Senate Approves $4.2 million for Manzanar Visitor’s Center
July 18, 2000

Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate today approved $4.2 million to construct a visitor’s center and make other improvements to the Manzanar Internment Camp, where thousands of Japanese Americans were held against their will during World War II.

“The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II represents a low-point in American history,” Senator Feinstein said. “This money will go to ensure that Manzanar and the other internment sites are preserved and to remind us of our ability to inflict pain and suffering upon our fellow Americans.”

The majority of the funds will go for the construction of a visitor’s center at Manzanar. The visitor’s center will explain what Manzanar is, as well as provide information on the entire internment episode.

The remainder of the funds will go toward the purchase and preservation of former camps sites from willing sellers; the construction of an educational exhibit about the Japanese American experience during World Ward II at the Coronado National Forest in Arizona; and an examination of the lesser-known consequences of the war through a special resources study on World War II sites of historical significance.

Senator Feinstein, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, requested the funding as part of the Interior appropriations bill. The bill passed the Senate by a margin on 97-2.