[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 58 (Thursday, March 30, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1093-S1094]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein):
  S. 1097. 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. Madam President, I rise to reintroduce the Cesar E. 
Chavez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act.
  This Friday, March 31, we celebrate Cesar Chavez Day to honor and 
celebrate the life and legacy of the civil rights and labor leader 
whose impact reverberated throughout California and across the world. 
For Cesar Chavez, it did not matter where you came from or what your 
job was, he believed in your fundamental right to dignity and respect.
  Ahead of Cesar Chavez Day, I introduce this legislation, which 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 farmworker 
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 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.
  In addition to the inclusion of the existing Cesar E. Chavez National 
Monument, which includes La Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz, in Keene, 
CA, the National Park Service would be able to add additional sites to 
the park upon written agreement from site owners. These sites include 
the Forty Acres in Delano, CA, the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix, AZ; 
and McDonnell Hall, in San Jose, CA. 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 require the National Park Service to 
complete a national historic trail study to determine the feasibility 
of creating the Farmworker Peregrinacion National Historic Trail. This 
trail 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 farmworkers' 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 of all ethnicities. He also played a leading 
role in the broader labor movement, the Chicano movement, and the 
environmental movement.
  But this park will not just focus on Chavez's legacy; it will also 
preserve

[[Page S1094]]

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 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 farmworker 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.
                                 ______