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 31st 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

None.

Floor Action

On July 27th, the House passed the following bills of interest to the National Park Service:

• 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 Department supports the bill as passed.
• H.R. 1376 (Edwards, D-TX), to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the State of Texas. The Department supports the bill as passed.

• 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, and for other purposes.  The bill was amended to change only the number of miles and the map reference for the proposed "Arrowhead Reroute" on the North Country National Scenic Trail.  The Department supports the bill as reported.
• H.R. 1641 (Inslee, D-WA), To amend the National Trails System Act to provide for a study of the Cascadia Marine Trail in Puget Sound Washington. The Department supports the bill as reported.

• H.R. 2802 (Delahunt, D-MA), to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in honor of former President John Adams and his legacy.  The Department supports H.R. 2802 with an amendment to extend the authority for a period of four years instead of seven to create a greater sense of urgency on the part of the memorial sponsors.
• H.R. 2806 (Hastings, R-WA), to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to adjust the boundary of the Stephen Mather Wilderness and the North Cascades National Park in order to allow the rebuilding of a road outside of the floodplain while ensuring that there is no net loss of acreage to the park or the wilderness.  The Department opposes H.R. 2806 because of concerns about potential impacts to the environment, inconsistency with the intention of the Wilderness Act, and our position of not rebuilding roads in the Cascades after natural disasters where no visitor facilities are found along or at the end of the road.

• S. 1519 (Cardin, D-MD) - A bill to provide for the eradication and control of nutria in Maryland, Louisiana, and other coastal States.
• H.R. 3378 (Latham, R-IA) - To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to designate the Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Birthplace and Childhood Home in Cresco, Iowa, as a National Historic Site and unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 3381 (Miller, George, D-CA) - To amend the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to establish additional prohibitions on shooting wildlife from aircraft, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 3388 (Forbes, R-VA) - To modify the boundary of Petersburg National Battlefield in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and for other purposes.
• S. 1535 (Feinstein, D-CA) - A bill to amend the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to establish additional prohibitions on shooting wildlife from aircraft, and for other purposes.
• S. 1537 (Grassley, R-IA) - A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to designate the Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Birthplace and Childhood Home in Cresco, Iowa, as a National Historic Site and as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 3417 (DeGette, D-CO) - To establish the Rocky Mountain Science Collections Center to assist in preserving the archeological, anthropological, paleontological, zoological, and geological artifacts and archival documentation from the Rocky Mountain region through the construction of an on-site, secure collections facility for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in Denver, Colorado.