[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 12 (Monday, January 22, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H805-H807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PRESERVATION OF RECORDS OF SERVITUDE, EMANCIPATION, AND POST-CIVIL WAR
RECONSTRUCTION ACT
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 390) to require the establishment of a national database in the
National Archives to preserve records of servitude, emancipation, and
post-Civil War reconstruction and to provide grants to State and local
entities to establish similar local databases.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 390
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Preservation of Records of
Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction
Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL DATABASE.
(a) In General.--The Archivist of the United States shall
preserve relevant records and establish, as part of the
National Archives, an electronically searchable national
database consisting of historic records of servitude,
emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction, including
the Southern Claims Commission Records, Records of the
Freedmen's Bank, Slave Impressments Records, Slave Payroll
Records, Slave Manifest, and others, contained within the
agencies and departments of the Federal Government to assist
African Americans and others in conducting genealogical and
historical research.
(b) Maintenance.--The database established under this
section shall be maintained by the National Archives or an
entity within the National Archives designated by the
Archivist.
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE AND LOCAL
DATABASES.
(a) In General.--The National Historical Publications and
Records Commission of the National Archives shall provide
grants to States, colleges and universities, and genealogical
associations to preserve records and establish electronically
searchable databases consisting of local records of
servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction.
(b) Maintenance.--The databases established using grants
provided under this section shall be maintained by
appropriate agencies or institutions designated by the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated--
(1) $5,000,000 to implement section 2; and
(2) $5,000,000 to provide grants under section 3.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Clay) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on
the bill, H.R. 390.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 390, which authorizes the National Archives
to preserve historical documents relating to servitude, emancipation,
and post-Civil War reconstruction. Introduced by my friend,
Representative Lantos of California, the bill calls on the Archives to
place these documents in a searchable electronic database for use in
historical and genealogical research.
As a cosponsor of H.R. 390 and chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee
on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives, I am pleased to
see the measure presented for consideration by the House today. Under
this legislation, grants will be made available to States, colleges and
universities, and genealogical associations to preserve similar records
in their possession and make them available electronically. The bill
will for the first time make a wide range of historical documents
relating to servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction
easily accessible and searchable. This will vastly improve the ability
of African Americans to research their lineage. It will also facilitate
the efforts of historians performing research into this period of
American history.
An identical version of this bill was approved unanimously by the
Committee on Government Reform last year. And as someone with a deep
appreciation of African American and American history, I am honored to
support its passage today.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 390, the Preservation of
Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction
Act, legislation which would establish a grant program, as outlined
just a moment ago by Mr. Clay.
H.R. 390 would authorize the creation of a national database within
the National Archives to include records of servitude, emancipation,
and post-Civil War reconstruction held by Federal agencies. These
records include: the Southern Claims Commission Records, Records of the
Freedmen's Bank, Slave Impressment Records, Slave Payroll Records, and
Slave Manifests.
Many of these records are not organized, catalogued, or well
protected from the elements. H.R. 390 will not only make these
documents more accessible to the public but will preserve them as well.
H.R. 390 continues the important preservation efforts begun under the
Freedmen's Bureau Records Preservation Act of 2000. The creation of a
searchable database will help African Americans conduct genealogical
research and learn more about their families' history.
In addition, the national database will help historians and others
interested in the Civil War and post-Civil War eras to conduct research
that promises to reveal more about the history and culture of the South
and the African American experience. Similar records of servitude,
emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction are held by local and
State entities.
H.R. 390 authorizes the National Archives to provide grants to
States, universities, and genealogical associations to digitally
preserve their records through the creation of searchable databases.
The digital preservation of these important historical documents and
improved accessibility to them will ensure that they are available to
future generations of Americans.
I think this is legislation that all my colleagues can support, and I
urge support for H.R. 390.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may
consume to the sponsor of this legislation, Representative Lantos.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank my dear friend, the
distinguished chairman of the committee, for yielding me time and for
his leadership on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, last week our Nation paused to remember and to recognize
the extraordinary life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today I rise in strong support of H.R. 390, the Preservation of Records
of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act,
which will help eliminate a little-known and rarely recognized vestige
of slavery. This important legislation, which passed the Government
Reform Committee last
[[Page H806]]
year by a unanimous vote, will open the way for African Americans to
trace their ancestry from the critical period immediately following the
end of slavery in this country.
Mr. Speaker, for most Americans, researching their genealogical
history involves searching through various historical records, almost
all of which have been properly archived as public historical
documents. Unfortunately, African Americans face a unique challenge due
to our Nation's history of discrimination and slavery. Instead of
simply looking up wills, birth and death certificates, or other
traditional genealogical research documents, African Americans are
forced to identify the names of former slave owners and then hope that
these owners kept accurate records of pertinent property tax and
probate information.
Compounding the difficulty of this problem, Mr. Speaker, is that many
of these records of servitude and emancipation are frequently
inaccessible, stored in farmhouses and schools throughout the South.
Even when researchers are able to locate the records, they find them
poorly catalogued and inadequately preserved from deterioration and
decay.
While some States and some localities have undertaken efforts to
collect these documents, and they need to be commended for their
endeavors, a national effort to preserve these important pieces of
public and personal history is necessary to ensure that they are
readily and easily accessible to all Americans.
H.R. 390, my legislation, builds on the success of the Freedmen's
Bureau Records Preservation Act, which Congress passed and the
President signed into law 6 years ago. That law required the archivists
of the United States to catalogue the genealogical and historical
records into a searchable indexing system and was the first step toward
ensuring easy access. Passing H.R. 390 is the next step necessary to
complete this preservation project for our entire Nation.
Mr. Speaker, my bill tackles the problems of poorly catalogued and
inadequately preserved records in two ways. First, it will make sure
that the records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War
reconstruction currently being stored within the various agencies of
the Federal Government will be properly preserved and accessible in a
single electronic site. Second, the searchable index will allow
individuals to access information in seconds rather than months or
years to build their own personal histories.
{time} 1515
Since many of these records are held in non-Federal public and
private collections around the country, my legislation authorizes the
National Archives to distribute grants to the States, academic
institutions, and genealogical associations to locate, preserve, and
establish on-line databases of these important records. These grants
will ensure that families doing research in my home State of California
or anywhere in the country will be able to find post-Civil War
reconstruction items easily accessible in a single electronic site. The
searchable index will allow individuals to access information in mere
seconds.
The Federal and local records covered by my legislation are not only
of personal importance to the families involved, Mr. Speaker, they are
historically significant to all of us. They document the reuniting of
our Nation and the historic moment of transition for slaves from the
status of property to citizens, a time when our country finally began
to right a horrible moral wrong. We need to take the process another
step now by ensuring that those records and the lessons they hold are
preserved for all eternity.
I want to thank Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Tom Davis, both
cosponsors of my legislation, for their continued support of this
measure. I also want to thank my friend and colleague Elijah Cummings
for all his efforts on this important measure. I urge all of my
colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense recognition that
justice at long last must be made.
Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I simply want to commend the gentleman from
California (Mr. Lantos) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) for
their work on this very important legislation. It has been an honor for
me to manage this for the minority.
Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers. I urge support of H.R. 390,
and yield back the balance of our time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, in closing I want to thank my good friend from
Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) for his leadership on this issue. We appreciate
it. I want to commend my good friend from California (Mr. Lantos) for
sponsoring this bill that will catalog and preserve these records from
a time long ago.
Being a history enthusiast, I believe the adage that a people who
don't know their history are doomed to repeat it, and I urge the House
to pass the bill.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of
H.R. 390, the Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and
Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act. I support H.R. 390 because it will
protect a vast amount of genealogical information from this period in
our Nation's history. This bill authorizes the National Archives to do
two things: (1) to use necessary resources to preserve, maintain and
electronically catalogue these important records, and (2) to distribute
grants to the States, academic institutions, and genealogical
associations in order to preserve and establish online databases of
their own important local records.
While most Americans can learn about their genealogy through already
well-archived documents like certificates of birth, death, or marriage,
African-Americans have more difficulty with this, due to our Nation's
history of slavery and discrimination. African-Americans seeking
information about their ancestors must instead turn to less well-
archived records such as documents written by former slave owners.
These records are often not very accessible, disorganized, or in poor
condition, and so it is important that we make every effort to
adequately archive the familial records of so many of our Nations'
citizens.
This bill would be the first national effort to preserve and protect
this important part of our nation's history, and I thank Mr. Lantos,
the gentleman from California, for introducing it.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill, and I look
forward to seeing it passed.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in
strong support of the Preservation of Records of Servitude,
Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act.
The House of Representatives is truly a body of history. Each day we
walk through the Capitol and stand where our Nation's first Members of
Congress debated hundreds of years ago. Statues, plaques and paintings
remind us of the past and inspire our future. In fact, every day
history is recorded on the House floor through the records of our
statements.
We must not underestimate the importance of our Nation's past and our
individual history. For many African Americans identifying their
history and researching genealogy becomes challenging due to a lack of
organized records. Many African Americans are left with piecing
together records of their ancestors left from former slave owners or
searching for information from the post-Civil War reconstruction. Many
of these records are unorganized, inaccessible and quickly decaying. We
need a national effort to preserve these pieces of public and personal
history or to make them readily and easily accessible to all Americans.
Under this bill the Federal Government will maintain an organized
system for preserving the records of servitude, emancipation, and the
post-Civil War. These records will include Southern Claims Commission
Records, Records of the Freedmen's Bank, Slave Impressments Records,
Slave Payroll Records, and Slave Manifests. This will go a long way
towards preserving our past, and helping individuals discover their
history as well.
I urge my colleagues who everyday participate in this Nation's
history to extend that dedication to preserving our past to vote for
this important piece of legislation.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Sarbanes). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 390.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those voting have responded in the affirmative.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will
be postponed.
[[Page H807]]
____________________