[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2535 Reported in Senate (RS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 984
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2535

To revise the boundary of the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 22 (legislative day, January 3), 2008

 Mr. Reid (for Mrs. Clinton) introduced the following bill; which was 
    read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                               Resources

                           September 16, 2008

               Reported by Mr. Bingaman, with amendments
  [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To revise the boundary of the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Martin Van Buren National Historic 
Site Boundary Revision Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) Historic site.--The term ``historic site'' means the 
        Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in the State of New 
        York established by Public Law 93-486 (16 U.S.C. 461 note) on 
        October 26, 1974.
            (2) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled 
        ``Boundary Map, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site'', 
        numbered ``460/80801'', and dated January 2005.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

<DELETED>SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the historic site was established to preserve 
        and interpret the landscape, structures, and collections of the 
        house known as ``Lindenwald'' in Kinderhook, New York, which 
        was owned by Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the 
        United States from 1839 to his death in 1862;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the current boundary of the historic site, 
        encompassing about 39 acres of land, does not adequately 
        protect natural and cultural resources that contribute to the 
        significance of the historic site;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) the conservation easements acquired to 
        preserve the key agricultural views of the historic site no 
        longer offer adequate protection for the views;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) development of administrative buildings and 
        facilities required for future operations of the historic site 
        within the current boundaries of the historic site may not be 
        suitable due to the impacts of those buildings and facilities 
        on historic or scenic resources; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) a boundary study prepared by the National Park 
        Service in 2003 identifies about 331 acres of land that, if 
        acquired, would--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) help protect the agricultural 
                character and the quality of the setting of the 
                historic site; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) increase opportunities for 
                interpretation and education at the historic 
                site.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to protect the remaining contributing 
        resources significant to the historic site;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to preserve a more accurate portrayal of 
        Lindenwald by reuniting remaining agricultural land associated 
        with the house through the acquisition of the agricultural land 
        from willing sellers;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) to enhance the interpretation of the broader 
        political and agrarian beliefs of President Van Buren by--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) enabling public access to key 
                agricultural resources; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) protecting the scenic values 
                associated with the historic site; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) to enable the National Park Service to 
        establish administrative facilities that do not intrude on the 
        resources or scenic values of the historic site.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS TO THE HISTORIC SITE.</DELETED>

SEC. 3. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS TO THE HISTORIC SITE.

    (a) Boundary Adjustment.--The boundary of the historic site is 
adjusted to include approximately 261 acres of land identified as the 
``PROPOSED PARK BOUNDARY'', as generally depicted on the map.
    (b) Acquisition Authority.--The Secretary may acquire the land and 
any interests in the land described in subsection (a) from willing 
sellers by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or 
exchange.
    (c) Availability of Map.--The map shall be on file and available 
for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park 
Service.
    (d) Administration.--Land acquired for the historic site under this 
section shall be administered as part of the historic site in 
accordance with applicable law (including regulations).

<DELETED>SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.
                                                       Calendar No. 984

110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2535

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To revise the boundary of the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 16, 2008

                        Reported with amendments