Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site Amendments Act

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member, and especially the ranking member for yielding.

I rise in support of this critical legislation and urge my colleagues to support its passage. Throughout our Nation, in every city and town, immigrants have been critical to strengthening our communities. For centuries, people from every corner of the globe have traveled to the United States to start a new life, work hard, build a future for their children, and pursue their share of the American Dream.

In New York especially, immigrants have long been an important part of the cultural fabric. Whether it is Chinatown, Little Italy, or our burgeoning Latino population, immigrants have made our city a stronger, more vibrant place offering invaluable economic and cultural contributions while shaping the city's identity.

There are numerous ways we pay tribute to immigrants' role in American society. The Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island honors the thousands who arrived in New York's ports seeking a greater opportunity and freedom. This past week, we celebrated Thanksgiving--a holiday that originated with some of our earliest immigrants. In short, symbols of immigration's importance are woven throughout our society in physical landmarks, holidays--even our family histories.

In my district, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum reminds New York residents and visitors alike of the challenges faced by some of our city's earliest immigrants. For 25 years, this valuable local institution has offered interactive exhibits recounting the story of the 7,000 working class families who inhabited these buildings.

Just as the Lower East Side tenement communities evolved with each successive wave of newly arrived immigrants, the museum tells a wide range of stories reflecting the diversity of this storied neighborhood.

Whether it was Asian, Irish, or German immigrants or Eastern European Jews, the Lower East Side's tenements housed generation after generation of new arrivals to our cities and our country.

This body has previously recognized the museum as significant to our Nation's history. In 1998, I worked with my colleagues to pass legislation designating 97 Orchard Street as an affiliated site of the National Park System.

Over the years, interest in the museum has grown steadily. Today, the museum serves 200,000 visitors every year, including 40,000 schoolchildren. This growth in popularity has resulted in demand for additional space. The bill I authored and that we are debating today would help address this need. By making the museum's valuable educational tools available to a wider audience, the bill further honors immigrants' role in our Nation's past, present, and future. The additional space will also allow the museum to explore more immigrant stories, including the history of Holocaust survivors rebuilding their lives in America.

Mr. Speaker, the immigrant story is the American story. The Tenement Museum honors the men, women, and children who came here to carve out a better life and, in the process, improved our country by an infusion of new cultures and ideas.

H.R. 1846 will ensure the Lower East Side Tenement Museum continues telling this uniquely American story to future generations. I urge my colleagues to support its passage. I thank both gentlemen.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership on this legislation and so many other important areas before our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, H.R. 1846, the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site Amendments Act, which was authored and introduced by my good friend and colleague, Nydia Velazquez from New York.

This legislation will expand the boundaries of the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site to include 103 Orchard Street, which is located just two doors down from the original museum location. Because of this, it will be able to expand its educational programs and allow more people to learn about our Nation's immigrant history.

I had the privilege of representing the Tenement Museum in Congress prior to this year, when new congressional boundaries were implemented, and I still serve as an honorary trustee of this important institution. I can say without hesitation that the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is one of our Nation's most important historic and

cultural institutions. In recognition of the important work that they do, the National Endowment for the Humanities just recently awarded them a $500,000 matching grant.

Founded 25 years ago, the museum brings to life the experiences of those immigrant families who settled in one of our Nation's most iconic and important neighborhoods--the Lower East Side. Through these stories, the museum tells the story of our great country, a nation of immigrants, and how our national identity is constantly evolving and changing thanks to immigration.

Over 200,000 people visit the museum each year to learn about these stories--and that's not by accident. The Tenement Museum has found a unique way to personalize and bring to life history through the stories of individual families who actually lived in these buildings. They take rooms, and they make one for the Irish, one for the Greek, one for the Jews. They have all these stories, and you learn not only the history, but the stories of the particular families who lived there.

The original museum building at 97 Orchard Street tells the progression of our country through the stories of immigrant families from Italy, Ireland, Poland, Greece, Austria, Russia, Germany, and Lithuania through 1935.

The bill before us will allow the museum to expand to a new site so it can tell the stories of Jewish Holocaust survivors, post-1965 Chinese families, and Puerto Rican families in the 1950s--bringing immigrant history to the present day.

I commend the Natural Resources Committee for reporting out this legislation, the House leadership for bringing it to the floor, and my colleague and friend Nydia for authoring it, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1846.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Tenement Museum was founded in 1988 and has preserved the history of immigration in Manhattan's Lower East Side for the last 25 years. Through the personal experiences of the generations of migrants that have called 91 Orchard Street home, over 200,000 annual visitors are able to hear the stories of real families that lived in the building between 1863 and 1935.

H.R. 1846 would expand the boundaries of the current National Park Service affiliated site at 91 Orchard Street to include a recently purchased building two doors away and will allow the Tenement Museum to expand the stories they tell. This new building holds an array of untold stories from a family of Holocaust survivors who were allowed in the United States under the first refugee act, and Puerto Rican and Chinese families that were part of the foundation in making New York home to the largest Puerto Rican community on the American mainland and the largest Chinatown in the Western Hemisphere.

The ranking member of the Small Business Committee, Representative Velazquez, is to be commended for her legislation on behalf of this important cultural and historic resource. We support H.R. 1846 and urge its passage by the House today. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlelady from New York, Representative Velazquez, the ranking member of the Small Business Committee, the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from New York, Representative Maloney, the ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1846) to amend the Act establishing the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site, and for other purposes.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1846 expands the boundaries of the Lower East Side Tenement Historic Site to include an additional building purchased in 2007. This Manhattan museum is a National Park Service affiliated site, and therefore, it carries no cost to the taxpayers because it's owned and operated by a private foundation.

I urge its adoption and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and reserve the balance of my time.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1846, to amend the Act establishing the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site. This piece of legislation would extend the boundaries of the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site in New York City to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum's 103 Orchard Street location. This bill would at no additional cost to taxpayers ensure the preservation of a site that embodies the struggles and resilience of immigrant families and the essence of who we are as Americans. I urge my colleagues to ensure that this important chapter in the American story will remain for future generations by supporting