[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 26690]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. JOHNSON:
  S. 2726. A bill to modify the boundary of the Minuteman Missile 
National Historic Site in the State of South Dakota, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, today I introduced legislation that will 
allow the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site to move forward with 
development of a visitor center. Specifically, my legislation will 
allow 25 acres of national Forest Service land to be transferred to the 
National Park Service where the visitor center and administrative 
facility will be constructed.
  The launch control facility and missile silo that make up the 
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site were preserved to illustrate 
the history of the cold war and the role the Air Force's Minuteman II 
missile defense system played in efforts to preserve world peace. 
Construction of a visitor center will help tell this story and allow 
many more to learn about this historic site. I was pleased to help 
establish Minuteman Missile as part of the national park system in 
1999, and I am now glad to be able to follow through on fully 
developing resources for visitors.

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