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 July 10th 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.

*****************



New Public Laws

None.

Floor Action

No floor action.

Committee Activity

On July 7th, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported H.R. 2996, appropriations for the Department of the Interior for FY 2010.

On July 8th, the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands (Grijalva) held a hearing on the following bills of interest to the National Park Service. The DOI witness was Dan Wenk, Acting Director, NPS:

• H.R. 481 (Oberstar, D-MN), to revise the authorized route of the North Country National Scenic Trail in northeastern Minnesota to include existing hiking trails along Lake Superior's north shore and in Superior National Forest and Chippewa National Forest.  The Department supports the bill with amendments.
• H.R. 685 (Clay, D-MO), to require a study of the feasibility of establishing the United States Civil Rights Trail System.  The bill also requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish six civil rights trails.  The Department supports the bill if amended to authorize the Secretary to conduct a special resource study that would provide an analysis of the opportunities for preservation and interpretation of specific sites related to the civil rights movement in the United States.
• H.R. 2167 (Cuellar, D-TX), to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain lands as the Los Caminos del Rio National Heritage Corridor.  The study would be along 200 miles of the lower Rio Grande and would consider both the U.S. and Mexican heritage along the river. The Department supports the bill.

• H.R. 1061 (Dicks, D-WA), to transfer certain land to the United States to be held in trust for the Hoh Indian Tribe, to place land into trust for the Hoh Indian Tribe, and for other purposes.  The bill would transfer 37 acres of land at Olympic National Park to the tribe.  The committee adopted amendments recommended by NPS.  The Department supports the bill as reported.
• H.R. 715 (Grijalva, D-AZ), to expand the boundary of Saguaro National Park, to study additional land for future adjustments to the boundary of the Park, and for other purposes.  This bill would authorize the expansion of the park boundary by approximately 975 acres, direct the Secretary to conduct a study of potential future boundary adjustments for the park, and allow the acquisition or management of State land within the park.  The Department supports the bill.
• H.R. 1376 (Chet Edwards, D-TX), to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the State of Texas. The bill was amended to add the map references recommended in the Department’s testimony and to have lands owned by Baylor University only acquired by donation or exchange. The Department supports the amended bill.
• H.R. 1121 (Foxx, R-NC), to authorize a land exchange to acquire lands for the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Town of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and for other purposes.  The exchange would allow the town to own its source of municipal water supply and the park to gain 192 acres of recreational lands.  The committee adopted amendments recommended by NPS.  The Department supports the bill as reported.

• S. 1405 (Kennedy, D-MA) - A bill to redesignate the Longfellow National Historic Site, Massachusetts, as the "Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site".
• S. 1413 (Kerry, D-MA) - A bill to amend the Adams National Historical Park Act of 1998 to include the Quincy Homestead within the boundary of the Adams National Historical Park, and for other purposes.
• S. 1418 (Udall, Mark, D-CO) - A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing Camp Hale as a unit of the National Park System.

• H.R. 714 (Christensen, D-VI), to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease certain lands in Virgin Islands National Park, and for other purposes;
• S. 227 (Cardin, D-MD), to establish the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, New York, and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland, and for other purposes;
• S. 625 (Cornyn, R-TX), to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the State of Texas;
• S. 853 (Kaufman, D-DE), to designate additional segments and tributaries of White Clay Creek, in the States of Delaware and Pennsylvania, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System;
• S. 1053 (Murkowski, R-AL), to amend the National Law Enforcement Museum Act to extend the termination date;
• S. 1117 (Leahy, D-VT), to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance in implementing cultural heritage, conservation, and recreational activities in the Connecticut River watershed of the States of New Hampshire and Vermont; and
• S. 1168 (Schumer, D-NY) and H.R. 1694 (Holt, D-NJ), to authorize the acquisition and protection of nationally significant battlefields and associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 under the American Battlefield Protection Program.

• S. 715 (Levin, D-MI), to establish a pilot program to provide for the preservation and rehabilitation of historic lighthouses;
• S. 742 (Saxby, R-GA), to expand the boundary of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in the State of Georgia, to redesignate the unit as a National Historical Park, and for other purposes;
• S. 1270 (Wyden, D-OR), to modify the boundary of the Oregon Caves National Monument, and for other purposes;
• S. 1418 (Udall, Mark, D-CO) and H.R. 2330 (Lamborn, R-CO), to direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing Camp Hale as a unit of the National Park System; and
• H.R. 2430 (Hastings, R-WA), to direct the Secretary of the Interior to continue stocking fish in certain lakes in the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.