Pete Domenici: “I am pleased that the Palace of the Governors Annex Act has passed the Senate. In conjunction with Hispanic Heritage…”

“I am pleased that the Palace of the Governors Annex Act has passed the Senate. In conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, I introduced the Palace of the Governors Expansion Act last October. The palace is a symbol of Hispanic influence in the United States and truly shows the coming together of many cultures in the New World--the various native American, Hispanic, and Anglo peoples who have lived in the region for over four centuries. Since introducing this bill last October, the situation has become an emergency. Walls are crumbling, water pipes are leaking, plumbing is backing up threatening priceless documents. The bill would authorize the construction of the Palace of the Governors' Annex. It would preserve a priceless collection of Spanish colonial, Iberian colonial paintings, artifacts, maps, books, guns, costumes, photographs. The collection includes such historically unique items as the helmets and armor worn by the Don Juan Onate expedition conquistadors who established the first capital in the United States, San Juan de los Caballeros, in July 1598. It includes the Vara Stick, a type of yardstick used to measure land grants and other real property boundaries in Dona Ana County, NM. We have all heard of Geronimo. The collection includes a rifle dropped by one of his men during a raid in the Black Range area of western New Mexico. We have all heard of Pancho Villa.…”