[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 186 (Thursday, December 11, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S10957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CENTENNIAL OF UNION STATION, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Environment and Public Works Committee be discharged from further 
consideration and the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. 
Res. 664.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 664) celebrating the centennial of 
     Union Station in Washington, District of Columbia.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 664) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 664

       Whereas, on February 28, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt 
     signed into law the act entitled ``An Act to provide a union 
     railroad station in the District of Columbia, and for other 
     purposes'', and Daniel Burnham, a noted architect from 
     Chicago, Illinois, was chosen to design the building;
       Whereas, on October 27, 1907, Union Station officially 
     opened at 6:50 a.m. when the Baltimore and Ohio Pittsburgh 
     Express pulled in to the station;
       Whereas the building was ultimately completed in 1908;
       Whereas, in 1924, 5,000 cheering fans met the victorious 
     Washington Nationals at Union Station after they defeated the 
     Boston Red Sox to capture the American League pennant;
       Whereas, in 1951, President Harry Truman dedicated the 
     Presidential Suite at Union Station as a ``home away from 
     home'' for members of the Armed Services;
       Whereas, in 1968, in preparation for the bicentennial of 
     the United States, the decision was made to transform the 
     building into a National Visitor Center;
       Whereas Congress then passed the Union Station 
     Redevelopment Act of 1981 (Public Law 97-125; 95 Stat. 1667) 
     to return Union Station to its original use as a 
     transportation center;
       Whereas, in 1983, the Union Station Redevelopment 
     Corporation was created to oversee the development of the 
     station into an operating railroad station, to restore the 
     architectural and historical elements of the structure, to 
     explore collaboration with the private sector in the 
     commercial development of the station, and to withdraw the 
     Federal Government from active management of the station;
       Whereas the renovation and restoration of Union Station 
     began on August 13, 1986, with the ringing of an old train 
     bell;
       Whereas the restoration of Union Station was the largest 
     public-private restoration project accomplished in the United 
     States;
       Whereas the restoration took 2 years and the grand 
     reopening was held on September 29, 1988;
       Whereas, in 2008, Union Station includes more than 210,000 
     square feet of retail space, including 50,000 square feet of 
     restaurant space;
       Whereas Union Station is the corporate headquarters for 
     Amtrak and contains 200,000 square feet of Amtrak passenger 
     and baggage facilities;
       Whereas 32,000,000 people visit Union Station annually; and
       Whereas Union Station is the most visited tourist 
     destination in Washington, District of Columbia: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) celebrates the centennial of Union Station in 
     Washington, District of Columbia;
       (2) applauds the efforts of the people who worked to 
     preserve this national treasure; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States to continue 
     to visit and learn about Union Station and its storied 
     history.

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