[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H10211-H10212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NEW DEAL

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform be discharged from further 
consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 360) 
recognizing the important social and economic contributions and 
accomplishments of the New Deal to our Nation on the 75th anniversary 
of legislation establishing the initial New Deal social and public 
works programs, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 360

       Whereas this year marks the 75th anniversary of the ``First 
     Hundred Days'', from March 4, 1933, to June 16, 1933, which 
     was an unprecedented period of legislative action that 
     engendered the programs that constituted the New Deal;
       Whereas the New Deal was a set of programs and policies 
     with the purpose of promoting economic recovery, as well as 
     social and financial reform, during a time of severe economic 
     and social distress due to conditions created by the Great 
     Depression;
       Whereas the New Deal established Federal programs to 
     address these issues, including the Civilian Conservation 
     Corps, Works Progress Administration, Public Works 
     Administration, Farm Securities Administration, National 
     Youth Administration, Home Owners Loan Corporation, Tennessee 
     Valley Authority, and the Rural Electric Administration;
       Whereas these programs left behind a massive public works 
     and architectural legacy;
       Whereas the United States continues to benefit from 
     infrastructure projects built as a result of the New Deal, 
     including numerous schools, hospitals, courthouses, 
     libraries, city halls, fire houses, housing, public health 
     facilities, roads, bridges, airports, sewer and water 
     systems, flood control projects, dams, trails, parks, 
     playgrounds, and zoos;
       Whereas these infrastructure projects employed millions of 
     individuals who planted more than 3,000,000,000 trees and 
     constructed or repaired 650,000 miles of public roads, 
     125,000 public buildings, 75,000 bridges, 8,000 parks, 800 
     airports, and a number of sewage disposal plants;

[[Page H10212]]

       Whereas the income from the millions of jobs created by the 
     New Deal lifted many people out of poverty and provided 
     stability to every sector of the American economy;
       Whereas these programs built renowned structures and 
     facilities, including the Rincon Annex Post Office and 
     Alameda County Courthouse in California; the Timberline Lodge 
     in Mt. Hood, Oregon; the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington; the 
     Fort Peck Dam in Montana; the Norris Dam in Tennessee; 
     Greenbelt towns in Maryland, Ohio, and Wisconsin; Red Rocks 
     Ampitheatre in Colorado; Skyline Drive in the Blue Ridge 
     Mountains of Virginia; and airports in New York City, 
     Chicago, and the District of Columbia;
       Whereas the Federal programs of the New Deal included 
     projects for art, forest and soil conservation, distribution 
     of food and clothing, education, historical surveys, library 
     and book repair, music, recreation, writing, theater, 
     disaster assistance, and medical, dental, and nursing 
     programs;
       Whereas the many cultural programs of the New Deal 
     catalogued and supported the development of distinctive 
     American art and oral histories, and further established the 
     arts as a central and beneficial element of American society;
       Whereas the New Deal created important institutions, 
     including Social Security, the Federal Deposit Insurance 
     Corporation, the Securities Exchange Commission, and the 
     National Labor Relations Board;
       Whereas the New Deal illustrates the ability of the Federal 
     Government to act as a positive and instrumental force for 
     change in addressing social and economic crises for the 
     benefit of all people in the United States;
       Whereas the current economic crisis, growing income 
     inequality, and the degradation of infrastructure and the 
     environment elicit the need for programs similar to the New 
     Deal, both in spirit and substance; and
       Whereas June 15, 2008, through June 21, 2008, would be an 
     appropriate week for the observance of National New Deal Week 
     to promote recognition and appreciation for the New Deal and 
     its legacy: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) recognizes the important social and economic 
     contributions and accomplishments of the New Deal to our 
     Nation on the 75th anniversary of legislation establishing 
     the initial New Deal social and public works programs;
       (2) acknowledges the inventiveness, resourcefulness, and 
     creativity of the administrators and workers of the many New 
     Deal programs; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     National New Deal week.

  The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________