II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 164

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource 

study of sites associated with the life of Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez and 

the farm labor movement. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 15, 2003

Mr. MCCAIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 

special resource study of sites associated with the life 

of Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez and the farm labor movement.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez 

5 Study Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) on March 31, 1927, Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez 

9 was born on a small farm near Yuma, Arizona; 
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1 (2) at age 10, Cha ́vez and his family became 

2 migrant farm workers after they lost their farm in 

3 the Great Depression; 

4 (3) throughout his youth and into adulthood, 

5 Cha ́vez migrated across the Southwest, laboring in 

6 fields and vineyards; 

7 (4) during this period, Cha ́vez was exposed to 

8 the hardships and injustices of farm worker life; 

9 (5) in 1952, Cha ́vez’s life as an organizer and 

10 public servant began when he left the fields and 

11 joined the Community Service Organization, a com12 munity-based self-help organization; 

13 (6) while with the Community Service Organi14 zation, Cha ́vez conducted—

15 (A) voter registration drives; and 

16 (B) campaigns against racial and economic 

17 discrimination; 

18 (7) during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, 

19 Cha ́vez served as the national director of the Com20 munity Service Organization; 

21 (8) in 1962, Cha ́vez founded the National Farm 

22 Workers Association, an organization that—

23 (A) was the first successful farm workers 

24 union in the United States; and 
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1 (B) became known as the ‘‘United Farm 

2 Workers of America’’; 

3 (9) from 1962 to 1993, as leader of United 

4 Farm Workers of America, Cha ́vez achieved for tens 

5 of thousands of farm workers—

6 (A) dignity and respect; 

7 (B) fair wages; 

8 (C) medical coverage; 

9 (D) pension benefits; 

10 (E) humane living conditions; and 

11 (F) other rights and protections; 

12 (10) the leadership and humanitarianism of 

13 Ce ́sar Cha ́vez continue to influence and inspire mil14 lions of citizens of the United States to seek social 

15 justice and civil rights for the poor and 

16 disenfranchised; and 

17 (11) the life of Ce ́sar Cha ́vez and his family 

18 provides an outstanding opportunity to illustrate and 

19 interpret the history of agricultural labor in the 

20 western United States. 

21 SEC. 3. RESOURCE STUDY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 

24 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall com25 plete a resource study of sites in the State of Arizona, 
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1 the State of California, and other States that are signifi2 cant to the life of Ce ́sar E. Cha ́vez and the farm labor 

3 movement in the western United States to determine—

4 (1) appropriate methods for preserving and in5 terpreting the sites; and 

6 (2) whether any of the sites meets the criteria 

7 for listing on the National Register of Historic 

8 Places or designation as a national historic land9 mark under—

10 (A) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 

11 461 et seq.); and 

12 (B) the National Historic Preservation Act 

13 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). 

14 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the study under 

15 subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

16 (1) consider the criteria for the study of areas 

17 for potential inclusion in the National Park System 

18 under section 8(b)(2) of Public Law 91–383 (16 

19 U.S.C. 1a–5(b)(2)); and 

20 (2) consult with—

21 (A) the Ce ́sar E. Cha ́vez Foundation; 

22 (B) the United Farm Workers Union; 

23 (C) State and local historical associations 

24 and societies; and 
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1 (D) the State Historic Preservation Offi2 cers of the State of Arizona, the State of Cali3 fornia, and any other State in which a site de4 scribed in subsection (a) is located. 

5 (c) REPORT.—On completion of the study under sub6 section (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

7 on Resources of the House of Representatives and the 

8 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen9 ate a report on—

10 (1) the findings of the study; and 

11 (2) any recommendations of the Secretary. 

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec14 essary to carry out this Act.

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