[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 116 (Tuesday, September 26, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H8143-H8144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DAYTON AVIATION HERITAGE PRESERVATION AMENDMENT ACTS OF 2000
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5036) to amend the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act
of 1992 to clarify the areas included in the Dayton Aviation Heritage
National Historical Park and to authorize appropriations for that park,
as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 5036
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 ``Dayton Aviation Heritage
Preservation Amendments Act of 2000''.
SEC. 2. REVISION OF DAYTON AVIATION HERITAGE PRESERVATION ACT
OF 1992.
(a) Areas Included in Park.--Section 101(b) of the Dayton
Aviation Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 (16 U.S.C.
410ww(b)) is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Areas Included.--The park shall consist of the
following sites, as generally depicted on a map entitled
`Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park', numbered
362-80,010 and dated September 1, 2000:
``(1) A core parcel in Dayton, Ohio, which shall consist of
the Wright Cycle Company building, Hoover Block, and lands
between.
``(2) The Setzer building property (also known as the
Aviation Trail building property), Dayton, Ohio.
``(3) The residential properties at 26 South Williams
Street and at 30 South Williams Street, Dayton, Ohio.
``(4) Huffman Prairie Flying Field, located at Wright-
Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
``(5) The Wright 1905 Flyer III and Wright Hall, including
constructed additions and attached structures, known
collectively as the John W. Berry, Sr. Wright Brothers
Aviation Center, Dayton, Ohio.
``(6) The Paul Laurence Dunbar State Memorial, Dayton,
Ohio.''.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 109 of such
Act (16 U.S.C. 410ww-8) is amended by striking the colon
after ``title'' and all that follows through the end of the
sentence and inserting a period.
(c) Technical Correction.--Section 107 of such Act (16
U.S.C. 410ww-6) is amended by striking ``Secretary of
Interior'' and inserting ``Secretary of the Interior''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-
Barcelo) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5036 was introduced by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Hall) and amends the 1992 Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act by
adding three properties to the Dayton Aviation Heritage National
Historical Park.
The Historical Park was originally created and authorized in 1992,
which preserves sites associated with Wilbur and Orville Wright and the
early development of aviation.
Yesterday I went to that site and looked at this spot.
The bill also removes a provision in the current law which contains a
limit of $200,000 on appropriated funds for use on non-federally owned
properties within the boundaries of the historical park. The cap on
this appropriation has caused concern for interpretive functions,
funding from other sources, and for a construction project which has a
small amount of non-Federal land within it.
Mr. Speaker, we request that this bill pass with an amendment which
is purely technical in nature. In the introduced bill, the map for the
land parcels to be included in this legislation was not numbered or
dated. Since that time, we have the information and this is reflected
in the amendment. This is a bipartisan measure, has support from the
National Park Service, and I urge my colleagues for their support on
H.R. 5036, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5036, introduced by our friend
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), amends the Dayton Aviation Heritage
Preservation Act of 1992 to authorize the inclusion of several
structures within the boundaries of the Dayton Aviation Heritage
National Historical Park and to remove a limitation on appropriations.
The park was established by Public Law 102-419 and preserves and
interprets resources associated with the Wright Brothers and the early
days of aviation. The park is managed under a public-private
partnership between the National Park Service, the Ohio Historical
Society, and local aviation history organizations.
The National Park Service has identified four structures that they
believe would enhance the preservation, development, and operation of
the park.
In addition, the National Park Service has expressed concern that the
current cap on appropriations to non-federally owned properties within
the boundaries of the park is overly restrictive and severely limits
the ability of the National Park Service to achieve the management
objectives of the park.
At the hearing before the Committee on Resources on H.R. 5036, the
National Park Service testified in favor of this legislation. We also
support the bill, as well, and we urge our colleagues to vote for its
adoption.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, this bill was introduced by the gentlemen
from Ohio (Mr. Hall) and (Mr. Hobson), and I am pleased to yield such
time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson).
(Mr. HOBSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this piece of
legislation. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) and myself introduced
this back in 1992, the original legislation. As stated, it is a
bipartisan piece of legislation.
We think the park has progressed very well working together today.
The
[[Page H8144]]
park is fairly unusual as national parks go because it has a number of
different locations, as has been explained. The major part of it is in
the district of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall). That is where they
built the first flying machine.
Where they learned how to fly was in my district on Huffman Prairie.
The story goes that people used to ride the Inner Urban out to watch
the Wright Brothers learning to fly.
We hope that lots of people will come to our districts and to go in
and see the Wright Brothers museum and also go out to the Huffman
Prairie. And some day we hope that there is not only an interpretive
center out there, but an actual flying machine on the prairie.
I would also like to remark, it is something that is not in here
today but it is in the original park bill and it is still there, is the
Paul Laurence Dunbar Museum.
Paul Laurence Dunbar and the Wrights had a very unique relationship
back many years ago, which is something I think all of our public
should learn about and emulate in the relations between two people who
look differently. The Wrights and Paul Laurence Dunbar established a
good business and friendship back in those days, which is something I
hope we can foster with this park.
We had this technical problem with the park which we think has been
worked out and everybody seems to be in support of it today.
Again, I would like to commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) for
his work in the establishment of this park.
Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume
to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall).
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend the
gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-Barcelo) for yielding me the
time. I want to thank the chairman of the committee for bringing this
bill up at this time, and certainly my colleague and my friend next
door to me, who has the adjacent district, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Hobson). He made an important part, and his continued support of this
park is very important.
The purpose of the park is to preserve, as the gentleman from Ohio
(Mr. Hobson) said, the legacy of the Wright Brothers, who invented the
airplane in Dayton, Ohio. It also honors their friend, African American
poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.
This bill includes three small boundary changes to the park. It also
eliminates a cap on the appropriated funds that can be spent on the
units within the park that are not owned by the Federal Government.
The Dayton Park was an early experiment in a partnership between the
National Park Service and the non-Federal property owners, and that
experiment has worked well and we have gained experience in operating
this kind of park. However, we have also discovered that some changes
are necessary to ensure the continued success of the park.
The 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight will be
celebrated in the year 2003. This park is expected to be the focal
point of the Dayton festivities. Therefore, the Dayton community is
anxious to get the park completed as soon as possible. This legislation
will help get the park up and running.
The year 2003 is just around the corner, and we do not have much time
left. I urge the Members to adopt this bill. I thank the chairman for
bringing it up at this time.
Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 5036, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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