Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial Act

Floor Speech

In one of the worst civil engineering failures of the 20th century, the breach of the Saint Francis Dam on March 12, 1928, tragically took the lives of over 400 Americans. To honor the memory of those who lost their lives on that fateful day, H.R. 5244 establishes a national memorial at the disaster site in California's Santa Clarita Valley. This memorial will provide a permanent place of remembrance and healing.

In addition to the memorial, H.R. 5244 also establishes the Saint Francis Dam National Monument on 440 acres of public land that is currently managed by the Forest Service. The national monument designation authorizes the U.S. Forest Service, in consultation with a range of stakeholders, to develop educational programs to improve the health of these regional wetlands.

I want to thank Congressman Knight and the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society for bringing the legacy of the Saint Francis Dam disaster to the attention of the Congress. As we all have heard, those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. So we need to ensure that we remember the lessons of history that are part of the Saint Francis story.

I also want to thank Mr. Knight for his work with the Forest Service to address some of the concerns before the bill was marked up in committee.

This is a good bill, and I urge my colleagues to support its adoption.

I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source