[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 99 (Thursday, June 9, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2895-S2896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein):
       S. 4371. A bill to establish the Cesar E. Chavez and the 
     Farmworker Movement National Historical Park in the States of 
     California and Arizona, and for other purposes; to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

  Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Cesar E. Chavez 
and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act.
  This legislation would establish the Cesar E. Chavez and the 
Farmworker Movement National Historical Park in California and Arizona 
to preserve the nationally significant sites associated with Cesar 
Chavez and the farm worker movement.
  In 2008, with strong bipartisan support, Congress enacted legislation 
directing the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study 
of sites that are significant to the life of Cesar Chavez and the farm 
labor movement in the Western United States. The National Park Service 
evaluated over 100 sites that were significant to Cesar Chavez and the 
farm labor movement in thy stern United States and found that five 
sites were ``nationally significant.'' Importantly, the Park Service 
wrote that these nationally significant sites depict a distinct and 
important aspect of American history associated with civil rights and 
labor movements that are not adequately represented or protected 
elsewhere. While the Park Service provided five management alternatives 
to protect these special places, they ultimately recommended that 
Congress establish a national historic park that would include several 
nationally significant sites.
  In 2012, President Obama established the Cesar E. Chavez National 
Monument. The property is in Keene, CA and is known as Nuestra Senora 
Reina de la Paz. In his Presidential Proclamation, President Obama 
said: ``This site marks the extraordinary achievements and 
contributions to the history of the United States made by Cesar Chavez 
and the farm worker movement that he led with great vision and 
fortitude. La Paz reflects his conviction that ordinary people can do 
extraordinary things.''
  While this was a critical step forward, the National Monument leaves 
out many nationally significant sites and leaves many important stories 
untold. The creation of a national historical park, as originally 
recommended by the Park Service, would allow the National Park Service 
to tell the full story of Cesar Chavez and the farm labor movement for 
the benefit of all Americans.
  This legislation would establish the Forty Acres in Delano, CA; the 
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, which includes La Nuestra Senora 
Reina de la Paz, in Keene, CA; and the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix, 
AZ, as part of a new Cesar E. Chavez and Farmworker Movement National 
Historical Park. These sites contain nationally significant resources 
associated with Cesar Chavez and the farmworker movement and would be 
preserved and protected as part of the National Park System.
  This legislation would also establish a new National Historic Trail 
that would commemorate the 1966 Delano to Sacramento March, a major 
milestone event in the farm labor movement. According to the Special 
Resource Study, ``More than one hundred men and women set out from 
Delano on March 17, 1966, and thousands of farm workers and their 
families joined in for short stretches along the way. By the time the 
marchers entered Sacramento on Easter Sunday, April 10, 1966, the farm 
worker movement had secured a contract and attracted new waves of 
support from across the country.''
  We must honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, the 
inspirational civil rights advocate and leader of the farm labor 
movement whose impact reverberated in California and across the world. 
His list of accomplishments is long, from creating the Nation's first 
permanent agricultural labor union to helping secure passage of the 
first American law that recognized farm workers' rights to organize.
  While widely respected as the most important Latino leader in the 
United States in the 20th century, Cesar Chavez was not just a leader 
for the Latino community. Following the principles of Mahatma Gandhi 
and Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez led a nonviolent movement of 
protests and boycotts to secure a union, better pay, and better working 
conditions for farmworkers. He also played a leading role in the 
broader labor movement, the Chicano movement, and the environmental 
movement. For Chavez, it did not matter where you came from or what 
your job was: he believed in the fundamental right to dignity and 
respect.
  But this park will not just focus on Chavez's legacy; it will also 
preserve the thousands of stories of people who played a role in the 
broader farm labor movement. According to the Special Resource Study, 
``During the 1960s, the farm labor movement attracted support from a 
wide array of individuals, including members of other unions, religious 
leaders, civil rights activists, high school students and college 
students (including young Chicanos and Filipinos), environmentalists, 
and justice-minded consumers across the country and abroad.''
  As the son of immigrants from Mexico and the first Latino to 
represent California in the U.S. Senate, I believe the movement Cesar 
Chavez created is just as important today as it ever has been. The 
National Park System--which preserves our natural, historical, and 
cultural heritage while offering

[[Page S2896]]

vital spaces for teaching, learning, and outdoor recreation--must paint 
the full mosaic of America. Through the sites preserved by this bill, 
we can ensure that the National Park System preserves the diverse 
history of our Nation that is too often overlooked. As a farm worker 
himself, Cesar Chavez maintained a strong connection to the natural 
environment. This bill uplifts his story and those of others whose 
contributions helped build the farmworker and civil rights movements 
that are pillars of American history.
  I thank the bill's cosponsors in the Senate and House of 
Representatives, and I especially want to thank Congressman Ruiz for 
spearheading this effort with me to ensure that our national monuments 
and historical parks better reflect the diversity of America's 
heritage.
  Today and every day, let's recommit to the work Cesar Chavez began. 
As he would say: La Lucha Sigue. We must not waver as we keep up the 
fight for justice and equality for all.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact the Cesar E. 
Chavez National Historical Park Act as quickly as possible.
                                 ______