[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 108 (Monday, August 8, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 PISCATAWAY PARK EXPANSION ACT OF 1994

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1703) to expand the boundaries of the Piscataway 
National Park, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1703

       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 ``Piscataway Park Expansion 
     Act of 1994''.

     SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF PARK.

       (a) The boundaries of Piscataway Park in Maryland are 
     hereby revised to reflect the addition of approximately 163 
     acres of lands as generally depicted on the map entitled 
     ``Proposed Boundary Map--Piscataway Park'', numbered 838-
     80137, and dated November 17, 1993.
       (b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire 
     lands and interests therein within the areas added to the 
     park pursuant to subsection (a) by donation, purchase with 
     donated or appropriated funds, or exchange.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
     necessary to carry out this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Minnesota [Mr. Vento] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Doolittle] will be recognized for 20 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento].


                             general leave

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
S. 1703, the Senate bill presently under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. VENTO. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1703, which passed the Senate on June 16, 1994, is 
legislation introduced by Senator Paul Sarbanes to expand the 
boundaries of Piscataway Park in Charles County, MD. A companion bill, 
H.R. 3973, was introduced by Representative Steny Hoyer.
  Piscataway Park was authorized in 1961 to preserve the natural and 
scenic resources of the Potomac River and preserve the historic 
overview of the Maryland shore from Mount Vernon, home to the United 
States' first President, George Washington. It consists of 4,260 acres, 
of which some 2,700 acres are protected through scenic easements.
  Due in large part to the establishment of Piscataway Park, the 
historic view of the Maryland shore from Mount Vernon has changed 
little since George Washington's presidency. In response to increasing 
development pressures in the area, the Mount Vernon Ladies Association 
hired a consulting firm in 1991 to conduct a study of the viewshed from 
Mount Vernon. The analysis showed that 98 percent of the viewshed 
outside of Piscataway Park can be protected by local low density zoning 
which controls building heights. This study also revealed that the 
viewshed would be diminished if development occurred on certain 
parcels.
  S. 1703 would expand the boundary of Piscataway Park to include 
approximately 163 acres to protect the historic viewshed from Mount 
Vernon. The land is located between Fort Washington Historical Park and 
the existing Piscataway Park, both managed by the National Park 
Service. Because of the steep slopes of the three parcels and their 
location directly across open water from Mount Vernon, any development 
of these parcels would significantly detract from the historic view. 
The parcels also support a variety of wildlife including bald eagles, 
herons, and deer and include some prehistoric archeological sites. This 
legislation has broad public support in the area and is also supported 
by the administration.
  The Committee on Natural Resources made minor amendments to the 
legislation to delete the word ``National'' from the bill title and the 
short title. The original statute and subsequent statutes as well as 
all National Park Service informational brochures and indexes list this 
area as Piscataway Park. The national park designation is reserved for 
only those areas which contain a variety of significant resources and 
encompass large land or water areas. Piscataway Park is not such an 
area and should not be referred to as such in law.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a worthy measure to protect an important 
historical and natural resource and I urge its passage today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Vento, has 
described the substance of the bill, a proposal to spend $3 million of 
taxpayer funds to protect the viewshed from the privately owned Mount 
Vernon.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress should be spending the scarce NPS dollars which 
would be diverted to this proposal on some of the real needs facing the 
agency. NPS is facing a shortfall of $1-2 billion in land acquisition 
funding, a shortfall of 25 years at the existing funding rate. Instead 
of spending money to buy lands to protect the Everglades, or complete 
the Appalachian Trail, or purchase land at Gettysburg, or even to buy 
out some poor inholder who has been waiting for years to be acquired, 
we will be protecting the viewshed of Mount Vernon from houses 4 miles 
away.
  Mr. Speaker, there is something very wrong with the priorities 
Congress establishes for our limited Federal funds, and this bill is 
one more good example of it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I wanted to commend the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. 
Hoyer], who has worked very diligently on this measure. As I said, this 
particular parcel lies between Piscataway Park in Maryland and the 
George Washington Park on the Virginia side.
  They have been very interested, and the fact is that they have now an 
option on a willing seller-willing buyer basis on the 163 acres. This 
will really tie together along the banks of the Potomac a green 
corridor, continued corridor in which, when you view it, as I said, 
from the Virginia side, you see this wonderful site that has been 
really virtually unchanged in nearly 200 years.
  The gentleman from Maryland has arrived, and I want to, as I say, 
commend him again.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer] concerning the Piscataway Park addition.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his courtesy and for 
yielding this time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 1703, the Piscataway Park 
expansion. As the sponsor of the House legislation, H.R. 3973, I am 
thankful to Chairman Vento and his staff for their hard work.
  Piscataway Park was created in 1961 to protect the historic viewshed 
of Mt. Vernon, the home of our Founding Father George Washington, after 
it was threatened by intense commercial development in the late 1950's.
  This effort was so successful that pictures taken today of the 
Maryland shoreline differ little when compared to colonial era 
paintings of the land.
  This is truly an extraordinary sight, and I encourage my colleagues 
to visit Mt. Vernon to truly appreciate its significant impact on one 
of our country's most important historical attractions.
  Since 1961 though, Piscataway National Park has gained an important 
identity apart from Mt. Vernon. With a functioning colonial farm, 
nature trails, an environmental educational farm for schoolchildren, 
and Indian burial grounds, Piscataway not only offers citizens a view 
of the tremendous biological diversity which exists along the Potomac, 
But it reaches back nearly 5,000 years to document the first 
inhabitants of this area.
  Lying only 15 miles from Washington, Piscataway Park offers excellent 
recreational and historic opportunities to a large and diverse group of 
people.
  However, much of the effort during the last 30 years is at risk. 
Three years ago, the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association identified a section 
of the viewshed which was not protected from development and which is 
adjacent to Piscataway Park.
  With the concern over development of this property--which includes 
two bald eagle nesting sites--the owner of the property willingly 
agreed to sell the property to someone who would protect it. Right now, 
the trust for public land has an option to buy this property, giving 
the Federal Government the time to purchase the land and add it to 
Piscataway Park.
  With cosponsors from 11 different States, H.R. 3973 attracted broad 
support, as did S. 1703, which was passed unanimously be the Senate.
  I appreciate the opportunity to have this legislation on the floor of 
the House today, and I encourage the House to follow the Senate's 
actions and pass S. 1703.
  Mr. Speaker, I greatly appreciate the time that the subcommittee 
chairman and the ranking member, Congressman Hansen, have given me, and 
I would like very much to work with both of them to protect the Mt. 
Vernon viewshed and the other important treasures Piscataway National 
Park offers.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Richardson). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento] that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1703, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill, as amended, was 
passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to expand 
the boundaries of Pascataway Park, and for other purposes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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