House Approves Plan to Make Clinton Childhood Home a National Landmark
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Republican congresswoman from Florida wanted to make one thing absolutely clear: Her argument was not whether the little house in Hope, Ark., should be designated as a national historic site.
Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite on Wednesday delayed for hours the House passage of a bill designating President Clinton's boyhood home as a national landmark. Brown-Waite said she wanted to draw attention to Clinton's involvement in a deal allowing a Dubai-owned company to help manage six U.S. seaports.
"It is not against President Clinton, it is not against (the resolution), but rather I wish we had more time so that the public would know how exactly involved he was," Brown-Waite said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The bill passed 409-12 in a vote held later in the day. Senate approval is still needed.
The former president has acknowledged DP World privately sought his advice about the deal in a mid-February telephone call but has denied any further involvement.
"President Clinton is not an adviser to Dubai Ports World," Clinton spokesman Jay Carson said in a statement. "As a former president with strong ties around the world, he gets many calls from international political and business leaders."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Congress has honored other past presidents, including Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, by designating their childhood homes as national historic sites. Born in 1946, Clinton lived in his grandparents' 2,100-square-foot home on South Hervey Street until 1950, according to the Clinton Birthplace Foundation.