[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 31, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H9452-H9454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC LANDS IN SUPPORT OF MANZANAR HISTORIC 
                                  SITE

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the immediate 
consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 3006) to provide for 
disposal of public lands in support of the Manzanar Historic Site in 
the State of California, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, 
I yield to the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] to explain the 
purpose of the bill.
  (Mr. LEWIS of California asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEWIS of California. I appreciate the gentleman yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, responding to the gentleman from California, this bill 
is designed to add additional land to the Manzanar Historic Site. I 
think the House knows that that was a major location whereby Americans 
of Japanese descent were interned during World War II, and it is 
combined with a rather fantastic environmental project taking place 
between the country of Inyo and the Los Angeles Department of Water and 
Power.
  Mr. MILLER of California. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I yield to the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Matsui].
  (Mr. MATSUI asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. MATSUI. I thank the gentleman from California for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] for 
leading the way on this piece of legislation. We really appreciate all 
he has done as well as, of course, the gentleman from Utah [Mr. 
Hansen], the gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young], the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Miller], and the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. 
Richardson].
  I just want to thank all the gentlemen for all the help on behalf of 
the Japanese-American community.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield 
further under his reservation, I must say I very much appreciate the 
cooperation of my colleague from California as well, all of my 
colleagues from California. This is a very important measure.
  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I am extremely pleased that we are moving 
forward tonight with this important legislation, H.R. 3006, the Owens 
River Valley Environmental Restoration and Manzanar Land Transfer Act 
of 1996. This bill will allow us to complete the process of creating a 
National Historic Site on the grounds of the former Manzanar Internment 
Camp.
  During World War II, 11,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were 
confined at the Manzanar Internment Camp. These individuals were some 
of the over 120,000 Japanese-Americans interned at 10 sites throughout 
the United States.
  The National Park Service determined in the 1980's that of the 10 
former internment camps, Manzanar was best suited to be preserved and 
to thus serve as a reminder to Americans of the glaring violation of 
civil rights that the internment represented. As a result, the 102d 
Congress passed Public Law 102-248 establishing a national historic 
site at Manzanar.
  H.R. 3006 will finish this process by allowing the Federal Government 
to obtain the

[[Page H9453]]

Manzanar site through a land exchange with the Los Angeles Department 
of Water and Power [LADWP], which currently owns the property. The 
parties that would be involved in this land transfer--LADWP, the 
National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and Inyo County--
reached agreement in February on a land exchange that can occur rapidly 
once our legislation is passed. All of these parties strongly support 
this legislation.
  When completed, the Manzanar National Historic Site will stand as 
powerful testimony to the tragedy of the internment. Through its 
ability to educate future generations of Americans, the site will make 
an important contribution to our efforts to prevent any group in the 
United States from ever suffering such a widespread abrogation of its 
constitutional liberties.
  I want to express my deep gratitude to my colleague, Jerry Lewis, for 
his hard work in introducing this legislation and moving it forward. In 
addition, I deeply appreciate the assistance of the Resources 
Committee, particularly Chairman Don Young and the ranking minority 
member George Miller, as well as Jim Hansen and Bill Richardson, 
chairman and ranking minority member of the National Parks, Forests and 
Lands Subcommittee respectively.
  I also want to thank Sue Embrey and the other members of the Manzanar 
National Historic Site Advisory Commission. Their tireless commitment 
to the realization of the Manzanar NHS has been the critical force 
behind this effort. Finally, we could not have reached this stage 
without the help of Director of the National Park Service Roger 
Kennedy, the regional staff of the National Park Service and Bureau of 
Land Management, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power [LADWP], 
and Inyo County.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues in this body and in the 
Senate to achieve final passage of this important bill.
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3006 will facilitate the 
disposal of certain public lands for the benefit of the Manzanar 
National Historic Site by revoking some outdated public land 
withdrawals. It is our understanding that these lands, which the BLM 
has identified for disposal, will then be used in an exchange for lands 
owned by the city of Los Angeles which are inside the boundary of the 
Manzanar National Historic Site. In addition, the bill expands the 
Boundaries of the Manzanar National Historic Site to include an 
additional 300 acres of land that has been found to have important 
archaeological elements.
  This is a good initiative that is supported by the administration, 
and on a bipartisan basis by Members of the California delegation. We 
support the bill and have no objection to its consideration today.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the bill, as follows:

                               H.R. 3006

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

     SECTION 1. TERMINATION OF WITHDRAWALS.

       (a) Unavailability of Certain Lands.--The Congress, by 
     enacting the Act entitled ``An Act to establish the Manzanar 
     National Historic Site in the State of California, and for 
     other purposes'', approved March 3, 1992 (106 Stat. 40; 
     Public Law 102-248), (1) provided for the protection and 
     interpretation of the historical, cultural, and natural 
     resources associated with the relocation of Japanese-
     Americans during World War II and established the Manzanar 
     National Historic Site in the State of California, and (2) 
     authorized the Secretary of the Interior to acquire lands or 
     interests therein within the boundary of the Historic Site by 
     donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or by 
     exchange. The public lands identified for disposal in the 
     Bureau of Land Management's Bishop Resource Area Resource 
     Management Plan that could be made available for exchange in 
     support of acquiring lands within the boundary of the 
     Historic Site are currently unavailable for this purpose 
     because they are withdrawn by an Act of Congress.
       (b) Termination of Withdrawal.--To provide a land base with 
     which to allow land exchanges in support of acquiring lands 
     within the boundary of the Manzanar National Historic Site, 
     the withdrawal of the following described lands is terminated 
     and such lands shall not be subject to the Act of March 4, 
     1931 (chap. 517; 46 Stat. 1530):

                         Mount Diablo Meridian

                    Township 2 North, Range 26 East

       Section 7:
       North half south half of lot 1 of southwest quarter, north 
     half south half of lot 2 of southwest quarter, north half 
     south half southeast quarter,

                    Township 4 South, Range 33 East

       Section 31:
       Lot 1 of southwest quarter, northwest quarter northeast 
     quarter, southeast quarter;
       Section 32:
       Southeast quarter northwest quarter, northeast quarter 
     southwest quarter, southwest quarter southeast quarter,

                    Township 5 South, Range 33 East

       Section 4:
       West half of lot 1 of northwest quarter, west half of lot 2 
     of northwest quarter,
       Section 5:
       East half of lot 1 of northeast quarter, east half of lot 2 
     of northeast quarter,
       Section 9:
       Northwest quarter southwest quarter northeast quarter,
       Section 17:
       Southeast quarter northwest quarter, northwest quarter 
     southeast quarter,
       Section 22:
       Lot 1 and 2,
       Section 27:
       Lot 2, west half northeast quarter, southeast quarter 
     northwest quarter, northeast quarter southwest quarter, 
     northwest quarter southeast quarter,
       Section 34:
       Northeast quarter, northwest quarter, southeast quarter,

                    Township 6 South, Range 31 East

       Section 19:
       East half northeast quarter southeast quarter.

                    Township 6 South, Range 33 East

       Section 10:
       East half southeast quarter;
       Section 11:
       Lot 1 and 2, west half northeast quarter, northwest 
     quarter, west half southwest quarter, northeast quarter 
     southwest quarter;
       Section 14:
       Lots 1 thru 4, west half northeast quarter, southeast 
     quarter northwest quarter, northeast quarter southwest 
     quarter, northwest quarter southeast quarter.

                    Township 7 South, Range 32 East

       Section 23:
       South half southwest quarter;
       Section 25:
       Lot 2, northeast quarter northwest quarter.

                    Township 7 South, Range 33 East

       Section 30:
       South half of lot 2 of northwest quarter, lot 1 and 2 of 
     southwest quarter,
       Section 31:
       North half of lot 2 of northwest quarter, southeast quarter 
     northeast quarter, northeast quarter southeast quarter.

                    Township 8 South, Range 33 East

       Section 5:
       Northwest quarter southwest quarter.

                    Township 13 South, Range 34 East

       Section 1:
       Lots 43, 46, and 49 thru 51.
       Section 2:
       North half northwest quarter southeast quarter southeast 
     quarter.

                    Township 11 South, Range 35 East

       Section 30:
       Lots 1 and 2, east half northwest quarter, east half 
     southwest quarter, and west half southwest quarter southeast 
     quarter.
       Section 31:
       Lot 8, west half west half northeast quarter, east half 
     northwest quarter, and west half southeast quarter.

                   Township 13, South, Range 35 East

       Section 18:
       South half of lot 2 of northwest quarter, lot 1 and 2 of 
     southwest quarter, southwest quarter northeast quarter, 
     northwest quarter southeast quarter;
       Section 29:
       Southeast quarter northeast quarter, northeast quarter 
     southeast quarter.

                    Township 13 South, Range 36 East

       Section 17:
       Southwest quarter northwest quarter, southwest quarter;
       Section 18:
       South half of lot 1 of northwest quarter, lot 1 of 
     southwest quarter, northeast quarter, southeast quarter;
       Section 19:
       North half of lot 1 of northwest quarter, east half 
     northeast quarter, northwest quarter northeast quarter;
       Section 20:
       Southwest quarter northeast quarter, northwest quarter, 
     northeast quarter southwest quarter, southeast quarter;
       Section 28:
       Southwest quarter southwest quarter;
       Section 29:
       East half northeast quarter;
       Section 33:
       Northwest quarter northwest quarter, southeast quarter 
     northwest quarter.

                    Township 14 South, Range 36 East

       Section 31:
       Lot 1 and 2 of southwest quarter, southwest quarter 
     southeast quarter.

     aggregating 5,630 acres, more or less.
       (c) Availability of Lands.--Upon enactment of this Act, the 
     lands specified in subsection (b) shall be open to operation 
     of the public land laws, including the mining and mineral 
     leasing laws, only after the Secretary of the Interior has 
     published a notice in the Federal Register opening such 
     lands.


                          committee amendment

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the committee 
amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Committee amendment: Page 8, after line 4, insert the 
     following:

[[Page H9454]]

     SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL AREA.

       Section 101 of Public Law 102-248 is amended by inserting 
     in subsection (b) after the second sentence ``The site shall 
     also include an additional area of approximately 300 acres as 
     demarcated as the new proposed boundaries in the map dated 
     March 8, 1996, entitled `Manzanar National Historic Site 
     Archaeological Base Map'.''

  The committee amendment was agreed to.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to provide 
for disposal of public lands in support of the Manzanar National 
Historic Site in the State of California, and for other purposes.''
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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