Tony Hall: “I rise in support of H.R. 4057, the Airport Improvement Program Reauthorization Act of 1998, and call to the attention…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 4057, the Airport Improvement Program Reauthorization Act of 1998, and call to the attention of my colleagues Title VII, the Centennial of Flight Commemoration Act. This title is a modified version of H.R. 2305, a bill I introduced with Mr. Jones of North Carolina and with the support of Mr. Hobson of Ohio. The measure creates a limited, seven-member federal commission to help plan and coordinate the national celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' historic first flight in 1903. The commission is charged with coordinating celebration dates nationwide and maintaining a central clearinghouse for information on commemorative activities. It would also represent the United States in international commemorations for the Wright brothers. The commission is similar to ones established by Congress to celebrate the anniversaries of the American Revolution, Constitution, discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, birth of Thomas Jefferson, and others. H.R. 2305 is cosponsored by almost all the members of the Ohio and North Carolina delegations. This is fitting, because the Wright brothers carried out their famous flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and they lived and constructed their airplane in Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Speaker, it is hard to imagine a technological achievement that affected our world more than the conquest of flight.”