[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CALIFORNIA MISSIONS PRESERVATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. LORETTA SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 20, 2003

  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in 
support of the California Missions Preservation Act of 2003, H.R. 1446.
  This important bill would grant funding to restore and repair the 
twenty-one California missions and their artifacts by providing a grant 
program under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior with a 
matching fund requirement for the California Missions Foundation.
  As a California native, I cherish these beautiful missions, which 
represent our past, our history and our founding. It is important to 
preserve these monuments and museums as they serve as part of our 
cultural heritage.
  Near my district in California is one of these missions, San Juan 
Capistrano, which served as the birthplace of Orange County.
  Founded more than 200 years ago on 10 acres of beautiful gardens and 
fountains, San Juan Capistrano served as a community for Spanish Padres 
and Indians. It was a thriving center for agriculture, education and 
religion.
  Today, the mission's visitors can see Native American, Spanish, 
Mexican and European heritage in the mission's architecture and 
artifacts. Every year, millions of visitors and school children come to 
these missions to learn about California and our history. Indeed they 
are living classrooms of our past.
  I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill, 
not only for the sake of preserving California's history, but for our 
nation's history as well.




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