[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 60 (Saturday, April 12, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE OAK TREE BILL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 11, 2003

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today, as the 
Commonwealth of Virginia celebrates its Arbor Day, to introduce 
legislation to recognize the people's selection of the oak tree as 
America's national tree. Selected by the American people during a 4-
month-long open voting process sponsored by the National Arbor Day 
Foundation, the oak tree earned the title of America' s Chosen National 
Tree. To recognize this distinction, I am proud to introduce 
legislation today that officially establishes the oak tree as America's 
national tree.
  As a member of Congress representing a heavily forested district in 
Virginia, I know first-hand how trees add to our quality of life. As 
chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, I appreciate how trees and 
forests enhance the environment, add recreational opportunities and 
provide for the livelihoods of millions of individuals in the forest 
industry. Whether enjoying a product generated from a forest, or the 
simple satisfaction of lying under a shaded giant, trees contribute to 
all Americans.
  The strong and stately oak tree is of particular importance in 
America's history and culture. Not only is this majestic tree an 
aesthetic beauty that characterizes the landscape of much of our great 
Nation, it also provides us with wood products in our homes, our 
offices and our places of gathering. Common to all 50 states, the oak 
has played a huge role in America's history as a valuable resource. It 
helped our founding fathers establish a new Nation, supplying building 
materials for the ever-expanding 13 original colonies. It served as a 
familiar sight to pioneers as they forged across the new republic to 
the west coast. And to this day it has remained an enduring, valuable, 
and highly prized raw material from which beautifully crafted 
furniture, sturdy door and window framing, ornate flooring and 
paneling, and the like, are made. This enduring and mighty tree, which 
has long been a part of our national heritage and strength, fully 
merits the distinction of America's National tree.
  The oak tree has also played a key role in many specific historic 
moments in our Nation's history. Abraham Lincoln found his way across a 
river near Homer, IL, using the Salt River Ford Oak as a marker. The 
Richards White Oak in Cecil County, MD once served as a landmark on a 
1681 map used by William Penn. Andrew Jackson took shelter under 
Louisiana's Sunnybrook Oaks on his way to the Battle of New Orleans. 
And ``old ironsides,'' the USS Constitution, earned its nickname from 
the strength of its live oak hull, famous for easily repelling British 
cannonballs.
  Chosen by the people in a broad-based election, the oak tree 
represents the true characteristics of this great Nation: strength, 
beauty and endurance. Please join me in making official what we have 
known for many years--that the oak tree is America's national tree.

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