[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 178 (Tuesday, December 3, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H6270-H6273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1615
PAUL S. SARBANES VISITOR AND EDUCATION CENTER
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 6826) to designate the visitor and education center at Fort
McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine as the Paul S. Sarbanes
Visitor and Education Center.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6826
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.
(a) Designation.--The visitor and education center at Fort
McHenry National
[[Page H6271]]
Monument and Historic Shrine, currently located at 2400 E
Fort Ave, Baltimore, MD 21230, is designated as the ``Paul S.
Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other document of the United States to
the visitor center designated by subsection (a) shall be
deemed to be a reference to the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and
Education Center.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs.
Dingell) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H.R. 6826, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Representative Mfume's bill,
H.R. 6826. This legislation will name the visitor and education center
at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore,
Maryland, as the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center.
Fort McHenry is famously the site of an 1814 attack by British troops
against 1,000 American soldiers, which inspired Francis Scott Key to
write ``The Star-Spangled Banner.''
Paul Sarbanes honorably served the State of Maryland for 6 years in
the House of Representatives and three decades in the U.S. Senate.
During his tenure, Senator Sarbanes helped secure funding to construct
the new visitor center at Fort McHenry, which increased its capacity
and improved visitor access.
After a long life of distinguished public service, Senator Sarbanes
sadly passed away in 2020.
I commend Representative Mfume for leading this effort. Naming the
visitor and education center at Fort McHenry after Senator Sarbanes
would honor his long history of service to Maryland and his special
connection with Fort McHenry's site.
Fittingly, this legislation has drawn bipartisan support and is
cosponsored by Maryland's entire congressional delegation.
Mr. Speaker, I support the bill and reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6826, a bill introduced by the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume), my friend and colleague.
This legislation would rename the visitor and education center at
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine as the Paul S.
Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center in honor of the late Senator
Sarbanes.
Throughout his career, Senator Sarbanes showed a deep commitment to
the preservation of Fort McHenry and its history.
This star-shaped military fort in Baltimore Harbor was a vital site
when British forces invaded the Chesapeake Bay region during the War of
1812. In 1814, the British Navy attacked the fort for 25 hours in what
has become known as the Battle of Baltimore.
This battle inspired Francis Scott Key to write what has become the
lyrics to ``The Star-Spangled Banner.'' Senator Sarbanes championed
legislation to add The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail to
the National Trails System, and he worked to secure millions of dollars
for the restoration of the fort.
He served as the vice chair of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial
Commission from 2007 to 2015. During his tenure, Senator Sarbanes was
recognized as an honorary colonel at Fort McHenry and an honorary park
ranger.
Renaming Fort McHenry's visitor and education center after Senator
Sarbanes would commemorate his steadfast commitment to preserving this
historic site.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am
prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume), the sponsor of this bill.
Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I extend my sincere thanks to the gentlewoman
from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr.
Westerman) for their leadership on the floor today and for the long-
standing diligence and civility that they bring to each and every
debate. It is not lost on me at all.
I also thank the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Federal Lands,
Representative Grijalva; Representative Tom Tiffany; and Federal Lands
Subcommittee Ranking Member Joe Neguse. They have my sincerest
appreciation. It has been a bit of a struggle to get to this point, but
we found a way to get here in a bipartisan manner, and I am deeply,
deeply appreciative.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6826, legislation to
designate the visitor and education center at Fort McHenry National
Monument and Historic Shrine as the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and
Education Center.
The Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine is a unit of
the National Park Service, and it resides in the heart of my
congressional district in Baltimore. As many Members may know, Fort
McHenry was, as was mentioned earlier, the site of the historic Battle
of Baltimore, the conflict between British and American forces which
came to a head in the War of 1812.
During the clash, American forces beat back British sea and land
invasions off of the busy port city of Baltimore and permanently
neutralized the commander of the invading British forces.
The resistance of Baltimore's Fort McHenry during bombardment by the
Royal Navy inspired the poem ``Defence of Fort M'Henry,'' which later
became the lyrics to ``The Star-Spangled Banner,'' our national anthem.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people from across America visit
the fort to engage in outdoor recreation and to learn more about one of
the most defining moments of our Nation's history.
The late Senator Paul Sarbanes, who served in this body for 6 years
before eventually being elected to the Senate, was a champion of Fort
McHenry from the beginning, and he firmly believed that the site would
always be critical to understanding and appreciating our national
heritage and our national identity.
Throughout his career, Senator Sarbanes worked tirelessly to
facilitate public enjoyment and a real understanding of the historic
events and the people who are still connected to that site.
Senator Sarbanes was and remained a true American patriot. He secured
millions of dollars in Federal funds to enable critical repairs of the
fort's deteriorating seawall, its masonry, and its foundations, and it
stands as it does today and looks as it does today so much because of
his tireless efforts.
Likewise, he worked to introduce numerous bipartisan bills that
eventually established the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail
as the 26th such trail in America. The trail covers Virginia, the
District of Columbia, and the State of Maryland.
Telling the stories of the events, people, and the places that led to
the birth of the national anthem is one of the things that he took a
great deal of pride in. Of course, he worked to build the visitor
center, which we are discussing today, at that historic fort.
As we know, Congress may authorize placement of a commemorative work,
such as the naming of a center, in cases where there is compelling
justification for the recognition that would permanently express the
noteworthy and national relevance between both the person and the site.
Having served here in this body with some of you--and I know I served
with him many years ago--and having served with John Dingell, the
distinguished ranking member's husband, Paul worked very, very hard not
just to lift up the idea of saving and preserving the fort but why it
was important to do it together as Democrats and Republicans.
I particularly thank his son, John Sarbanes, who has served with us
now
[[Page H6272]]
for almost 18 years, who will be leaving this body in a few weeks, for
the opportunity to be able to champion and to run with this legislation
as an honor to his father and certainly as an honor to him.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that passing H.R. 6826 undoubtedly would be a
fitting tribute to Senator Sarbanes' memory and an appropriate
acknowledgement of his connection to and advocacy for the site, the
State, and the Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this legislation for a selfless
American who gave everything he had and could to the Nation that he so
loved.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes), the son of a
great man who I would call friend.
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding her
time.
I thank Chair Westerman and his staff for working with Congressman
Mfume and the whole Maryland delegation over the last few months. It
has been a pleasure. I appreciate very much the work to get the bill to
the floor.
I thank Congressman Mfume not just for his leadership on the bill,
but for the very, very kind and generous words that he just gave with
reference to my father and his support for this effort from the outset.
I obviously thank the bipartisan Members, the Maryland delegation both
in the House and the Senate, who supported this effort.
If my colleagues were to go to Fort McHenry today, they would see
that there is a glass case there. Inside it is a picture of my father
and the honorary ranger's hat that was given to him years ago by the
National Park Service because they understood what a close association
he had with the fort for so many years and all that he had done over
the period of his time here in Congress.
He understood, in many ways, Fort McHenry is the beating heart of
Baltimore, given its history, given its location, given its status as a
cultural treasure there in the city and in the region, and he did
everything he could to lift it up.
I thought what I could do to add to this discussion today is a quote
from an oral history. My father, about 3 years before he passed away,
agreed to sit for 20 hours of oral history, videotaped, where he went
back over the course of his career.
He was asked: What are some of your greatest achievements or things
that you are proud of? And one of the things that he talked about was
Fort McHenry. These are the words of Paul Sarbanes:
``The fort, which had been turned over eventually to the [National]
Park Service, obviously had tremendous potential as an educational
venue and as a tourist site, and it occupies a very strategic location
in the Baltimore Harbor, but it had serious preservation problems,'' as
Congressman Mfume alluded to.
He goes on to say: ``That fort was there from the early 1800s on.
Well, we were facing a real problem because we were coming up towards
the bicentennial of the War of 1812. It was down the road a ways, but
you have to anticipate these things because it takes time to get there.
We needed desperately a new visitor center.
``We had a tiny visitor center there at Fort McHenry, but it was
completely inadequate to the current flow of people that were coming
through, let alone what we hoped would be a significant uptick in
attendance. So we went to work to try to get a visitor center, and we
were able to do that in fairly short order as it turned out. We really
put a lot of intense effort into that. First we got a study authorized
by the Park Service, requiring the Park Service to authorize the
necessity and desirability of the visitor center. And then their report
came in positive about that, so we put legislation in to actually
authorize the new visitor center, and then we had to get the money.
Anyhow, we got it all into place and we got it in time for the
bicentennial, so we had a new visitor center there at Fort McHenry, and
we get huge numbers of people coming through.''
My colleagues can hear in those words his sense of pride for securing
that funding and resources for the visitor center but really to make
the fort available for people across the country. It was near and dear
to his heart, and nothing could be a finer tribute than to name the
visitor center after my father, Paul Sarbanes.
Again, I thank the delegation for its support of this. I thank
Chairman Westerman, Ranking Member Grijalva, Ranking Member Neguse, and
others on the committee for this bipartisan effort to pay tribute to
Paul Sarbanes.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished dean of the
Maryland delegation.
{time} 1630
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentlewoman from
Michigan, for yielding. I congratulate her on a victory her team had. I
called her, and I hope she got the message.
I also say to my friend, Bruce Westerman, who is as suited to be the
chairman of this committee as anybody by training and by values, I
thank him for his work on this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend John Sarbanes. His father would be
so extraordinarily proud of the service that he has given and at the
service I know he is going to be giving as a former Member of this
body, but never a former friend.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation and in honor
of my dear friend of almost 60 years, Paul Sarbanes.
I had the privilege of serving with Paul for 4 years in the general
assembly. We were both elected in 1966--I might say, along with another
gentleman whose name is Ben Cardin, who served in this body for 20
years and in the other body for three terms. We were all elected in
1966.
In that time, I came to respect his great intellect, wonderful wit,
sense of decency, and profound integrity. He was a man of principle,
guided by the ethics of his immigrant parents, the tenets of his Greek
Orthodox faith, and the values of his Baltimore community. He instilled
those same virtues in his son, John Sarbanes, who I have referenced.
From drafting the first Article of Impeachment against President
Nixon to spearheading the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which protects Americans
from fraud in our financial markets, Paul Sarbanes made history.
Paul Sarbanes was a historical Member of the United States Senate and
of this Congress.
This bill recognizes Paul, who also sought to preserve our history
and, indeed, our Constitution and our democracy. As vice chair of the
Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, he worked to ensure that
Americans remember the lessons from the Nation's second march of
independence.
Naming the Fort McHenry Visitor Center after Paul is a fitting
tribute to a man who not only secured the funding for the facility but
who was a lifelong champion for the Chesapeake Bay and its history.
Fort McHenry is itself an extraordinary historic site. The rockets'
red glare and the bombs bursting in air gave illumination to Fort
McHenry. By adding Paul Sarbanes' name to that visitor center at Fort
McHenry, it will add further luster to the history of Fort McHenry, for
Paul Sarbanes was a man of which this institution and this country
could be extraordinarily proud.
It is, therefore, fitting and appropriate that we would add his name
to a linchpin of our democracy and our victory for democracy.
Mr. Speaker, I rise with Mr. Westerman, with Mrs. Dingell, and with
all of his colleagues who served with him and who at least have heard
of him. I rise to join my colleagues in supporting this legislation so
that we can give the visitor's center a name that ought to commend the
respect of all Marylanders and all Americans, my friend, a great Member
of this Congress, and a great American, Paul Sarbanes.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey).
Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6826, a bill to
designate the visitor and education center at Fort McHenry National
Monument and Historic Shrine as the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and
Education Center.
[[Page H6273]]
This is a well-deserved honor for Senator Sarbanes.
He played a key role in securing the Federal funding for the visitor
center at Fort McHenry. Fort McHenry is an important historic site.
Thanks to Senator Sarbanes, visitors have access to exhibits and
resources to further their education about the fort and its key
importance in the War of 1812.
Beyond his work at Fort McHenry, Senator Sarbanes was a giant, both
in the United States Senate and in the State of Maryland.
About 30 years ago this month, I had the honor of joining the staff
and serving as counsel to Senator Paul Sarbanes during the Whitewater
investigations. I had watched him during the Watergate hearings when I
was a young man. I was one of those strange kids who came home from
school and put on the hearings. We didn't have C-SPAN yet, so this was
my first chance to actually see Congress in action. The two people who
stood out for me were Barbara Jordan and Paul Sarbanes.
He was a great boss and a great mentor for me, and I wouldn't be here
today in the House of Representatives without his influence, his
guidance, and his assistance to me and my career.
It was a tremendous privilege to work for him. It is a tremendous
privilege to be able to speak on his behalf today, and I ask all of my
colleagues to support the passage of this legislation.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support
this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, this is a straightforward bill that would
honor the work and legacy of a devoted public servant. I urge the
adoption of 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 Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6826.
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.
____________________