[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 212 (Tuesday, December 16, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H5937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FREE ENTRANCE TO NATIONAL PARKS

  (Mr. LATIMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LATIMER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the 
Trump administration's decision to eliminate Martin Luther King Jr. Day 
and Juneteenth from its list of free entrance days for our national 
parks.
  This is a continuation of this administration's efforts to undermine 
and erase Black history. Already this year, the administration has 
ordered several National Park Service sites to remove materials related 
to slavery.
  We must make our national parks more accessible, and there is no 
better way to do that than increasing free admission days in 
celebration of national holidays that include and recognize the legacy 
of Dr. King and to commemorate the story of emancipation.
  If eliminating these days was not enough, the President took the 
unprecedented step to add his own birthday to the list of free 
admission days to our national parks.
  His disrespect for some of the most important stories in American 
history has no bounds and speaks volumes to the content of his 
character.
  Our country's national parks are commonly referred to as America's 
best idea, and this is a very bad idea.

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