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 November 6th 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

On October 30th, the President signed into law, H.R. 2996 (Dicks, D-WA), Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes. It is Public Law 111-88.

Floor Action

On November 5th, the House passed H.R. 1849 (Cleaver, D-MO) by a vote of 418 yeas - 1 nay.  The bill would designate the Liberty Memorial at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as the National World War I Memorial, and establish the World War I centennial commission to ensure a suitable observance of the centennial of World War I.   The Department has not taken a position as no hearing was held.

Committee Activity

On November 4th, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks (Udall) held a hearing on the following bills of interest to the National Park Service. The DOI witness was Katherine Stevens, Assistant Director of Business Services, NPS:

• S. Res. 275 (Kerry, D-MA), A resolution honoring the Minute Man National Historical Park on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.  The Department was not asked to testify on the resolution.
• S. 1405 (Kennedy, D-MA), to redesignate the Longfellow National Historic Site, Massachusetts, as the “Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site”.  The Department supports the bill.
• S. 1413 (Kerry, D-MA), amends 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.  The Department opposes S. 1413, consistent with a 1994 National Park Service Special Resource Study that did not recommend adding this property to the Adams National Historical Park.
• S. 1767 (Burr, R-NC) and H.R. 1121 (Foxx, R-NC), authorizes the Secretary to exchange approximately 20 acres of land at the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, a popular recreational area located within the boundary of the Blue Ridge Parkway, for approximately 192 acres of land owned by the Town of Blowing Rock.  This proposed exchange would be mutually beneficial to the National Park Service and the Town.  The Department supports the bill.
• H.R. 1287 (Visclosky, D-IN),  to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a partnership with the Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission regarding the use of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center as a visitor center for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.  The Department supports the bill as passed by the House with technical amendments.
• 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.  Without this extension, the authority will terminate on September 30, 2010.  The Department supports the bill as passed by the House.

• H.R. 3388 (Forbes, R-VA) would authorize two modifications to the boundary of Petersburg National Battlefield in the Commonwealth of Virginia:  (1) it would expand the currently authorized boundary of the battlefield by an additional 7,238 acres; and (2) it authorizes a transfer of administrative jurisdiction between the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army for a 1.7 acre parcel of land to accommodate a security perimeter fence at Fort Lee Military Reservation.  The Department supports the bill.
• H.R. 3603 (Marshall, D-GA) would rename Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon, Georgia as Ocmulgee Mounds National Monument.  The Department supports the bill with a technical amendment.  
• H.R. 3804 (Tonko, D-NY) would authorize ten year extensions to the National Park System Advisory Board and the National Park Service Concessions Management Advisory Board.  The bill also would standardize the penalties for violations of NPS regulations at military parks and national historic sites and would raise the ceiling for annual appropriations used to fund the Volunteers in the Parks Program.  The bill would authorize the Secretary to enter into an agreement with nonprofit organizations or other entities that manage or administer historic sites at Pearl Harbor and to allow the sale of tickets to those historic sites by NPS staff or employees of the organizations that administer the historic sites.  In addition, H.R. 3804 would authorize a land exchange to address a long-standing access issue on the George Washington Memorial Parkway and would amend the D.C. Snow Removal Act of 1922 to clarify which federal agency is responsible for clearing snow from sidewalks and crosswalks in front of or around public buildings in the District of Columbia.  The Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site would be redesignated as a National Historical Park and the boundary of the Lava Beds National Monument Wilderness would be adjusted.  Finally, the bill would make technical corrections to laws for a national seashore, wild and scenic rivers, and national heritage areas.   The Department supports the bill.

• H.R. 3989 (Lummis, R-WY) - To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of adding the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, in the State of Wyoming, as a unit of the National Park System.
• H.R. 4003 (Hinchey, D-NY) -  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to evaluate resources in the Hudson River Valley in the State of New York to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing the site as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 4004 (Rush, D-IL) - To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of designating the study area as the Black Metropolis National Heritage Area in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes.
  S. 2722 (Barrasso, R-WY) - A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of adding the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, in the State of Wyoming, as a unit of the National Park System.
• S. 2726 (Johnson, D-SD) - A bill to modify the boundary of the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in the State of South Dakota, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 4036 (Payne, D-NJ) - To authorize National Mall Liberty Fund D.C. to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor free persons and slaves who fought for independence, liberty, and justice for all during the American Revolution.
• S. 2738 (Dodd, D-CT) - A bill to authorize National Mall Liberty Fund D.C. to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor free persons and slaves who fought for independence, liberty, and justice for all during the American Revolution.