[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22950-22951]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        AUTHORIZING FUNDS FOR ILLINOIS/MICHIGAN CANAL COMMISSION

  Mr. CALVERT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3926) to amend the Illinois and Michigan Canal National 
Heritage Corridor Act of 1984 to increase the amount authorized to be 
appropriated to the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage 
Corridor Commission.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3926

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. INCREASE IN AMOUNT AUTHORIZED TO BE APPROPRIATED 
                   TO THE ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL NATIONAL 
                   HERITAGE CORRIDOR COMMISSION.

       Section 116(a)(1)(A) of the Illinois and Michigan Canal 
     National Heritage Corridor Act of 1984 (98 Stat. 1467) is 
     amended by striking ``$250,000'' and inserting 
     ``$1,000,000''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Calvert) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).
  Mr. CALVERT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 3926, introduced by the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Weller), amends the Illinois and Michigan National Heritage 
Corridor Act of 1984 to increase the amount authorized to be 
appropriated to the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage 
Corridor Commission from $250,000 to $1 million.
  The Illinois and Michigan Canal Heritage Corridor was established in 
1984 to protect the resources associated with the canal. The canal was 
built in the mid-1800s and rapidly transformed Chicago into a critical 
Mid-Western transportation and business center. The Heritage Corridor 
currently contains many significant historical and cultural resources 
along with a much-used recreational trail.
  The commission has been instrumental in making the Heritage Corridor 
a success. This bill would authorize appropriations to match the levels 
currently enjoyed by other Heritage Corridors and areas. This is a 
small but important bill.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3926.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 3926 would increase the amount authorized to be 
appropriated annually to the Illinois and Michigan Canal National 
Heritage Corridor Commission from $250,000 to $1 million.
  H.R. 3926 is being brought to the floor under unusual circumstances 
by way of a discharge from the Committee on Resources. We have had no 
hearings or markup of the legislation in the committee despite the fact 
that this bill has been pending before the committee since March. We 
have not heard testimony from the commission, nor do we know the views 
of the administration on this legislation.
  While H.R. 3926 may well be a noncontroversial measure, we know very

[[Page 22951]]

little about it. Members may have questions on the legislation, but the 
procedure being used today leaves very little opportunity to review the 
matter.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert).
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3926 and 
as a proud cosponsor of this legislation to increase the authorization 
of the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor 
Commission.
  I want to commend my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Weller), for introducing this legislation, which affects my district as 
well as many others.
  Congress first recognized the national significance of the I&M Canal 
in 1984 when it passed legislation that created the country's first 
National Heritage Corridor. Since that time, the I&M Canal National 
Heritage Corridor Commission has worked energetically with local 
individuals, organizations and communities to preserve, enhance, and 
celebrate this monument to American engineering and ingenuity.
  When the Canal first opened in 1848, it created a vital commercial 
link between the Great Lakes and the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. 
Soon after its opening, the Chicago River became lined with grain 
elevators, warehouses and industry. A trip that took 3 weeks before the 
canal was built took only 1 day on a boat towed by mules after the 
canal opened.
  The I&M Canal made Chicago the Nation's largest inland port and 
fueled an unprecedented wave of settlement and growth in all of 
northeastern Illinois. Even more importantly, the canal was the final 
link in a new national trade route between the Eastern Seaboard and the 
Gulf of Mexico.
  But the canal is more than a physical link between communities. It is 
now a link to our area's historically and culturally rich past. 
Individuals and communities along the canal recognize the historical 
importance of the canal and celebrate its contribution to local 
identity and progress with festivals, fairs, and other community 
events.
  Last year, in fact, I submitted one of these festivals for the 
Library of Congress' ``Local Legacies'' project, which celebrated the 
Library's bicentennial by documenting America's grass-roots heritage.
  Started in 1972, Old Canal Days is a community-wide festival that 
celebrates the heritage of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the city 
of Lockport. It is a living history festival that includes reenactment 
of 19th century life along the canal.
  As a result of festivals like Old Canal Days and the work of the 
Canal Commission, this corridor has become a living history museum of 
American enterprise, technological invention, ethnic diversity, and 
cultural creativity linked by parks and trails. Local teachers use the 
canal as a unique teaching tool for lessons on history, geography, and 
science.
  The additional funding provided by this bill will allow the Canal 
Commission, the Canal Corridor Association, and Canal communities like 
Lemont and Lockport in my district to build on this success.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill. We must preserve the 
canal. These additional funds are essential to shore up aging 
infrastructure, enhance historic programs, and increase the canal's 
recreational value.
  I urge support of this legislation.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Watkins). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3926.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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