[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 217 (Thursday, December 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S9265]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 481--URGING THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO 
 RECOGNIZE THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ROBERTO CLEMENTE'S PLACE OF 
DEATH NEAR PINONES IN LOIZA, PUERTO RICO, BY ADDING IT TO THE NATIONAL 
                      REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

  Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
Casey, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Markey, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Warren, Mr. Lujan, 
and Ms. Duckworth) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:

                              S. Res. 481

       Whereas Roberto Clemente was a renowned baseball player 
     born on August 18, 1934, in Carolina, Puerto Rico;
       Whereas Roberto Clemente started playing for the Pittsburgh 
     Pirates of the National League in Major League Baseball in 
     1955, and went on to play for them for 18 seasons, becoming a 
     baseball legend;
       Whereas Roberto Clemente won the 1960 and 1971 World Series 
     Championships with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 1971 World 
     Series Most Valuable Player Award, the 1966 National League 
     Most Valuable Player Award, 15 All Star selections (1960-
     1967, 1969-1972), 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards (1961-
     1972), 4 National Batting Titles (1961, 1963-1965, 1967, 
     1969), and hit the only walk-off, inside-the-park grand slam 
     home run in professional baseball history on July 25, 1956;
       Whereas Roberto Clemente became the first Latin American 
     ballplayer to reach 3,000 career hits on September 30, 1972;
       Whereas Roberto Clemente enlisted into the United States 
     Marine Corps in 1958, and served as an infantryman for 6 
     years until 1964, when he was honorably discharged;
       Whereas Roberto Clemente embodied the values of a model 
     citizen through his acts of service and humanitarian efforts 
     toward those in need, regardless of their location;
       Whereas Roberto Clemente was on his way to selflessly 
     provide humanitarian aid to earthquake-ridden Nicaragua when 
     he died;
       Whereas the plane that Roberto Clemente was on crashed into 
     the ocean shortly after taking off from Isla Verde 
     International Airport/Aeropuerto Internacional de Isla Verde 
     on December 31, 1972;
       Whereas Roberto Clemente was only 38 years old when he 
     passed away;
       Whereas Roberto Clemente was the first Puerto Rican 
     inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973;
       Whereas Buenaventura Boulevard was designated as the 
     Roberto Clemente Memorial Roadway by the Osceola County Board 
     of County Commissioners in 2015;
       Whereas Stonewall Jackson Middle School was renamed Roberto 
     Clemente Middle School by the Orange County School Board in 
     September 2020;
       Whereas Stonewall Jackson Road, a mile-long stretch of road 
     off of Semoran Boulevard, was renamed for Roberto Clemente by 
     the Orlando City Council in June 2021;
       Whereas a portion of Route 21 in Newark was designated as 
     the Roberto Clemente Memorial Highway by the New Jersey 
     Legislature in June 2016;
       Whereas the Paterson School District, the City of Paterson, 
     and New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation inaugurated 
     the New Roberto Clemente Middle School in April 2005;
       Whereas the Paterson School District designated an 
     elementary school the Roberto Clemente Elementary School in 
     September 1975;
       Whereas the Newark Board of Education designated an 
     elementary school the Roberto Clemente Elementary School;
       Whereas The Roberto Clemente Little League in Branch Brook 
     Park in Newark, New Jersey, is named in his honor;
       Whereas Roberto Clemente was posthumously awarded the 
     Presidential Medal of Freedom, Presidential Citizens Medal, 
     and the Congressional Gold Medal for his civic and charitable 
     contributions; and
       Whereas the crash site in the adjacent area to Playa 
     Aviones in the municipality of Loiza, Puerto Rico, was the 
     last place where Roberto Clemente graced this world 49 years 
     ago: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate requests that the Secretary of 
     the Interior recognize the crash site of Roberto Clemente's 
     airplane and the adjacent land by adding the site to the 
     National Register of Historic Places.

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