Ann Wagner: “I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their support. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of S. 1438, the…”

“I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their support. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of S. 1438, the Gateway Arch National Park Designation Act. And I would like to start by thanking Senator Blunt and Congressman Clay for their leadership on this issue. Renaming the Gateway Arch and the area surrounding it will finally make its name consistent with how people from around the world identify it, and our city. We are, indeed, the gateway to the West. In 1935, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial was created as a unit of the National Park Service, and, today, it includes a museum, the old St. Louis courthouse and the Gateway Arch National Monument. It was built to honor the role that President Thomas Jefferson played in opening the American West and the settlers who followed the footsteps of Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery. In addition, it encompasses the old St. Louis courthouse, where Dred Scott filed suit seeking his freedom, furthering the fight to ensure that all men are, indeed, created equally. It was also the site where, in 1872, Virginia Minor asserted that women were citizens of the United States and, therefore, were entitled to vote. The Gateway Arch itself is the largest man-made monument in the United States of America and has been welcoming visitors to the banks of the Mississippi River since its construction in 1965.…”