[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 214 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H7248-H7249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1445
              PEACE CORPS COMMEMORATIVE WORK EXTENSION ACT

  Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 7460) to extend the authority for the establishment by the 
Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation of a commemorative work to 
commemorate the mission of the Peace Corps and the ideals on which the 
Peace Corps was founded, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7460

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Peace Corps Commemorative 
     Work Extension Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF 
                   COMMEMORATIVE WORK TO COMMEMORATE THE MISSION 
                   OF THE PEACE CORPS AND THE IDEALS ON WHICH THE 
                   PEACE CORPS WAS FOUNDED.

       Notwithstanding section 8903(e) of title 40, United States 
     Code, the authority to establish the commemorative work under 
     section 1(a) of Public Law 113-78 (40 U.S.C. 8903 note; 128 
     Stat. 647) shall continue to apply through January 24, 2028.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Gallego) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to

[[Page H7249]]

revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the 
measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7460, the Peace Corps 
Commemorative Work Extension Act, introduced by Representative  Joe 
Kennedy.
  Representative Kennedy served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the 
Dominican Republic from 2004 to 2006. Unfortunately, he is not able to 
be here for today's vote, but I know how much this means to him and the 
entire Returned Peace Corps Volunteers community.
  In 2014, the bipartisan Peace Corps Commemorative Act was signed into 
law to establish a commemorative work to celebrate the Peace Corps and 
its founding ideals. That legislation authorized the Peace Corps 
Commemorative Foundation to establish the memorial in Washington, D.C., 
but the authorization for the project is set to expire in January 2021.
  The Peace Corps' roots and mission date back to the 1960s. Since 
then, more than 240,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in 142 host 
countries to train local communities across the world in technologies 
and skills such as agricultural protection, environmental protection, 
and basic education.
  Since its establishment, the Peace Corps has helped promote world 
peace and friendship by improving the lives of countless individuals 
across the world.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Kennedy for his 
efforts to honor these incredible volunteers.
  The planned memorial will be a lasting tribute to the legacy of the 
Peace Corps and its mission. This bill simply provides the foundation 
with more time to raise money and pick an appropriate design.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WITTMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 7460, the Peace Corps Commemorative Work 
Extension Act, extends through January 24, 2028, the authority of the 
Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a commemorative work 
on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor 
and commemorate the mission and ideals of the Peace Corps.
  Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, 
over 235,000 Americans have served as grassroots volunteers in villages 
and towns in 141 countries worldwide. Peace Corps volunteers seek to 
promote world peace and friendship by improving the lives of those they 
serve by helping others understand American culture and by bringing 
their experience back home to America.
  It is fitting that this bill to extend the Commemorative Works Act 
authorization for a Peace Corps Memorial is sponsored by President John 
F. Kennedy's grandnephew, Representative  Joe Kennedy III.
  I am grateful to the thousands of Americans who have served our 
Nation honorably in the Peace Corps.
  Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis).
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong 
support of the Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools Act, and I 
thank leadership for putting it on the suspension calendar.
  This bill starts the process to establish a Julius Rosenwald and 
Rosenwald Schools national historical park to focus on the incredible 
impact of Julius Rosenwald, a successful entrepreneur and renowned 
philanthropist who made a lasting contribution to the advancement of 
African-American education during the 20th century.
  Mr. Rosenwald was the president of Sears, Roebuck and Company during 
its heyday. He used his fortune to enhance the lives of others, 
establishing museums, community centers, and housing, as well as 
helping Jews in Europe and new immigrants coming to the United States. 
One-third of all African-American children in the South during the 
1920s, 1930s, and 1940s were educated in Rosenwald schools.
  Although I did not attend a Rosenwald school, I grew up in rural 
America, rural Arkansas, and actually attended a one-room school where 
one teacher, Ms. Beadie King, taught eight grades plus what we call the 
little primer and the big primer all by herself.
  In many of the rural towns where African Americans lived during that 
time, there were no schools. If there were, they only went to the sixth 
grade and sometimes to the eighth grade. So the impact of these 5,300 
schools that Julius Rosenwald helped to build--he was a friend of 
Booker Washington, and Booker Washington helped him understand that it 
was great for people to get to Tuskegee, but there were thousands of 
African Americans in these rural areas who never had a first grade, 
second grade, third grade to get to.
  Madam Speaker, I am delighted that leadership put this bill on the 
calendar today. I thank the gentleman for yielding. And as you can 
tell, I am very passionate about this bill.
  I also live in the area where the international headquarters for 
Sears, Roebuck and Company existed at that time. So the name ``Julius 
Rosenwald'' is an entity that our country should never, ever forget, 
and we ought to have as many ways of expressing it as we possibly can.
  Mr. WITTMAN. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, it is an honor and a privilege to be able 
to yield time to someone who I grew up in his district as his 
constituent. It is a great honor to be here and to hear more about, 
obviously, Sears, Roebuck and Company and an area that I grew up in and 
know very well.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 7460.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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