Mr. Speaker, I opened my speech with an analogy: Imagine living beside a house of horrors and knowing the families and children who came through there, only to find out later on in life about the horrors that took place. It chokes me up when I speak of it. My staff had to compile a number of documents for me, but I did not refer to them because I have spent a considerable amount of time, not just during my political career but throughout my lifetime, seeing this. My friends and family are from the area that went through this program, and they live today with the scars.
My fear in making this a national holiday for federal employees or public sector employees is that the meaning and importance of this day will be lost. As I have said a number of times, it will just be another day for people to load up their RV and go on a holiday.
It is so important that we build a national education strategy within the bill. This is just one amendment I would like to see, but it is very important. It is critical to the success of this.