Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolution

Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the ``Rosie the Riveter National Historic Site Expansion Act.'' The Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park honors the history of Richmond, California as the home of World War II shipyards and the women and men who supported the war effort domestically.

Richmond, California was chosen as the site for this National Historical Park because it has so many surviving sites and structures from the World War II era that help tell the diverse stories of the home front. According to the National Park Service, ``these stories include the mobilization of America's industry and the changes in production techniques; the struggle for women's and minority rights; the labor movement; the growth of pre-paid medical care; advances in early childhood education and day care; recycling and rationing; major shifts in population; and changes in arts and culture.''

This legislation would add the Nystrom Elementary School to the existing National Historical Park.

During World War II, the Nystrom Elementary school was built to teach the children of shipyard workers. The school was part of a planned development including the Maritime Child Development center, which has already been preserved as part of the park, and the Nystrom housing area, which has been scheduled for future preservation and redevelopment by the city of Richmond.

The bill would also give the National Park Service the authority to add additional sites to the park through cooperative agreements and to acquire additional sites for inclusion in the park.

Having the Nystrom Elementary school identified as a site of the park will help the National Historical Park better preserve, interpret, and share that history with visitors. To understand the social changes that occurred during World War II, it is important to have sites that represent those changes as tangible evidence.

The City of Richmond and the West Contra Costa Unified School District support adding the school to the site. I thank my colleague, Representative Mark DeSaulnier, for championing this effort in the House.

I urge my colleagues to support the passage of the ``Rosie the Riveter National Historic Site Expansion Act'' as quickly as possible.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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