Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 26, 2007)

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Mr. BERRY. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Dicks and the ranking member, Mr. Tiahrt, for their leadership on this subcommittee and for their bipartisan approach to these issues. I rise in opposition to the Hensarling amendment. I respect his right to offer the amendment.

I find it interesting that we have a sudden attack of fiscal responsibility on the other side of the aisle after adding $3 trillion in the last 6 years to the national debt. I find it interesting that we suddenly have an attack of fiscal responsibility after a Democratic administration had created almost a $6 trillion surplus, and that has been squandered by the Republicans across the aisle.

I think it is sad that we would object to a small community in rural Arkansas that has put tens of thousands of dollars into this project to preserve a little bit of history and a little bit of heritage in this wonderful community.

Clover Bend was one of the earliest settlements in Lawrence County, serving as a significant river landing for the area's bustling cotton and timber industry. Remote as the settlement was, it clung to existence. In 1829, steamboats were finding their way to its landing. The settlement was established as an important landing in river travel. Some years later, the actual town was moved from the river to the present site about 2 miles east.

The Clover Bend Historic Preservation Association was formed in 1983 at the historic site located on the former Clover Bend school campus. In 1937, a transaction was made through the Resettlement Administration to buy the plantation and establish 86 farmsteads from the original Clover Bend plantation. It gave 86 families in the depths of the Great Depression a new start, a new chance. It created a wonderful rural community where people came together for the common good to get the job done. It is something that is well worth preserving.

On the morning of May 4, 1939, after a decade of near starvation for many Lawrence County farmers, some 36 families gathered on the banks of the Black River to receive keys to their new homes. These were the first families chosen from the many to buy about 45 acres with a house on it. The site contains ten structures and was added to the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district in 1991. Clover Bend is a multipurpose site with a wide range of historical significance. The ultimate goal for Clover Bend is to become a fully functional museum and education center.

Funds will be matched by the State of Arkansas. This assistance is needed in order for the Preservation Association to continue to maintain and promote Clover Bend to the region and to preserve what is there and what the heritage of that place is. Through the countless hours of volunteers in the region and the support of the State, this request will allow the goal of the Preservation Association to become a reality.

As is the case so many times, there is one person, a wonderful woman named Viola Meadows, that has held all this together. Through tons of sweat equity, she has made it possible for us to be here today to see this entire project come to fruition. It is not like they are asking us to pay for the whole thing. They are asking us for just a little bit of help. I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

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

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