Mark Souder: “I said earlier that I was very excited to see this bill move forward, but there were a number of questions that I had as…”

“I said earlier that I was very excited to see this bill move forward, but there were a number of questions that I had as we first brought this up in the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands and the Committee on Resources, which I believe have been very adequately addressed. Any American who follows Abraham Lincoln realizes that he is a legend not only to Illinois but to many other States, and he has historic sites around the country. I do not think there is a young boy in America or a young girl in America who has not heard the story of Abraham Lincoln reading by the firelight and being told by our parents that we should be very appreciative of our life-styles, and how hard he worked, and worked all day, and then read by the light of his fire. Presumably he had very thick glasses, if they had been there at the time, because he was so committed to that. It inspired many young people, including myself. I have been a Lincoln fan most of my life, have 15 to 20 books of Lincoln that I have read; and I think many Americans have taken that inspiration. When we walk through our capitol building or around the Nation's capital, we see many Lincoln sites. The Gettysburg address is arguably, along with the Declaration of Independence, is the most known and most moving document.”