Tony Hall: “The purpose of the park is to preserve, as the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) said, the legacy of the Wright Brothers…”

“The purpose of the park is to preserve, as the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) said, the legacy of the Wright Brothers, who invented the airplane in Dayton, Ohio. It also honors their friend, African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. This bill includes three small boundary changes to the park. It also eliminates a cap on the appropriated funds that can be spent on the units within the park that are not owned by the Federal Government. The Dayton Park was an early experiment in a partnership between the National Park Service and the non-Federal property owners, and that experiment has worked well and we have gained experience in operating this kind of park. However, we have also discovered that some changes are necessary to ensure the continued success of the park. The 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight will be celebrated in the year 2003. This park is expected to be the focal point of the Dayton festivities. Therefore, the Dayton community is anxious to get the park completed as soon as possible.”