Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act

Madam. Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 42: Passage of H. Res. 475. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

January 22, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 43: Table the appeal of the ruling of the Chair for H. Res. 476. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 44: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. No. 52. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 45: Motion to suspend the rules and Agreed to H.R. 390. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 46: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 29. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

February 8, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 87: Agreeing to the Amendment of H.R. 547, and amendment to include language which encourages the Assistant Administrator to utilize Land Grant Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and other minority serving institutions among other resources to undertake research for programs covered by the bill. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district. I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 88: Agreeing to the Amendment of H.R. 547, an amendment to add a new paragraph to section 3, Biofuel Infrastructure and Additives Research and Development, to include issues with respect to where in the fuel supply chain additives optimally should be added to fuels. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 89: Agreeing to the Amendment of H.R. 547, an amendment to add a new paragraph to section 3 which includes issues with respect to certification by a nationally recognized testing laboratory of components for fuel dispensing devices that specifically reference compatibility with alcohol blended and biofuels that contain greater than 15 percent alcohol. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 90: Agreeing to the Amendment of H.R. 547, an amendment to add a new section 7 entitled Additional Funding. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 91:

the Motion to Recommit with Instructions of H.R. 547. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 92: Passage of H.R. 547. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

February 28, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 111: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on H. Con. Res. 52. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

March 12, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 136: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended on H.R. 85. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 137: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on H. Res. 136. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 138: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on H. Res. 89. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 187: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as amended on H.R. 802. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 188: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended on H.R. 137. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 189: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended on H.R. 580. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

May 14, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 342: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass on H.R. 1124. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 343: Motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 223. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 344: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree (H. Res. 385). Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

May 16, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 358: Call in Committee Quorum. Had I been present, I would have voted ``present.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 359: Motion that the Committee Rise (H.R. 1585). Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

June 11, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district. I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 448: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass on H.R. 2356. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 449: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on S. 676. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district. I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 450: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on H. Res. 418. Had I been present I would have voted ``yes.''

July 23, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 687: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 404, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 688: Motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 553. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 689: Motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 519. Had I been present I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 690: On ordering the previous question on H. Res. 558. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

August 1, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 781: Motion to adjourn. Had I been present. I would have voted ``no.''

september 4, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 847: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 694, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 848: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3020, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 849: Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 2669. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

september 17, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 867: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3246, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 868: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 1657, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 869: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3527. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

october 1, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 924: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on H. Res. 185. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 925: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 2276. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 926: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3325. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

october 15, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 961: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on H. Res. 738. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 962: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 2089. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 963: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 20, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

October 17, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 980: Passage of H.R. 2095. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

october 29, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1010: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3224, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1011: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on H. Res. 573, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1012: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on H. Res. 747. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

November 5, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1034: Closing Portions of the Conference on H.R. 3222. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1035: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 513, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1036: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on H. Res. 744. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

november 7, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1058: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree on H. Con. Res. 236, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

november 13, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1082: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3315. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1083: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 1593, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1084: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3403, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1085: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3461, as amended. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

november 14, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1095: Motion to Adjourn. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

december 6, 2007

Madam Speaker, due to events in my district, I was unable to vote on rollcall No. 1141: Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 2085. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 14, 2007, at 10:30 a.m., in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Shareholder Rights and Proxy Access.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 14, 2007, at 2 p.m., in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Sovereign Wealth Fund Acquisitions and Other Foreign Government Investments in the U.S.: Assessing the Economic and National Security Implications.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, at 10 a.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, in order to conduct a hearing.

The hearing will focus on the need to improve the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which is responsible for coordinating and directing Federal climate change research. It will also address the need for improved communication of climate information to decision makers.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, at 10 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, in order to conduct a hearing.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership as it relates to U.S. policy on nuclear fuel management.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet in executive session during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. in room 430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

committee on homeland security and governmental affairs

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, at 10 a.m. in order to conduct a business meeting to consider pending committee business.

Agenda

Legislation

S. 2324, Inspector General Reform Act of 2007; S. 2292, National Bombing Prevention Act of 2007; S. 1667, a bill to establish a pilot program for the expedited disposal of Federal real property; S. 1000, Telework Enhancement Act of 2007; S. 2321, E-Government Reauthorization Act of 2007; H.R. 390, Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act; and H.R. 3571, a bill to amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to permit individuals who have served as employees of the Office of Compliance to serve as Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, or General Counsel of the Office, and to permit individuals appointed to such positions to serve one additional term.

Nominations

Robert D. Jamison, Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Wiley Ross Ashley III, Assistant

Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and the Honorable Ellen C. Williams, Member, Postal Board of Governors.

Postal Naming Bills

S. 2174, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 175 South Monroe Street in Tiffin, Ohio, as the ``Paul E. Gillmor Post Office Building;'' H.R. 2089, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 701 Loyola Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the ``Louisiana Armed Services Veterans Post Office;'' H.R. 3297, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 950 West Trenton Avenue in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, as the ``Nate DeTample Post Office Building;'' H.R. 3308, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 216 East Main Street in Atwood, Indiana, as the ``Lance Corporal David K. Fribley Post Office;'' H.R. 3530, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1400 Highway 41 North in Inverness, Florida, as the ``Chief Warrant Officer Aaron Weaver Post Office Building;'' H.R. 2276, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 203 North Main Street in Vassar, Michigan, as the ``Corporal Christopher E. Esckelson Post Office Building;'' H.R. 3325, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 235 Mountain Road in Suffield, Connecticut, as the ``Corporal Stephen R. Bixler Post Office;'' S. 2110, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 427 North Street in Taft, California, as the ``Larry S. Pierce Post Office;'' H.R. 3382, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 200 North William Street in Goldsboro, North Carolina, as the ``Philip A. Baddour Sr. Post Office;'' S. 2290, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 16731 Santa Ana Avenue in Fontana, California, as the ``Beatrice E. Watson Post Office Building;'' S. 2272, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service known as the Southpark Station in Alexandria, Louisiana, as the ``John `Marty' Thiels Southpark Station;'' H.R. 3446, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 202 East Michigan Avenue in Marshall, Michigan, as the ``Michael W. Schragg Post Office Building;'' S. 2150/H.R. 3572, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4320 Blue Parkway in Kansas City, Missouri, as the ``Wallace S. Hartsfield Post Office Building;'' S. 2107/H.R. 3307, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 570 Broadway in Bayonne, New Jersey, as the ``Dennis P. Collins Post Office Building;'' H.R. 3518, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1430 South Highway 29 in Cantonment, Florida, as the ``Charles H. Hendrix Post Office Building.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, in order to conduct a markup of pending legislation. Immediately following the conclusion of the markup, the Committee will conduct a hearing on the nomination of Michael W. Hager, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Human Resources and Management. The committee will meet in room SD-562 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, at 2:30 p.m., in order to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Medicaid Providers That Cheat on Their Taxes and What Can Be Done About It.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, be authorized to meet in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``No Safe Haven: Accountability for Human Rights Violators in the United States'' on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, at 10 a.m. in room SD-266 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Witness list

Panel I: Sigal P. Mandelker, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, and Marcy M. Forman, Director of Office of Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington,

Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank my dear friend, the distinguished chairman of the committee, for yielding me time and for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, last week our Nation paused to remember and to recognize the extraordinary life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today I rise in strong support of H.R. 390, the Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act, which will help eliminate a little-known and rarely recognized vestige of slavery. This important legislation, which passed the Government Reform Committee last

year by a unanimous vote, will open the way for African Americans to trace their ancestry from the critical period immediately following the end of slavery in this country.

Mr. Speaker, for most Americans, researching their genealogical history involves searching through various historical records, almost all of which have been properly archived as public historical documents. Unfortunately, African Americans face a unique challenge due to our Nation's history of discrimination and slavery. Instead of simply looking up wills, birth and death certificates, or other traditional genealogical research documents, African Americans are forced to identify the names of former slave owners and then hope that these owners kept accurate records of pertinent property tax and probate information.

Compounding the difficulty of this problem, Mr. Speaker, is that many of these records of servitude and emancipation are frequently inaccessible, stored in farmhouses and schools throughout the South. Even when researchers are able to locate the records, they find them poorly catalogued and inadequately preserved from deterioration and decay.

While some States and some localities have undertaken efforts to collect these documents, and they need to be commended for their endeavors, a national effort to preserve these important pieces of public and personal history is necessary to ensure that they are readily and easily accessible to all Americans.

H.R. 390, my legislation, builds on the success of the Freedmen's Bureau Records Preservation Act, which Congress passed and the President signed into law 6 years ago. That law required the archivists of the United States to catalogue the genealogical and historical records into a searchable indexing system and was the first step toward ensuring easy access. Passing H.R. 390 is the next step necessary to complete this preservation project for our entire Nation.

Mr. Speaker, my bill tackles the problems of poorly catalogued and inadequately preserved records in two ways. First, it will make sure that the records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction currently being stored within the various agencies of the Federal Government will be properly preserved and accessible in a single electronic site. Second, the searchable index will allow individuals to access information in seconds rather than months or years to build their own personal histories.

Since many of these records are held in non-Federal public and private collections around the country, my legislation authorizes the National Archives to distribute grants to the States, academic institutions, and genealogical associations to locate, preserve, and establish on-line databases of these important records. These grants will ensure that families doing research in my home State of California or anywhere in the country will be able to find post-Civil War reconstruction items easily accessible in a single electronic site. The searchable index will allow individuals to access information in mere seconds.

The Federal and local records covered by my legislation are not only of personal importance to the families involved, Mr. Speaker, they are historically significant to all of us. They document the reuniting of our Nation and the historic moment of transition for slaves from the status of property to citizens, a time when our country finally began to right a horrible moral wrong. We need to take the process another step now by ensuring that those records and the lessons they hold are preserved for all eternity.

I want to thank Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Tom Davis, both cosponsors of my legislation, for their continued support of this measure. I also want to thank my friend and colleague Elijah Cummings for all his efforts on this important measure. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense recognition that justice at long last must be made.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to reintroduce H.R. 390, the Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act. This important legislation, which passed the Government Reform Committee unanimously last year, will ensure that African-Americans who want to trace their family's history in our country are not prevented from doing so because of inadequate preservation and access to the records.

Madam Speaker, as you are aware, for most Americans, researching their genealogical history involves searching through municipal birth, death, and marriage records--almost all of which have been properly archived as public historical documents. However, African-Americans in the United States face a unique challenge when conducting genealogical research due to our Nation's history of slavery and discrimination. Instead of looking up wills, land deeds, birth and death certificates, or other traditional genealogical research documents, African-Americans must often try to identify the name of former slave owners, hoping that the owners kept records of pertinent information, such as births and deaths.

To compound this difficulty, African-American genealogists find that most current records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction are frequently inaccessible, poorly catalogued, and inadequately preserved from decay. While some states and localities have undertaken efforts to collect these documents with varying degrees of success, there has not been any national effort to preserve these pieces of public and personal history to make them readily and easily accessible to all Americans.

Madam Speaker, in 2000, both the House and Senate unanimously passed the Freedmen's Bureau Records Preservation Act, which became Public Law 106-444, and required the Archivist of the United States to create a searchable indexing system to catalogue the genealogical records from the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. This law was the first step towards ensuring that many of these valuable and important records are appropriately accessible to genealogists and historians, and based on its success we now recognize the need to expand the scope of the original law or risk losing other critically important historic documents.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 390, the Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act, tackles the problems of poorly catalogued and inadequately preserved records in two ways. First, it will make sure that records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction currently being stored within the various agencies of the federal government will be properly preserved. This will protect a vast amount of genealogical information, including records from the Southern Claims Commission Records, the Records of the Freedmen's Bank, the Slave Impressments Records, and even Slave Payroll Records and Slave Manifests. By providing the Archivist of the United States with the resources necessary to preserve, maintain and electronically catalogue these important records we can eliminate many of the barriers that African-Americans encounter when trying to engage in a proper genealogy search. However, since many of these records are disbursed around the country in non-federal depositories, this legislation would also authorize the National Archives to distribute grants to the States, academic institutions, and genealogical associations in order to preserve and establish online databases of these important local records of servitude, emancipation, and post- Civil War reconstruction. These grants will ensure that families doing research in my home State of California or anywhere in the country will access to these treasure troves of genealogical information without having to leave the comforts of their computer chair.

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to be joined by colleagues from both sides of the aisle who are original cosponsors of my legislation and particularly appreciate the support of my good friends and colleagues, Tom Davis, and Elijah Cummings, whose assistance in drafting this bill has been monumental. I would urge the rest of our colleagues to support this legislation and hope that we will be voting on this bill soon.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 390) to require the establishment of a national database in the National Archives to preserve records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction and to provide grants to State and local entities to establish similar local databases.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill, H.R. 390.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 390, which authorizes the National Archives to preserve historical documents relating to servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction. Introduced by my friend, Representative Lantos of California, the bill calls on the Archives to place these documents in a searchable electronic database for use in historical and genealogical research.

As a cosponsor of H.R. 390 and chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives, I am pleased to see the measure presented for consideration by the House today. Under this legislation, grants will be made available to States, colleges and universities, and genealogical associations to preserve similar records in their possession and make them available electronically. The bill will for the first time make a wide range of historical documents relating to servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction easily accessible and searchable. This will vastly improve the ability of African Americans to research their lineage. It will also facilitate the efforts of historians performing research into this period of American history.

An identical version of this bill was approved unanimously by the Committee on Government Reform last year. And as someone with a deep appreciation of African American and American history, I am honored to support its passage today.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of this legislation, Representative Lantos.

Mr. Speaker, in closing I want to thank my good friend from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) for his leadership on this issue. We appreciate it. I want to commend my good friend from California (Mr. Lantos) for sponsoring this bill that will catalog and preserve these records from a time long ago.

Being a history enthusiast, I believe the adage that a people who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it, and I urge the House to pass the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.