{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-remarks-bill-authorizing-105-million-blackstone-national-heritage-corridor", "Cicilline Remarks on Bill Authorizing $10.5 Million for Blackstone National Heritage Corridor", "2020-12-03", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "RI", "David Cicilline", "C001084", "cicilline.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) spoke on the House floor moments ago to urge passage of the National Heritage Area Act, legislation that authorizes $10.5 million for the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor over the next 14 years.\nClick the image below to watch Cicilline's speech on the House floor. The full text of his remarks is embedded at the end of this email.\n  David N. Cicilline\n\tNational Heritage Area Act\n\tDecember 3, 2020\nI rise in strong support of H.R. 1049, the National Heritage Area Act.\nSince 1984, the National Heritage Area program has played a vital role in preserving the history, culture, and natural beauty of our nation's most historically and naturally significant communities.\nIt has worked closely with those communities to help make them vibrant and ensure their place as part of the national landscape.\nIn my home state of Rhode Island, the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor plays a vital role in preserving the history of communities in the Blackstone Valley, the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.\nIn addition to preserving this history, the coordinating entity for the Blackstone Valley Heritage Corridor works hand-in-hand with the National Park Service to support the continued development of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, which runs from Providence and Pawtucket, through Worcester, Massachusetts. \nI was proud to lead the House effort to establish this National Park in 2014 and look forward to seeing its continued growth and development in close coordination with the Heritage Corridor.\nThe relationship between the Heritage Corridor and the Blackstone Valley National Historical Park plays a vital role in telling the story of how America became a prosperous nation through its mills and factories, and the immigrant communities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts that worked in those industries and helped build the foundation of this country.\nThe National Heritage Area Act will ensure that this relationship can continue by authorizing funds for Heritage Areas through 2034 and fostering new opportunities for relationships between Heritage Areas and the National Park Service to grow.\nWhile the Trump Administration has proposed eliminating this critical program year after year, I am grateful for the work of my colleague from New York, Congressman Paul Tonko, for his leadership on this issue, and I thank Chairman Grijalva and the Natural Resources Committee for their efforts to bring this legislation to the floor.\nI urge passage of H.R. 1049 to support the National Heritage Area program and continue preserving our nation's history and natural beauty.\nI yield back the balance of my time.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-remarks-bill-authorizing-105-million-blackstone-national-heritage-corridor"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.771136885508895, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}