Recognizing the importance of Hot Springs National Park on its 175th anniversary.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 138) recognizing the importance of Hot Springs National Park on its 175th anniversary.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

House Resolution 138, introduced by my colleague, the gentleman from Arkansas, Representative Mike Ross, would express a recognition by the House of Representatives of the importance of the Hot Springs National Park on its 175th anniversary.

Most people know that Yellowstone is our first national park, but more than 40 years before Yellowstone was established as a park, Congress set aside 2,529 acres in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas to preserve 47 hot springs located there.

The law was enacted at the request of the General Assembly of the Territory of Arkansas and signed by President Andrew Jackson on April 20, 1832. That made the Hot Springs Reservation the first nationally protected parkland.

The reservation was turned over to the Department of the Interior when

that Department was established in 1849. However, it took another quarter of a century, a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, and the protection of Federal troops to settle the bogus land claims and chase off overeager entrepreneurs seeking to make profit from the springs. Notably, the 1916 Organic Act which established the National Park Service mentioned only the Hot Springs Reservation by name, even though by that time several other national parks and monuments had been designated by Congress. The Organic Act placed all these units under the supervision, management, and control of the new agency.

On March 4, 1921, Congress elevated Hot Springs to a national park status, apparently with the personal interest of the first director of the National Park Service, Stephen Mather.

Bathhouse Row, the Hot Springs street lined with opulent bathhouses and hotels, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1974. The most elegant of these bathhouses, the Fordyce, has since been adapted to use as a visitor center and museum.

The park currently totals 5,550 acres and attracts over 1 million visitors a year. The park plans a 175th anniversary celebration on Friday, April 20; and this resolution will be a fitting commemoration of the role Hot Springs played in National Park history.

Madam Speaker, I want to commend and congratulate my colleague, Representative Ross, for his commitment and leadership on this matter. We strongly support the passage of House Resolution 138 and urge its adoption by the House.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield as much time as he may consume to my colleague from Arkansas (Mr. Ross).

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

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

Thank you, Chairman Grijalva.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 138, a resolution honoring and recognizing the importance of Hot Springs National Park on its 175th anniversary. I am pleased that the entire Arkansas congressional delegation is supporting and cosponsoring this bipartisan bill.

April 20, 2007, will mark the 175th anniversary of Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. This resolution will write into history the important role that Hot Springs National Park has played in the formation of the Department of the Interior and the National Park System.

The very idea of setting aside special places in the United States for the future enjoyment of its citizens originated in Hot Springs, Arkansas, when on April 20, 1832, President Andrew Jackson and the United States Congress established Hot Springs Reservation to protect the 47 hot springs in Garland County, Arkansas. That year, Hot Springs Reservation became the first protected area in the Nation and was the only Federal area mentioned by name in the act that established the National Park System.

The Hot Springs Reservation was then officially renamed Hot Springs National Park on March 4, 1921, becoming America's 18th national park, joining many other national landmarks.

For more than 200 years, Hot Springs National Park has remained an area of exceptional beauty and magnificence. People have used the hot spring water and therapeutic baths to treat a variety of ailments, and the reservation eventually developed into a well-known resort nicknamed ``the American Spa.'' Well, today Hot Springs National Park protects eight historic bathhouses, and the Bathhouse Row area in Hot Springs National Park is a national historic landmark district that contains the largest collection of bathhouses of its kind in North America. It provides visitors from around the country and the world with leisure activities such as hiking, picnicking, and scenic drives and remains a national treasure to be enjoyed by generations of Americans.

Hot Springs National Park has played a crucial role in the formation of the United States National Park System. I am proud to sponsor a resolution commemorating its 175th anniversary, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of House Resolution 138 today.

Madam Speaker, I was granted a leave of absence. Had I been present, I would have voted in the following manner:

Rollcall No. 157 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 138)--``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 158 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H. R. 658)--``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 159 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 839)--``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 160 (On Agreeing to the Resolution on H. Res. 254)-- ``Nay'';

Rollcall No. 161 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Con. Res. 42, as amended)--``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 162 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 759)--``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 163 (On Approving the Journal)--``No'';

Rollcall No. 164 (On Agreeing to the Amendment to H.R. 1227 by Mr. Hensarling of Texas) ``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 165 (On Agreeing to the Amendment to H.R. 1227 by Ms. Biggert of Illinois) ``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 166 (On Agreeing to the Amendment to H.R. 1227 by Mr. Al Green of Texas) ``Nay'';

Rollcall No. 167 (On the Motion to Permit to Proceed in Order on This Day)--``Nay''; .

Rollcall No. 168 (On Agreeing to the Amendment to H.R. 1227 by Mr. Neugebauer of Texas) ``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 169 (On Agreeing to the Amendment to H.R. 1227 by Mr. Price of Georgia) ``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 170 (On Agreeing to the Amendment to H.R. 1227 by Mr. Al Green of Texas) ``Nay'';

Rollcall No. 171 (On the Motion to Recommit H.R. 1227 with Instructions)--``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 172 (On Passage of H.R. 1227)--``Nay'';

Rollcall No. 173 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 835, as amended)--``Nay'';

Rollcall No. 174 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 327, as amended)--``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 175 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 797)--``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 176 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R.1284)--``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 177 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 1130)--``Aye'';

Rollcall No. 178 (On the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 740)--``Aye''.

Madam Speaker, unfortunately yesterday, March 19, 2007, I

was unable to cast my votes on H. Res. 138, H.R. 658, and H.R. 839.

Had I been present for rollcall No. 157 on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 138, Recognizing the importance of Hot Springs National Park on its 175th anniversary, I would have voted yea.

Had I been present for rollcall No. 158 on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 658, the Natural Resource Protection Cooperative Agreement Act, I would have voted yea.

Had I been present for rollcall No. 159 on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 839, the Arthur V. Watkins Dam Enlargement Act, I would have voted yea.

Madam Speaker, I was unable to cast votes on the following legislative measures on March 19. If I had been present for rollcall votes on the following bills; I would have voted ``yea'' on each.

Rollcall No. 157: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to the Resolution H. Res.138--Recognizing the importance of Hot Springs National Park on its 175th anniversary.

Rollcall No. 158: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 658-- Natural Resource Protection Cooperative Agreement Act.

Rollcall No. 159: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 839-- Arthur V. Watkins Dam Enlargement Act.