[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 185 (Wednesday, December 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2503-E2504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCING A RESOLUTION TO COMMEMORATE THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
                        EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 5, 2007

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to 
introduce significant bipartisan legislation with my colleague and 
fellow co-chair of the Everglades Caucus, Representative Mario Diaz-
Balart to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Everglades National Park.
  For years, Representative Diaz-Balart and I have been working 
together to preserve and restore the Everglades, and I am pleased to be 
introducing this resolution with him.
  Sixty years ago tomorrow, President Harry S. Truman dedicated 
Everglades National Park. Today, this vast subtropical wilderness in 
the United States is habitat to many endangered species as well as an 
international center for business, agriculture, and tourism.
  Everglades National Park has been designated an International 
Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Wetland of 
International Importance in recognition of its significance to all the 
people of the world.
  Over time, however, management and development activities have 
destroyed our nations' majestic wetlands. Today the River of Grass is 
only half of its original size.
  Sadly, the ecosystem's tree islands and mangroves have been largely 
destroyed and its estuaries have become barren.
  In response to threats to this pristine ecosystem, in 2000, Congress 
passed an ambitious restoration plan called the Comprehensive 
Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). In

[[Page E2504]]

doing so, we commit the Federal government to become an equal partner 
with the State of Florida to restore the Everglades and protect the 
River of Grass.
  Regrettably, since the passage of this legislation, restoration 
efforts in Congress have been mired. For 7 years under Republican rule, 
Congress failed to afford Everglades revitalization efforts the 
priority they deserved and failed to properly fund restoration 
programs.
  As a result of Congress' delays in authorizing financing and 
developmental pressures in South Florida, the costs of repairing the 
Everglades have drastically soared.
  Today we have a new Congress with new priorities. This Democratic 
Congress has worked relentlessly--in a bipartisan fashion--to keep the 
Federal government's end of the bargain and restore its commitment to 
the River of Grass.
  Just last month, Congress overrode a President Bush veto and passed 
the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, authorizing $1.8 billion 
in Everglades restoration funding, including funding the two long 
awaited and critical projects: the Indian River Lagoon and the Picayune 
Strand.
  As we pause to celebrate the anniversary of the Everglades National 
Park tomorrow, we enhance our vigilant efforts to restore and conserve 
the Park to the pristine ecosystem it once was.
  As Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote in The Everglades: River of Grass, 
``There is a balance in man also, one which has set against his greed 
and his inertia and his foolishness. . . . Perhaps even in this last 
hour, in a new relation of usefulness and beauty, the vast magnificent, 
subtle and unique region of the Everglades may not be utterly lost.''
  Today, I rise to ensure that these majestic wetlands will forever be 
remembered, preserved and protected for all future generations of 
Americans to enjoy.

                          ____________________