[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15553]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 ARABIA MOUNTAIN NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA

  (Ms. McKINNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
thank the Members of the House and the Senate for passing legislation 
that included language authorizing the Arabia Mountain National 
Heritage Area in my district.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a boon to the environmental community that seeks 
to preserve pristine areas everywhere. But for such an area to be in 
the middle of a bustling African American community is especially rare.
  We need green space in south DeKalb, and this will go a very long way 
toward realizing a community dream. Initially, our thought was to have 
the funding go to the country or the State, and that was reflected in 
one version of the bill.
  However, the House Resources Committee adopted a private-public 
partnership approach. Good stewardship of taxpayer dollars is extremely 
important, and I want to work closely with the private entity to make 
sure that the community and its concerns always come first.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to walking the nature trials in both 
DeKalb and Rockdale Counties that will be made possible by the 
Congressional action today.
  I would also like to thank the Georgia Department of Natural 
Resources that also lent its support to this very important bill.

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