[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 56 (Tuesday, April 20, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN RECOGNITION OF HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK

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                             HON. MIKE ROSS

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 20, 2010

  Mr. ROSS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize two milestones for 
Hot Springs National Park located in my home state of Arkansas. This 
day not only marks the 178th anniversary of Hot Springs Reservation--
which later became Hot Springs National Park--but it also marks the 
release date of the Hot Springs National Park quarter, the first 
installment of the U.S. Mint's America the Beautiful Quarters program.
  On April 20, 1832, Hot Springs Reservation was the first piece of 
federal land set aside for preservation primarily because of the area's 
natural hot springs, which people have used for more than two hundred 
years for recreation and for their therapeutic qualities. The 
Reservation--eventually becoming known as ``The American Spa''--became 
Hot Springs National Park in 1921.
  Because of its important place in American history, the U.S. Mint 
also released the Hot Springs National Quarter today as the first of 56 
quarters in the America the Beautiful Quarters program, which Congress 
established in 2008. The U.S. Mint will subsequently release five new 
coins per year and one in 2021 honoring the rest of our Nation's many 
national parks, forests and wildlife refuges in the order they were 
first preserved by the federal government.
  It is also fitting that we reach these two milestones during National 
Park Week, a time to celebrate and recognize national and state parks, 
national monuments, and historic sites in the United States.
  I stand today proud to represent Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. 
This truly is a great honor and will draw much-deserved recognition and 
unprecedented attention to one of our nation's most beautiful and 
unique national parks. God has blessed Arkansas with many natural 
wonders and Hot Springs National Park is just the beginning. I invite 
all Americans and their families to come to Arkansas and see what makes 
these hot springs and our state so special.

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