEGACY PRESERVATION ACT

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                          HON. JOSEPH R. PITTS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2001

  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, today I submit for introduction a bill to 
preserve and maintain the final resting places of our nation's greatest 
leaders. Since the Constitution was ratified, the Unites States has had 
only 43 Presidents. Some, like Washington and Lincoln and Reagan, have 
been great men who changed the nation. Others, like Buchanan, were 
capable and gifted, but have not been judged well by history.
  But while James Buchanan may not be on the list of great American 
Presidents, he was a good man who did a lot for Lancaster County, 
Pennsylvania and for America. And as a Member of Congress, he did more 
than any of his peers to protect the Constitution and the principle of 
judicial review.
  While he may not have had the foresight that Lincoln had when it came 
to slavery, it is a little-known fact that Buchanan bought slaves in 
Washington, DC, in order to free them here in Pennsylvania.
  But much like Abraham Lincoln, he was a self-made man who was born in 
a log cabin. As a young man, he served in the War of 1812. He was 
Lancaster's Congressman from 1821 to 1831. He served as Ambassador to 
Russia and Great Britain. He was a U.S. Senator, and then, finally, he 
became President.
  He served during the most tumultuous time in our history. And while 
he was not as good a leader as his successor, he did succeed in holding 
the union together.
  He died in 1868 and was buried in my district, the 16th district of 
Pennsylvania. It is, for a President, a simple grave. The office he 
held was an important one in his time. Today, it is the most powerful 
office in the world.
  Every one of our Presidents deserves the honor of a well-maintained 
grave.
  Many of us remember several years ago when President Grant's tomb in 
New York fell into disrepair. Its roof leaked, its walls were covered 
with graffiti, and it was a hangout for heroin addicts.
  Buchanan's grave is very nice by comparison. But keeping it nice has 
been very difficult. The cemetery association is not a wealthy one, and 
it is mainly through the efforts of volunteers that it has been 
maintained at all. When Grant's Tomb fell into disrepair, the National 
Park Service stepped up to the plate and fixed it. Today it's a tourist 
attraction.
  I'm introducing today the American Legacy Preservation Act, 
empowering the National Park Service to assist in the upkeep of 
Presidential gravesites.
  Whether it be the grave of Lincoln or Buchanan, Washington or Grant, 
preserving the final resting places of our Presidents is clearly in the 
nation's interest. The gravesites have exceptional value in 
illustrating and interpreting the heritage of the U.S. and helping 
Americans to value our rich and complex national story. Every American 
deserves to know that the graves of our past Presidents will be treated 
with the same dignity as the office they once held.

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