To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to limit the deduction of Medicare part B premiums from Social Security benefits payments only for months in which Medicare coverage is provided.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the McLoughlin House National Historic Site in Oregon honors the achievements of John McLoughlin, commonly referred to as the ``Father of Oregon.'' The site has been preserved and managed by the McLoughlin Memorial Association since its designation as a national historic site in 1941. Unfortunately, the association is no longer in a position to be the primary management entity for this nationally significant site and is therefore seeking Federal acquisition of the site. Once acquired, the site will be managed as part of the nearby Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.

The gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hooley) has worked tirelessly on behalf of this legislation and is to be commended for her diligence, including her efforts to have the House concur in the amendments made to this legislation in the Senate. We urge the House to approve these amendments so this legislation may finally be sent to the President for his signature.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The McLoughlin House national historic site in Oregon City, Oregon, was once home to Dr. John McLoughlin. Dr. McLoughlin was the chief factor of the British Hudson Bay Company based in Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River. He crossed the Rockies in 1824 and established Fort Vancouver in 1825. Dr. McLoughlin supplied American pioneers with goods they needed to settle and survive at their new home in Oregon. He was a fur trader, developer, doctor and mayor; and Dr. McLoughlin became known as the Father of Oregon, and the McLoughlin House was restored to honor his life and accomplishments.

The McLoughlin Memorial Association was formed in 1909. In 1910, the association opened the house as a museum. Since that time, the house has been visited by thousands of individuals each year. In 1941, Congress designated the McLoughlin House a national historic site, and it continued to operate under the direction of the association. When Fort Vancouver National Historic Site was established in 1948, the National Park Service entered into a formal agreement with the association to work cooperatively together.

In 2000, the association approached the National Park Service concerning the possibility of the agency assuming administration of the site. The association lacks appropriate funds to maintain the historic house and has asked the National Park Service to acquire the site and assume responsibility to

ensure the future care of the historic site, with the association remaining active in an advisory capacity.

H.R. 3434 was introduced on December 6, 2001, by the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hooley). The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources and within the committee to the subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. On July 16, 2002, the subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On July 18, 2002, the subcommittee met to mark up the bill. The gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to authorize the acquisition of the property but to include it within the boundaries of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, rather than create a new unit of the National Park System.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as may be consumed to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hooley).

(Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 733) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the McLoughlin House National Historic Site in Oregon City, Oregon, and to administer the site as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 733, sponsored by the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hooley), and amended by the Senate, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the McLoughlin House National Historic Site in Oregon City, Oregon, currently an area affiliated with the National Park Service and included within the boundaries of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. The current operators of the house, the McLoughlin Memorial Association, lack the appropriate funds to maintain the historic structure and ask the Park Service to acquire it for purposes of preserving it.

If the Speaker recalls, this House considered H.R. 733 earlier this year, in which it authorized the Secretary to acquire the McLoughlin House and administer the site as a unit of the National Park system. The changes made by the Senate, such as the title change, have brought support. The McLoughlin House is named after Dr. John McLoughlin, the Father of Oregon, who established the famous British Hudson Bay Company in Vancouver, Washington, in 1825. Dr. McLoughlin supplied American pioneers with the goods they needed to settle and survive at their new home in Oregon. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 733.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

(Mr. UDALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I do recall those meetings in which those subjects were discussed and compliment both sides of the aisle for cooperating, and we do appreciate the hard work on this; and I would like to congratulate my colleague for his hard work and for the amount of time he consumed here.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to rise today and make what I hope will be my last statement on the House floor on H.R. 733, the McLoughlin House National Historic Site Act. I have been working on this bill for 3 years; and I want to thank my colleagues, particularly the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), the chairman; the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the ranking member of the House Committee on Resources; and the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich), the chairman; and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), the ranking member of that committee's Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. Without their willingness to work with me on this bill, we would not be passing it today.

In Oregon, this legislation would not have happened without the tireless work of John Williams, former mayor of Oregon City, who came to me with this idea many years ago, and John Salisbury, who has shown his passion for this project by serving as the chairman of the board of the McLoughlin House, and the current mayor of Oregon City, Mayor Alice Norris.

My legislation would do what should have been done 60 years ago, include Dr. John McLoughlin's house in Oregon City as part of the National Park System. Rather than creating a new unit of the National Park System, this legislation simply adds this historic treasure to the existing Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, which is already administered as part of the National Park System. I believe this addition will preserve in perpetuity the cultural, educational and historical benefits of this historic site for future generations.

I am very happy that we are taking action in this House today and look forward to the day when the President signs this bill and the house of Oregon's Founding Father is preserved for our children and beyond.