[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 21364-21366]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




UNDERGROUND RAILROAD EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION ACT 
                                OF 2007

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2707) to reauthorize the Underground Railroad Educational 
and Cultural Program, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2707

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

     SECTION 1. UNDERGROUND RAILROAD EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) Program Established.--The Secretary of Education, in 
     consultation and cooperation with the Secretary of the 
     Interior, is authorized to make grants to one or more 
     nonprofit educational organizations that are established to 
     research, display, interpret, and collect artifacts relating 
     to the history of the Underground Railroad.
       (b) Grant Agreement.--Each nonprofit educational 
     organization awarded a grant under this section shall enter 
     into an agreement with the Secretary of Education. Each such 
     agreement shall require the organization--
       (1) to establish a facility to house, display, and 
     interpret the artifacts related to the history of the 
     Underground Railroad, and to make the interpretive efforts 
     available to institutions of higher education that award a 
     baccalaureate or graduate degree;
       (2) to demonstrate substantial private support for the 
     facility through the implementation of a public-private 
     partnership between a State or local public entity and a 
     private entity for the support of the facility, which private 
     entity shall provide matching funds for the support of the 
     facility in an amount equal to 4 times the amount of the 
     contribution of the State or local public entity, except that 
     not more than 20 percent of the matching funds may be 
     provided by the Federal Government;
       (3) to create an endowment to fund any and all shortfalls 
     in the costs of the on-going operations of the facility;
       (4) to establish a network of satellite centers throughout 
     the United States to help disseminate information regarding 
     the Underground Railroad throughout the United States, if 
     such satellite centers raise 80 percent of the funds required 
     to establish the satellite centers from non-Federal public 
     and private sources;
       (5) to establish the capability to electronically link the 
     facility with other local and regional facilities that have 
     collections and programs which interpret the history of the 
     Underground Railroad; and
       (6) to submit, for each fiscal year for which the 
     organization receives funding under this section, a report to 
     the Secretary of Education that contains--
       (A) a description of the programs and activities supported 
     by the funding;
       (B) the audited financial statement of the organization for 
     the preceding fiscal year;
       (C) a plan for the programs and activities to be supported 
     by the funding as the Secretary may require; and

[[Page 21365]]

       (D) an evaluation of the programs and activities supported 
     by the funding as the Secretary may require.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $3,000,000 for 
     each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) and the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.


                             General Leave

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this important legislation 
that will reauthorize a competitive grant program administered by the 
Department of Education to research, display, interpret and collect 
artifacts relating to the history of the Underground Railroad.
  During one of the darkest eras of American history, a group of 
courageous Americans, both black and white as well as free and 
enslaved, bound together to form what would be known as the Underground 
Railroad. For example, the Father of our Nation, George Washington, 
complained in 1786 about how 1 of his runaway slaves was helped by a 
society of Quakers formed for such purposes.
  The Underground Railroad was a decentralized network of people who 
helped fugitive slaves escape to the North. The railroad consisted of 
many individuals who knew only of the local efforts to aid fugitives, 
and none of the overall operation. Amazingly, the railroad effectively 
moved hundreds of slaves northward each year. According to one 
estimate, the South lost 100,000 slaves between 1810 and 1850.
  This racially integrated movement to bring about social change has 
familiar heroes, such as Harriet Tubman, John Rankin and Susan B. 
Anthony; but there are thousands more who risked their lives to help 
others escape the clutches of slavery as they fled to the North.
  For the slave, escaping to the North was anything but easy. The first 
step was to escape from the slaveholder. For many slaves, this meant 
taking great risks while relying on his or her own resources. The 
fugitives would move at night and travel between 10 and 20 miles to the 
next station, where they would rest and eat, hiding in barns and other 
out-of-the-way places. The journey was difficult, but the determination 
to gain freedom was immense.
  The Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program Act of 2007 
would provide competitive grants to nonprofit organizations around the 
United States to shed light on one of the most important and courageous 
social movements in our history, while preserving and interpreting 
artifacts found from this critical era.
  Moreover, this important legislation would ensure a strong public/
private partnership exists to supplement and leverage Federal resources 
along with funds collected at the State and local levels. Since 1999, 
over $15 million has been appropriated to seven different institutions. 
For example, in my home State of Ohio, the National Underground 
Railroad Freedom Center has delivered highly interactive learning 
experiences for over 130,000 school children from around the country. 
This is an important effort to educate citizens across the country and 
around the world about the Underground Railroad movement in America.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2707.
  I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Kucinich, for introducing 
this bill to ensure that those organizations that work so hard to share 
the history of the Underground Railroad are able to continue their good 
works.
  The Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program was created 
in the 1998 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to provide 
grants to nonprofit organizations that provide education about and 
research into the Underground Railroad. In addition, grants could be 
used for organizations to collect, display or interpret artifacts 
relating to the history of the Underground Railroad. For example, the 
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, located in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, houses eight permanent exhibits and hosts any number of temporary 
exhibits, including displays, musical programs, and group discussion.
  Other grantees under this program host tours that try and recreate 
the journey taken by anyone brave enough to utilize the Underground 
Railroad and exhibits the detail of the development of the Underground 
Railroad.
  I supported the reauthorization of this program when Republicans 
brought a complete reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to the 
House floor last Congress. I had hoped to support this program again in 
the context of a complete reauthorization of the Higher Education Act 
again this year. Even though this program is receiving the attention of 
the Congress now, I hope we can complete the HEA reauthorization bill 
when we return from the August recess.
  I believe strongly in promoting programs and partnerships to 
commemorate this time in history and educating the public about the 
historical significance of the Underground Railroad. The Underground 
Railroad was very active in the State of Delaware, I might also add. We 
have many of our own tributes to that in my small State.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R 
2707, the Underground Railroad Education and Culture Act of 2007. I 
thank my colleague from Ohio, Mr. Kucinich as well as Education and 
Labor Chairman George Miller for bringing this important bill to the 
floor today.
  Mr. Speaker, this important bill will provide federal support to 
programs around the country that educate Americans about the courageous 
actions undertaken by ordinary people during one of the darkest eras in 
our history. During times of slavery, these courageous Americans, both 
Black and White as well as free and under slavery, bound together to 
form what would be known as the Underground Railroad. This racially 
integrated movement to bring about social change has familiar heroes 
such as Harriet Tubman, John Rankin and Susan B. Anthony, but there are 
thousands more who risked their lives to help others escape the 
clutches of slavery as they fled to the North.
  The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, located in my 
Congressional District in Cincinnati, Ohio has successfully competed 
for grants under this program to connect the lessons of the past to the 
struggles for freedom in the current day through an informative 
educational curricula.
  Should the Congress authorize and appropriate funds for this 
important grant program, educational centers such as the Freedom Center 
in my District as well as other sites around the country would be 
eligible to apply for competitive grants to shed light on one of the 
most important and courageous social movements in our history while 
preserving and interpreting artifacts found from this critical era.
  Moreover, this important legislation would ensure a strong public-
private partnership exists to supplement and leverage federal resources 
along with funds collected at the state and local level.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to again thank my colleague from Ohio, Mr. 
Kucinich for his leadership in bringing this important bill to the 
floor. I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 2707.
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 2707, Mr. 
Kucinich's resolution to reauthorize the Underground Railroad 
Educational and Cultural Program. I praise the initiative contained in 
this resolution to point out the historical, cultural, and educational 
legacy behind the Underground Railroad. It is through that network of 
tunnels and secret hiding places that many African Americans escaped 
slavery. As a symbol of freedom, the Underground Railroad deserves 
greater recognition and appreciation, regrettably of its artifacts and 
secrets remain hidden and lost.
  I have long believed in and fought for more and better education of 
African American history. Well, an important part of that history is

[[Page 21366]]

contained in the struggle for freedom that characterized the slave 
experience. Some would have us believe that slaves passively accepted 
their captivity in the plantations in the South. The truth is there was 
an active resistance to slavery; which included periodic uprisings and 
constant efforts to escape. The full role and extent of the Underground 
Railroad has yet to be discovered and remains unknown. The legislation 
authorizes the Secretary of Education to sponsor studies and make 
grants for programs that promote knowledge of the Underground Railroad.
  With the resources and technology available today, we owe it to the 
history of African Americans and the history of the United States to 
study, preserve, and make available to all the hidden secrets of the 
Underground Railroad. Secret routes and safe houses still remain 
unknown. Secrets that may remain buried in our backyards.
  The establishment of this facility would allow significant missing 
pieces in African American history to be properly studied and 
commemorated.
  Through the passage of this legislation, the work of the National 
Park Service and its study of the phenomenon known as the Underground 
Railroad will be continued. Established by Congress in 1990, the 
National Park Service has made major progress in learning more about 
the secret routes and the processes used in escorting these fugitive 
slaves to freedom. The story is far from well enough known, and the 
study far from complete. Let us as members of the 110th Congress 
exhibit the same respect and appreciation of the Underground Railroad 
as was shown in 1990.
  Please join me in support of H.R. 2707, as we move further in 
understanding the whole story and celebrating the legacy of the 
Underground Railroad.
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of 
H.R. 2707 which acknowledges the necessity to continue funding the 
Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program. Reflecting upon 
the nearly four hundred years of slavery, another century and a half of 
severe violations of American civil rights and continued hardship 
experienced by minorities everywhere, I feel that this measure warrants 
our support. The time has come for tolerance and understanding to 
triumph over racism and bigotry.
  Our society is one that was formed by those who sought and dared to 
believe in freedom. Though these individuals committed transgressions 
of their own, they set the cornerstone for a union of states based on 
eminent documents and progressive ideals. Just to whom the notions of 
liberty, prosperity and happiness applied, would have to be settled in 
an undiplomatic nature, yet thankfully and virtuously the rights of all 
men prevailed. Before the Compromise of 1820 was agreed upon, a network 
now known as the Underground Railroad began to take form between those 
that wanted to gain and to give the ability to live freely.
  Now legally armed with the rights and privileges endowed to all men 
and women, we find our society struggling to remain committed to not 
only remembering the plight of those who struggled to gain their 
freedom but what freedom explicitly implies. The struggle of protecting 
one's civil rights and the capability to act in one's best interests 
now faces our nation. We have developed as a people but must not stop 
or even slow our progression forward. The themes of our Founding 
Fathers must ring in our ears and our souls as loudly today as they did 
through the fights for our national and personal independence.
  This legislation provides continued support for organizations such as 
the National Underground Freedom Center and the magnificent 
professionals who are dedicated to improving our community through 
education. I would like to thank my colleagues for their time and 
continued support for this institution of which I am proud to have been 
an original co-sponsor of its founding legislation back in 1999. This 
leg insures that The Underground Freedom Center and other institutions 
of the like will continue to educate and inspire generations to come.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 2707, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________