Clinton childhood home to become national monument

The US House of Representatives has voted to make former President Bill Clinton’s boyhood home in Hope, Arkansas, into a national historic site.

The bill passed 409-12 yesterday in Washington. Senate approval is still needed.

However, the passage was not a smooth one. Republican Congresswman Ginny Brown-Waite delayed the vote for hours, saying she wanted to draw attention to Clinton’s involvement in a deal allowing a Dubai-owned company to help manage six US seaports.

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.”

Born in 1946, Clinton lived in his grandparents’ home on South Hervey Street until 1950, according to the Clinton Birthplace Foundation.