To extend the legislative authority of the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in honor of former President John Adams and his legacy, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding the time and also for his kind words.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 3802, to extend the legislative authority for the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in honor of former President John Adams and his legacy, and for other purposes.

I would like to thank full committee Chairman Doc Hastings and Ranking Member Peter DeFazio, as well as the gentleman from Utah, Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bishop, and Ranking Member Raul Grijalva for helping get this very important bill to the floor.

This bill simply extends the authorization of the Adams Memorial Foundation for 7 years. It is supported by the entire Massachusetts delegation, as well as Chairman Bishop, as I said, and will allow the Adams Memorial Foundation, the National Park Service, the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, and all stakeholders to continue to work toward finding a site and building a commemorative memorial honoring President John Adams and his family and the role they played in the shaping of our great Nation.

I have the great and good fortune to represent the Massachusetts Eighth Congressional District, a district rich in history that includes the city of Quincy, nicknamed the ``City of Presidents.'' Quincy is home to the Adams National Historic Park, birthplace of John Adams, and the home at which his family lived until 1927. I am also proud to hold the House seat associated with our Nation's sixth President and dedicated public servant, John Quincy Adams.

John Adams was a defender of due process, champion of independence, diplomat, Vice President, President, and Founding Father. He authored the Massachusetts Constitution, which is the oldest continually functioning written constitution in the world and the document after which the United States Constitution, frequently referenced on this very floor, was modeled.

As the second President of the United States, he was first to reside in the District of Columbia and to occupy the White House. Yet there is no memorial in our Nation's Capital dedicated to one of our most influential Founding Fathers, a man Thomas Jefferson called ``a colossus of independence.'' That is a tragic omission that must be corrected.

Our former colleague, my dear friend, Congressman Bill Delahunt, acted to

correct this oversight when he introduced a bill authorizing the creation of the Adams Memorial Foundation.

The Adams Memorial Foundation was established to commemorate not only John Adams, but also the legacy of the Adams family, who for generations embraced his ideals. That includes his wife, Abigail; his son and our sixth President and Congressman, John Quincy Adams; his wife, Louisa Catherine; their son, Charles Francis; and his sons, Henry and Brooks Adams.

As the enabling legislation states:

Both individually and collectively, the members of this

illustrious family have enriched the Nation through their

profound civic consciousness, abiding belief in the

perfectibility of the Nation's democracy, and commitment to

service and sacrifice for the common good.

Since its authorization, the Adams Memorial Foundation, which counts among its leadership members of the Adams family and respected historians and architects, has been committed to realizing its goal of creating a commemorative memorial. However, siting a commemorative memorial in the Nation's Capital is an arduous undertaking, as my colleagues have pointed out.

Despite broad support and the best efforts of the Adams Memorial Foundation, we remain without an agreed-upon location--but we are getting much closer--for this important memorial. I know that all stakeholders firmly believe the Adams legacy is worthy of memorializing in the Nation's Capital. This bill, if passed, will give all parties the time needed to reach agreement on a location that appropriately honors President Adams' legacy.

For many of us who grew up in Massachusetts, the John and Abigail Adams family and their contributions to the Commonwealth and our Nation serve as a beacon upon which to focus our own efforts. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams are referred to as the sword, the pen, and the voice of our Nation's independence. Yet the voice, which was carried for generations beyond independence, goes unrecognized in this seat of the government he helped to create and sustain.

In closing, I look forward to working with the Adams Memorial Foundation, the National Park Service, the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, and all stakeholders to correct this oversight.

I thank Chairman Bishop of Utah again for his courtesy and support of this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support this very important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3802) to extend the legislative authority of the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in honor of former President John Adams and his legacy, and for other purposes, as amended.

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.

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

In 2001, President George Bush signed Public Law 107-62, which authorized the Adams Memorial Foundation to create a commemorative work on Federal land in the District of Columbia. When completed, the memorial will honor former President John Adams, along with his wife, Abigail Adams, former President John Quincy Adams, and their legacy of public service.

The Foundation has been working towards securing a location for the memorial, but a previous extension to their authority expired in 2013. H.R. 3802 authorizes an extension to this authority so that the Foundation may continue development and planning until December 2, 2020. No Federal funds are involved in the creation of this memorial and this extension has no impact on the Federal budget.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I, too, strongly support the passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

As many of us know, finding a location for a memorial in Washington, D.C., is not always easy. In 2001, Congress authorized the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor the public service and legacy of the Adams family. Planning often takes longer sometimes than the initial authorization allows, and in this case, the Foundation was granted an extension, which expired in 2013. H.R. 3802 grants another extension until 2020.

I am happy to provide more time to make sure that President John Adams and his wife, Abigail Adams, and President John Quincy Adams all receive the commemoration in our Nation's Capital that their sacrifice and service deserve.

I would particularly like to thank my colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) for sponsoring this bill and for navigating it through the legislative process. I think without his hard work this memorial may have been mired in the planning process and might never be built. I now believe that, with this extension, we will see a worthy and fitting commemoration of the Adams family.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch).

Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from Montana is ready to close, I strongly recommend we pass the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.