Weekly Legislative Activities Report

The Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs puts out weekly reports on hearings, new legislation and other activities on the Hill. The following is the March 27th summary.  

In order to obtain the full text of any of the bills that appear below, click on the following link: http://thomas.loc.gov/ . That will take you to Thomas, the Library of Congress legislative tracking system. Enter the bill number in the “Search Bill Text” block, being sure to also click on the “Bill Number” option below the block.

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New Public Laws

No new laws.

Floor Action

On March 25th, the House passed H.R. 148, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, as amended by the Senate, by a vote of 242-180. The bill now goes to the President for signature. Provisions related to the National Park Service include the following:

Title I—Additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System

Subtitle H—designates 11,740 acres of land in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan, as wilderness.

Subtitle L—designates approximately 36,000 acres of land within Joshua Tree National Park, California, as wilderness.

Subtitle M—designates approximately 85,000 acres of land within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California, as wilderness.

Subtitle N— designates approximately 249,000 acres of land within Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, as wilderness.

Subtitle O—designates approximately 124,000 acres of land within Zion National Park, Utah, as wilderness and designates the Virgin River and some of its tributaries as a Wild and Scenic River.

Title III—Forest Service Authorizations

Subtitle D—Land Conveyances and Exchanges

• Section 3303—authorizes an exchange of approximately 160 acres of U.S. Forest Service land for approximately 154 acres of private land which would then be included within Pecos National Historical Park.

• Section 5301—authorizes the federal government to purchase land from willing sellers for nine of the 25 trails currently in the national trails system.  
• Section 5302—directs the Secretary to revise the feasibility and suitability studies of some existing trails for consideration as possible additions to those trails.  
• Section 5303—directs the Secretary to conduct studies of the Chisholm Trail and the Great Western Trail for suitability and feasibility for inclusion in the National Trails System.

• Section 7001—establishes the Patterson Great Falls National Historical Park in Patterson, New Jersey, once certain conditions are met and authorizes the acquisition of property or interests in property within the historical park boundaries.
• Section 7002—directs the Secretary to designate the William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site, Arkansas, pending the donation of the Clinton birthplace home to the federal government by the Clinton Birthplace Foundation, Inc.
• Section 7003—directs the Secretary to accept donations of real property of historic value from willing sellers in Monroe and Wayne counties, Michigan.  After sufficient property is acquired the Secretary shall designate the acquired land as the River Raisin National Battlefield Park.

• Section 7101—decreases a matching funds requirement and authorizes additional appropriations for Keewenaw National Historical Park, Michigan.
• Section 7102—amends the Weir Farm National Historic Site Establishment Act of 1990 to permit the park to acquire up to 15 acres of land to develop visitor and administrative facilities.
• Section 7103—amends the Little River Canyon National Preserve Act of 1992 to add 1,656 acres to Little River Canyon National Preserve, Alabama.
• Section 7104—expands the boundary of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, Ohio, and permits the acquisition of lands within the new boundary from willing sellers.
• Section 7105—adjusts the boundary of the Barataria Preserve Unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Louisiana, and authorizes the acquisition of land necessary for the boundary adjustments through transfer or exchange from another federal agency or by donation or purchase from a private landowner.
• Section 7106—modifies the boundary of Minute Man National Historical Park, Massachusetts, to include the home and surrounding farmland of Colonel James Barrett and the area around the Joshua Brooks House.
• Section 7107—modifies the boundary of Everglades National Park to add Tarpon Basin to the park.  Additionally, this section authorizes a land exchange between the park and Florida Power and Light and between the park and the State of Florida.
• Section 7108—authorizes a non-profit organization to establish a memorial at Kalaupapa National Historical Park, Hawaii, to honor those individuals that were forcibly relocated to the Kalaupapa Peninsula from 1866 to 1969.
• Section 7109—authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with any of the management partners of Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, Massachusetts.
• Section 7110—renames Edison National Historic Site, New Jersey, as Thomas Edison National Historical Park.
• Section 7111—authorizes the establishment of the “Votes for Women History Trail Route” which would link sites that are historically and thematically associated with the struggle for women’s suffrage. Also authorizes a National Women’s Rights History Project focusing on increasing the number of sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places associated with women’s suffrage and a National Women’s Rights History Project and Partnerships Network that would offer financial and technical assistance for interpretive and educational programming.
• Section 7112—expands the boundary of Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, New York, to include an additional 261 acres surrounding the Van Buren estate.
• Section 7113—changes the name of Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site to Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park and adds 34 acres of Resaca de la Palma battlefield site to the Park.
• Section 7114—changes the name of Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, Kentucky, to Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park.
• Section 7115—requires the Secretary to permit hunting and fishing on NPS land and water within New River Gorge National River, West Virginia, rather that permitting hunting and fishing on a discretionary basis.
• Section 7116—makes technical corrections to several national park bills to fix incorrect section references, map numbers and wording errors. 
• Section 7117—adds Hawthorne Hill and the Wright Company factory to Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park through donation. Also permits the Secretary to provide grants to park partners for construction and development on non-federal property if such construction is consistent with the park General Management Plan and enhances public use and enjoyment of the park.
• Section 7118—authorizes the acquisition from willing sellers of 55 acres adjacent to Fort Davis National Historic Site, Texas, and adjusts the park boundary to include the newly acquired acreage.

• Sections 7201 through 7212 authorize special resource studies to evaluate the suitability and feasibility of the following resources or lands for possible inclusion in the National Park System as new units or additions to existing units:  Walnut Canyon, Arizona, Tule Lake Segregation Center, California, Estate Grange, U.S. Virgin Islands, Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Maine, Shepherdstown Battlefield, West Virginia, Green McAdoo School, Tennessee, Harry S Truman Birthplace, Missouri, Battle of Matewan, West Virginia, Battle of Camden, South Carolina, Fort San Geronimo, Puerto Rico, the Butterfield Overland Trail in various states and a Cold War sites theme study.

• Section 7301—reauthorizes the American Battlefield Protection Program, which provides grants to protect and interpret Civil War battlefield sites, through September 30, 2013.
• Section 7302—authorizes the Secretary, in partnership with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, to provide competitive grants to specified entities to support preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education, and historic preservation planning activities (Preserve America program).
• Section 7303—authorizes the Secretary to provide grants to eligible entities for projects to preserve nationally significant collections and historic properties (Save America’s Treasures program).
• Section 7304—extends the time period for the expenditure of authorized appropriations for the Route 66 preservation program to 2019.
• Section 7305—amends the National Cave and Karst Research Institute law to strike the portion of the law that allows the Secretary to spend only those federal funds that are matched by an equal amount of funds from non-federal sources.

• Sections 7401 through 7404 extend the expiration dates of advisory commissions as follows:  Na Hoa Pili O Kaloko-Honokohau Advisory Commission, 2017; Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission, 2018; Concessions Management Advisory Board, 2009. 
• Section 7405 establishes the St. Augustine 450th Commemoration Commission with members appointed by the Secretary including one National Park Service employee with relevant knowledge and experience with the historic resources of St. Augustine, Florida.

• Sections 8001 thorough 8010 designate the following new National Heritage Areas: Sangre de Cristo, Colorado; Cache La Poudre River, Colorado; South Park, Colorado; Northern Plains, North Dakota; Baltimore, Maryland; Freedom’s Way, Massachusetts and New Hampshire; Mississippi Hills, Mississippi; Mississippi Delta, Mississippi; Muscle Shoals, Alabama; and Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm, Alaska.

• Sections 8101 and 8102 direct the Secretary to conduct studies of the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Chattahoochee Trace National Heritage Corridor in Alabama and Georgia and the Northern Neck National Heritage Area in Virginia.

• Section 8201—extends the authority of the Secretary to make grants or provide assistance to the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor to September 30, 2015, and increases the total that may be appropriated to $15 million.
• Section 8202—names a new local coordinating entity for the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and reauthorizes federal funding for an additional five years.
• Section 8203—extends the authority for the Secretary to provide financial assistance from 10 to 15 years for the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.
• Section 8204—authorizes ex-officio members of the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor commission to attend and vote in meetings.

• H.R. 1684 (Hastings, D-WA) - To preserve the rights granted under the Second Amendment to the Constitution in national parks and national wildlife refuge areas.
• H.R. 1694 (Holt, R-NJ) - To amend the American Battlefield Protection Act of 1996 to establish a battlefield acquisition grant program for the acquisition and protection of nationally significant battlefields and associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
• S. 707 (Akaka, D-HI) - A bill to enhance the Federal Telework Program.
• S. 715 (Levin, D-MI) - A bill to establish a pilot program to provide for the preservation and rehabilitation of historic lighthouses.
• S. 720 (Udall, D-CO) - A bill to provide a source of funds to carry out restoration activities on Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 1404 (Rahall, D-WV) - To authorize a supplemental funding source for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities on Department of the Interior and National Forest System lands, to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a cohesive wildland fire management strategy.