[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15558]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIONAL HERITAGE AREAS ACT OF 2005

  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak out of 
turn.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Illinois is recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to come to the floor tonight to 
express my strong support for S. 203, the National Heritage Areas Act 
of 2005. This legislation was debated earlier in this day, and amongst 
its many provisions the bill contains my legislation, H.R. 1820, the 
Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor Act Amendments 
of 2005.
  S. 203 reauthorizes the Illinois and Michigan Canal Heritage Corridor 
to receive appropriations and transfers management entity status from 
the Federal I&M Commission to the not-for-profit Canal Corridor 
Association. I would like to commend Chairman Pombo and the House 
Committee on Resources for their hard work on this important piece of 
legislation which has previously passed the House twice before.
  The I&M Canal, the Illinois and Michigan Canal, changed the Nation in 
1848 when it opened its first shipping route between New York and New 
Orleans, designating Chicago as the Nation's greatest inland port at 
that time. While the canal eventually fell into disuse due to new 
transportation methods and routes, in 1982, business and industry 
leaders founded the Canal Corridor Association to help revitalize the 
I&M Canal region, and in doing so created a national model for regional 
partnership, conservation, and renewal.
  I am proud to say that the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor was 
America's first charter national heritage area, being created by an act 
of Congress in 1984, thanks to the efforts of former Congressman Tom 
Corcoran and former Senator Chuck Percy. For 20 years now, the Federal 
I&M Commission has worked to carry out the mission of the I&M Canal 
National Heritage Corridor. Its efforts have been particularly 
successful during the past 5 years that Phyllis Ellin has provided 
strong leadership as the executive director of the commission.
  Since 1984, the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor has increasingly 
become an engine of economic growth in communities up and down the 
length of the corridor, primarily through an increase in tourism, but 
also in the use of the corridor for recreational purposes.
  I decided to move forward with this legislation after consulting with 
local officials and those most interested and involved in preserving 
the heritage of the I&M Canal. This private sector approach contained 
within my legislation offers more advantages to handle the increased 
workload brought on by the recent success of the canal and interest in 
heritage tourism.
  As a result, S. 203 designates the Canal Corridor Association as the 
new management entity of the I&M Canal Heritage Corridor. The CCA seeks 
to enhance economic vitality by raising awareness of and expanding the 
parks, trails, landscapes and historic sites that make the I&M Canal 
region a special place. They have also successfully implemented 
educational programs and improved the cultural, environmental, 
historic, and tourism resources that the Canal Corridor offers.
  Under the leadership of the Canal Corridor Association, the I&M Canal 
Reauthorization will continue to successfully educate citizens of the 
nationally historical importance of the I&M Canal and to play a pivotal 
role in the continued economic development of our home region. Through 
the Canal Corridor Association's governance, we will now be able to 
better enlist private support for the Canal Corridor and promote 
tourism in our home region.
  Once again, I would like to thank Chairman Pombo and the entire 
Resources Committee for making sure this important legislation passes 
before we break for the August district work period. I particularly 
want to thank Speaker Hastert for his assistance and leadership in this 
issue as well as Chairman Craig Thomas in the Senate for moving forward 
with this critical legislation

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