Medgar Evers House Study Act

Floor Speech

Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 959) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Medgar Evers House, located in Jackson, Mississippi, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 959 authorizes a special resource study to be conducted by the Department of the Interior on the home of the late civil rights activist Medgar Evers. This bill requires the Secretary to determine the national significance of the home and the feasibility of designating the site as a unit of the National Park Service.

The National Park Service does not have any objections to this bill, and it was reported out of the Natural Resources Committee by unanimous consent. Once results of the study are available, Congress would have to act to create any new unit of the National Park system.

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

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, Medgar Evers was a patriot and a civil rights leader who gave his life to realize the full promise of the American Declaration of Independence. His memory is vivid and revered by every American of goodwill who lived through those momentous years. It is for us now to preserve his memory for the many generations of Americans to follow who will have to look to history to know him.

This bill is a step toward recognizing the enormous debt our Nation owes him and to ensure that future generations can draw inspiration from his leadership, his patriotism, his courage, and his sacrifice that he made in the cause of freedom.

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

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