Statement

Rep. Eliot L. Engel

Senate National Parks Subcommittee Hearing on HR 759

September 11, 2007

Thank you Mr. Chairman for holding this hearing on H.R. 759, which seeks
to name the third floor library at Ellis Island in New York as the "Bob
Hope Memorial Library." I also want to thank the primary cosponsor of
this legislation, Representative Gallegly, for his support. Finally, I
would like point out that present in the audience today is Linda Hope,
Mr. Hope's daughter and the vice president of the Bob Hope Legacy.

I must first start by venting my frustration with the National Park
Service and its handling of this legislation. Before you today, the Park
Service will testify that it cannot support this bill even thought is
passed the House of Representatives two Congresses in a row.

This effort to honor Bob Hope at Ellis Island has been ongoing for
years. And I would ask that a letter from former Secretary of the
Interior Manuel Lujan, who served the first President Bush, that
supports naming a different facility at Ellis Island for Bob Hope be
included in the record as part of my testimony.

In the 109^th^ Congress, my staff had ongoing communications with the
Park Service. The Park Service even requested that some language of the
bill be changed to clarify that the library on the third floor, and not
the whole third floor, was being named for Bob Hope. I accepted this
clarifying language and it is included in the bill that is before us
today. In fact, the language is exactly the same language requested by
the Park Service.

I would like to address the Park Service's contention that there is not
a clear link between Bob Hope and Ellis Island. Bob Hope came through
Ellis Island in 1907, with his family, when he was just four years old.
Mr. Chairman after a long period of restoration, Ellis Island was turned
into a museum in 1990. The purpose of the restoration was for people to
come and remember the 12 million people passed through Ellis Island from
1892-1954 to pursue the American dream. Bob Hope embodies the American
dream! He and his family arrived in the United States with almost
nothing. Bob Hope became a household name here in the U.S. and around
the world. He is perhaps best known for his work entertaining our
nation's military overseas -- most often during the holiday season.

This bill is strongly supported by the Ellis Island Restoration
Commission, which has worked diligently to repair and refurbish Ellis
Island. The Commission has said that naming the third floor library
after Bob hope would be a fitting tribute to one of America's most
famous immigrants. I have a letter to that effect and would ask to have
this also be made part of my testimony. When the idea of naming another
center at Ellis Island after Bob Hope was suggested, Secretary Lujan
said in his letter to Bob Hope,

"I understand that you came through Ellis Island on your way to becoming
a treasured U.S. citizen. Certainly your association with the center
makes the project all the more important because your success story
surely reflects the American Dream."

Dolores Hope and the rest of the Hope family members are pleased that
Bob Hope's life will be honored and remembered through this museum.

Thus, for my final request I ask that a letter from Bob Hope himself and
a letter from his family be placed into the record as part of my
testimony.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you for holding this hearing on the
legislation, and thank my lead Republican sponsor, Rep. Gallegly. I
believe this is a small but fitting tribute to a man who did so much for
our nation, and our men and women in uniform.