Press Releases

Congressman French Hill (AR-02) made the following statement after the Senate passed his bill, H.R. 2611, the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Boundary Modification Act, and was sent to President Trump’s desk for signature:

Congressman Hill said, “It’s an exciting day for Arkansas and Little Rock as my bill to preserve Arkansas’s civil rights history passed the Senate and is now onto the President’s desk for his signature. This could not come at a better time as we just celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine’s brave actions integrating Little Rock Central High School. Together with the school, seven homes across the street from Central High will now stand as living monuments to the civil rights movement in Arkansas and the United States.

“I want to thank my friend and colleague Senator Tom Cotton, for his leadership moving this bill through the Senate and my colleague, civil rights pioneer, and courageous leader, Congressman John Lewis, for co-authoring this bill with me in the House. Finally, this accomplishment would not have been possible without Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop and Ranking Member Raul Grijalva and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell. Each played a key role in seeing this important measure become a reality. I am proud of our efforts, and I look forward to this bill becoming law because Arkansas's history is America's history.”

Senator Tom Cotton said: “To be able to see exactly how it looked when the Little Rock Nine walked their way into Central High School—and into history—will remind all of us and generations to come that we must continually stand guard against hatred and intolerance. I’m grateful to Congressman French Hill for working with me on this important bill and I’m glad it’s now passed both the House and Senate. I urge President Trump to sign it into law quickly.”

Background:

The Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Boundary Modification Act expands seven homes located near Little Rock Central High School to include them in the school’s national historic site designation, which consists of approximately 1.47 acres and is preserved by the National Park Service (NPS).