Add to Central site gets Senate’s OK

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate has passed legislation that would expand the boundaries of the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.

H.R. 2611, sponsored by U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., was approved on a voice vote Thursday, shortly before lawmakers headed home for the Christmas recess.

Under the legislation, seven South Park Street houses sitting on roughly 1.5 acres would be placed within the boundaries of the historic site. It would also empower the secretary of the Interior Department to reach “cooperative agreements” with the homeowners to help preserve the site.

The secretary could use federal money, if appropriated, “to mark, interpret, improve, restore, and provide technical assistance with respect to the preservation and interpretation of the properties.”

The landowners and community officials back the legislation, advocates said.

The legislation had already passed the House, 390-0, in September.

The bill now heads to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature, Hill said.

“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,” he said in a written statement. “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.”

Hill also thanked U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle, for helping guide the bill through the Senate.

In a written statement, Cotton said the bill would help preserve the area, allowing people “to see exactly how it looked when the Little Rock Nine walked their way into Central High School — and into history…”

“I urge President Trump to sign it into law quickly,” Cotton added.