[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 31, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       FUNDING FOR THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU RECORDS PRESERVATION ACT

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                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 31, 2001

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the Treasury-Postal 
Appropriations Bill, H.R. 2590, includes funding to implement the 
Freedmen's Bureau Records Preservation Act of 2000. The Freedmen's 
Bureau Records Preservation Act was cosponsored by Representative 
Juanita Millender-McDonald and Representative J.C. Watts. I was 
privileged to manage the legislation on the floor of the House last 
year.
  This important Act requires the Archivist of the United States to 
preserve the records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned 
Lands, commonly known as the ``Freedmen's Bureau,'' so that these 
records can be maintained for future generations. It further requires 
the Archivist to work with Howard University and other institutions to 
index the records so that they will be more easily accessible.
  The Freedmen's Bureau, which was established in 1865, accumulated a 
treasure trove of records concerning newly emancipated African-
Americans. These records contain information on marriages, births, 
deaths, labor contracts, Government rations and back-pay records, and 
indentured contracts for minors. The records are, in many instances, a 
key source of information to American families tracing their heritage. 
They are also a vital source of information for historians and 
students.
  The Freedmen's Bureau Records Preservation Act has special relevance 
for Howard University. The fact that both the Freedmen's Bureau and 
Howard University grew out of the same impulse to remediate the wrongs 
of slavery at the end of the Civil War linked the two institutions 
together at their birth. The fact that General Oliver Otis Howard 
served both as the Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau and as the 
third president of the University that bears his name adds additional 
strength to the link. Therefore, Representative Millender-McDonald and 
I were honored to join many others in a ceremony at Howard University 
on February 27, 2001, to commemorate enactment of this important 
legislation.
  With the support of Congress, the National Archives will employ 
microfilming technology to preserve the invaluable Freedmen's Bureau 
records, and Howard University will develop indexing strategies to 
provide their widest accessibility to scholars, genealogists, and the 
general public. Through this partnership, the Act's goals of ensuring 
preservation and promoting access can and will be achieved.

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