[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 170 (Wednesday, November 18, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S8082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 317--COMMEMORATING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
              OPENING OF THE AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM

  Ms. MIKULSKI submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 317

       Whereas the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, 
     Maryland, opened on November 24, 1995;
       Whereas, in 1992, Congress designated the American 
     Visionary Art Museum as the national repository and education 
     center for visionary art;
       Whereas the American Visionary Art Museum--
       (1) is the first museum in North America that is wholly 
     dedicated to assembling a comprehensive national collection 
     of visionary art;
       (2) perseveres due largely to the leadership of its 
     founder, Rebecca Alban Hoffberger, who built the idea of 
     assembling a comprehensive national collection of visionary 
     art into an institution;
       (3) encourages art as a means of expression for at-risk 
     youth and other individuals who are often overlooked;
       (4) seeks to end the stigma associated with disability by 
     illuminating the power to overcome the adversity associated 
     with disability through creativity;
       (5) educates, inspires, and entertains over 125,000 
     visitors each year; and
       (6) continues to fulfill its mission to increase awareness 
     of uncommon art that is created out of extraordinary 
     circumstances; and
       Whereas it is in the best interest of the national welfare 
     and each United States citizen--
       (1) to preserve visionary art; and
       (2) to celebrate visionary art as a unique art form: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commemorates the 20th anniversary of the opening of the 
     American Visionary Art Museum; and
       (2) reaffirms that visionary art is a rare and valuable 
     national treasure to which individuals in the United States 
     should devote attention, support, and resources to ensure it 
     is collected, preserved, and understood.

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