Capitol at Night

Washington, Aug 1, 2008 -

The contents of Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s (D-OH)  bill to reauthorize the Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program were included in H.R. 4137, The College Opportunity and Affordability Act, which was passed in the House and Senate yesterday with overwhelming bipartisan support. The President is expected to sign the bill.

“During one of the darkest eras in our history, a group of courageous Americans, both Black and White as well as free and enslaved, struggled together to form what would be known as the Underground Railroad,” Kucinich said.

The legislation will re-authorize a competitive grant program administered by the Department of Education to research, display, interpret and collect artifacts relating to the history of the Underground Railroad.

The bipartisan Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program Act of 2007, which was introduced by Congressman Kucinich and Ohio colleagues Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Jean Schmidt, passed the House of Representatives on July 30, 2007.  Senator Sherrod Brown then introduced an identical bill in the Senate.

 “This important effort will educate citizens across the country and around the world about the Underground Railroad movement in America,” Kucinich said.
 
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