Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Boundary Modification Act

Mr. President, today I wish to commend Bonnie Seaman, who has loyally served the people of Pennsylvania for more than 40 years, more recently as the director of constituent services for my Senate office. Bonnie has not only been a trusted member of my staff but a very close family friend.

Bonnie was born and raised on a turkey farm in Leck Kill, PA. She is the youngest of four children. She first began her public service career in county government at what was then known as the Northumberland County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Department, where she touched the lives of people in her community.

In pursuit of a college degree, Bonnie attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania and graduated cum laude with a degree in education. After graduation, she worked as a special education teacher.

Bonnie's passion for helping others steered her career to the Pennsylvania State Senate. While working in the Pennsylvania Senate, she was asked by her supervisor if she was interested in working on my father's transition team after he was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1986. This transition job offer was supposed to be temporary, but Bonnie would spend the next 30 years working in State government for both then-Governor Casey and then me, when I got to State government years later.

She worked as the Governor's executive assistant for 8 years, and of course she wore many hats, managing the Governor's staff, scheduling events, and resolving constituent issues, but her most important role was providing support to the Governor. Her dedication and loyalty earned her the respect of her fellow employees in the Governor's office as well as those she worked with outside of the office.

After working in Governor Casey's administration, Bonnie worked as well with my father on his autobiography entitled ``Fighting for Life.'' In his book he pays tribute to her as follows:

I could never have made it through this project without my

executive assistant,

Bonnie Seaman. It's hard to think of any work I have done

these past ten years without Bonnie. Another theme of this

book is loyalty, and few people have taught me more about the

trait than Bonnie. I am deeply indebted to her for the skill

and good spirit she brings to our work right up to this day.

That was written more than 20 years ago--just about 22 years ago. Of course, I can say the same thing about Bonnie's work in the U.S. Senate. In 1996, when I was elected the State's auditor general, Bonnie was vital to, first, my transition team. Then she served as the director of the Office of the Auditor General for 8 years, where she oversaw day-to-day operations of my schedule and the management of staff. When I was elected State treasurer in 2004, Bonnie began work with the Treasury Department. Then, finally, when I was elected in 2006 to the Senate, I asked Bonnie to serve as director of constituent services. I knew that her dedication to public service and compassion for others would make her an excellent director. She led the office of constituent services for 10 years with distinction. With her gold standard professionalism, and unimpeachable ethics, she was a mentor to her staff and served as a shining example of quality public service. Through her work, Bonnie has touched the lives of over 60,000 Pennsylvania constituents.

On behalf of my family, as well as thousands of families across our Commonwealth, I express our gratitude to Bonnie Seaman for more than three decades of stellar public service. The building we worked in, in Harrisburg, has this inscription on the front of it, the finance building: ``All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor.'' Bonnie accepted the trust that was placed in her. She kept faith with taxpayers and brought honor to her work. I wish Bonnie well in her retirement as she travels with her husband Tom, attends yoga classes, and enjoys time with her family and friends.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, September will mark the 60th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine, the nine African-American students who enrolled in the then-all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Ask anyone who lived through the crisis, and they will tell you they remember it vividly. They may not have been there in person, but they remember the photos, those searing images of an angry mob, the stoic students, the bayoneted troops, all gathering in a high school, of all places.

Perhaps the most searing image is of Elizabeth Eckford, one of the nine who was then only 15 years old. She didn't get word that the other students were going as a group. She went alone in a simple black-and- white dress she had made just for the occasion. The mob baited her, menaced her, cursed her, some threatened to lynch her. She later said of her walk to the school's entrance: ``It was the longest block I've ever walked in my whole life.''

I think it is of the highest importance that we preserve their story and share it with our kids. It is a reminder of pretty sad times in our history and, more important, of the courage shown by nine young Arkansans, who helped our State and our Nation overcome deep-seated prejudices by appealing to the better angels of our nature.

We preserve historic battlefields like Yorktown and Gettysburg because we want our children to know what it took to gain and keep our freedom--the sacrifices made, the hardships endured. Equally important is preserving historic sites like Central High, where our citizens began the long road to freedom from oppression and intolerance.

That is why we made Central High School a historic site years ago, though with one oversight. There are seven homes across the street from the school. Their exteriors were in many of the pictures that are now so famous. There has long been a movement to preserve those exteriors so future generations will be able to see Central High exactly as it looked when the Little Rock Nine arrived to school.

I am proud to say that today I am introducing a bill with three of my colleagues--the senior Senator of Vermont Pat Leahy, Congressman French Hill of Little Rock, and civil rights legend Congressman John Lewis-- that would do just that. It would extend the boundary of the Central High historical site to include these seven homes.

It would add about an acre and a half to the park, although I should say this bill would not authorize the Federal Government to take ownership of the homes and wouldn't allow the National Park Service to buy them in the future. Instead, it would simply encourage the homeowners and National Park Service to work together to preserve these homes so future generations could see them and learn from them. That is one reason our bill has the support of the homeowners, the Central High Neighborhood Association, and my State's historic preservation advocacy group, Preserve Arkansas. All three have written to me to express support for the bill. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have their letters printed in the Record.

There is widespread agreement in the community and in our State that this site is not just a part of Arkansas' history, it is a part of our national heritage.

Central High stands as a reminder of an article Billy Graham published during the crisis, ``No Color Line in Heaven.'' It was a hard-won lesson and one I think we should do everything we can to pass on to the next generation.

Mr. President, September will mark the 60th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine, the nine African-American students who enrolled in the then-all-white Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Ask anyone who lived through the crisis, and they will tell you they remember it vividly. They may not have been there in person, but they remember the photos, those searing images of an angry mob, the stoic students, the bayoneted troops, all gathering in a high school, of all places.

Perhaps the most searing image is of Elizabeth Eckford, one of the nine who was then only 15 years old. She didn't get word that the other students were going as a group. She went alone in a simple black-and- white dress she had made just for the occasion. The mob baited her, menaced her, cursed her, some threatened to lynch her. She later said of her walk to the school's entrance: ``It was the longest block I've ever walked in my whole life.''

I think it is of the highest importance that we preserve their story and share it with our kids. It is a reminder of pretty sad times in our history and, more important, of the courage shown by nine young Arkansans, who helped our State and our Nation overcome deep-seated prejudices by appealing to the better angels of our nature.

We preserve historic battlefields like Yorktown and Gettysburg because we want our children to know what it took to gain and keep our freedom--the sacrifices made, the hardships endured. Equally important is preserving historic sites like Central High, where our citizens began the long road to freedom from oppression and intolerance.

That is why we made Central High School a historic site years ago, though with one oversight. There are seven homes across the street from the school. Their exteriors were in many of the pictures that are now so famous. There has long been a movement to preserve those exteriors so future generations will be able to see Central High exactly as it looked when the Little Rock Nine arrived to school.

I am proud to say that today I am introducing a bill with three of my colleagues--the senior Senator of Vermont Pat Leahy, Congressman French Hill of Little Rock, and civil rights legend Congressman John Lewis-- that would do just that. It would extend the boundary of the Central High historical site to include these seven homes.

It would add about an acre and a half to the park, although I should say this bill would not authorize the Federal Government to take ownership of the homes and wouldn't allow the National Park Service to buy them in the future. Instead, it would simply encourage the homeowners and National Park Service to work together to preserve these homes so future generations could see them and learn from them. That is one reason our bill has the support of the homeowners, the Central High Neighborhood Association, and my State's historic preservation advocacy group, Preserve Arkansas. All three have written to me to express support for the bill. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have their letters printed in the Record.

There is widespread agreement in the community and in our State that this site is not just a part of Arkansas' history, it is a part of our national heritage.

Central High stands as a reminder of an article Billy Graham published during the crisis, ``No Color Line in Heaven.'' It was a hard-won lesson and one I think we should do everything we can to pass on to the next generation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.