[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20761-20762]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  EXPENDITURES FOR VISITORS CENTER AT LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL 
                         NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Energy and Natural 
Resources Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 
420 and that the Senate then proceed to its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 420) recommending expenditures for an 
     appropriate visitors center at Little Rock Central High 
     School National Historic Site to commemorate the 
     desegregation of Little Rock Central High School.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the

[[Page 20762]]

table, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the 
Record, without further intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 420) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 420

       Whereas the United States recognizes that in September 
     1957, 9 young students changed the course of American history 
     by claiming the right to receive an equal education;
       Whereas Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, 
     Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls, Minnijean Brown, Gloria 
     Ray, Thelma Mothershed, and Melba Pattillo, known as the 
     ``Little Rock Nine'', and their parents had the courage 
     necessary to break the bonds of prejudice and desegregation 
     and venture onto the world stage, with full knowledge of the 
     perils and complexities inherent in their endeavor;
       Whereas despite their effort to enroll at Little Rock 
     Central High School and receive an education, the Little Rock 
     Nine were met with severe adversity;
       Whereas Little Rock Central High School became not only a 
     crucial battleground in the struggle for civil rights, but 
     symbolic of the United States Government's commitment to 
     eliminating separate systems of education for African-
     Americans and Caucasians;
       Whereas the enrollment of the Little Rock Nine was 
     recognized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as such a 
     significant event in the struggle for civil rights that he 
     attended the graduation of the first African-American from 
     Little Rock Central High School;
       Whereas the sacrificial accomplishments that were made in 
     September 1957 have continuing benefits for the United States 
     today;
       Whereas the United States will always revere the 
     accomplishments that 9 young high school students made by 
     showing the Nation and the world that ``all men are created 
     equal'' and the rule of law is paramount in the democracy of 
     the United States;
       Whereas the Little Rock Nine were forced to obtain the 
     blessings of liberty that are inherent in the United States 
     Constitution through the intervention of the judicial branch 
     and executive branch of the United States Government;
       Whereas existing visitor facilities at Little Rock Central 
     High School are inadequate, resulting in limited 
     opportunities for citizens to learn about civil rights and 
     our Nation's heritage; and
       Whereas the legislative branch of the United States 
     Government has the opportunity to appropriately commemorate 
     the legacy that these heroic individuals left by fully 
     funding the design and construction of an informative 
     memorial: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the courage displayed by the Little Rock Nine should be 
     commemorated as an example of American sacrifice through 
     extreme adversity;
       (2) Congress should fully fund the design and construction 
     of a visitor center at Little Rock Central High School 
     National Historic Site; and
       (3) the new facilities should open by September 2007 in 
     order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic 
     events that occurred at Little Rock Central High School.

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