[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 167 (Tuesday, November 18, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H11466-H11468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      KALOKO-HONOKOHAU NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK ADDITION ACT OF 2003

  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 254) to revise the boundary of the Kaloko-Honokohau 
National Historical Park in the State of Hawaii, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                 S. 254

       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 ``Kaloko-Honokohau National 
     Historical Park Addition Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. ADDITIONS TO KALOKO-HONOKOHAU NATIONAL HISTORICAL 
                   PARK.

       Section 505(a) of Public Law 95-625 (16 U.S.C. 396d(a)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``(a) In order'' and inserting ``(a)(1) In 
     order'';
       (2) by striking ``1978,'' and all that follows and 
     inserting ``1978.''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
       ``(2) The boundaries of the park are modified to include 
     lands and interests therein comprised of Parcels 1 and 2 
     totaling 2.14 acres, identified as `Tract A' on the map 
     entitled `Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park Proposed 
     Boundary Adjustment', numbered PWR (PISO) 466/82,043 and 
     dated April 2002.
       ``(3) The maps referred to in this subsection shall be on 
     file and available for public inspection in the appropriate 
     offices of the National Park Service.''.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Souder) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Indiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 254, introduced by Senator Daniel Akaka, would adjust 
the boundary of the Kaloko-Honokohau

[[Page H11467]]

National Park to include two adjacent parcels of land totaling 2.14 
acres to be used as the park headquarters to house the administrative, 
interpretive, resource management, and maintenance functions. Over the 
long term, this acquisition would prove to be more cost effective than 
continuing its current lease.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 254 is supported by the majority and the minority of 
the committee and the administration. I would urge adoption of the 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
proposed legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, Senate bill 254 would expand the boundary of the Kaloko-
Honokohau National Historic Park on the eastern shore of the island of 
Hawaii. It is our understanding that the National Park Service 
currently rents space in a building near the park for use as a visitors 
center and administrative offices. Apparently, there is a much larger 
space for sale in another part of the same structure. This proposed 
legislation will alter the boundary of the park to include this 
building so that the Park Service might acquire the new space for park 
use. This will improve park operations as well as the visitor 
experience, while also resulting in a long-term cost savings for the 
National Park Service.
  Our colleague and my good friend, the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. 
Case), introduced companion legislation here in the House, and he is to 
be commended for his very diligent work in moving that legislation 
through the Committee on Resources and for his efforts to get this 
legislation to the House floor. I also want to commend at this time the 
good Senator from the State of Hawaii, Senator Daniel Akaka, for his 
sponsorship of this bill in the other body.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case), my good friend and colleague.
  Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, to my colleagues in the Chamber, a fond aloha. 
I see that I have arrived in the nick of time to provide some 
illustration of the nuances of the Hawaiian language as it is spoken, 
although I must say that the Clerk of our great House and my colleague 
from Indiana did an admirable job under a lot of pressure. Of course, 
my colleague from American Samoa is an old expert at this, and I 
appreciate his pronunciation.
  I am very pleased to speak today in strong support of S. 254, a bill 
introduced by my senior colleague, Senator Akaka, to authorize 
expansion of the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park located on the 
Kona Coast on the island of Hawaii, which I am very proud to represent 
and which is my home, my home island. This legislation is the Senate 
version of my bill, H.R. 546, which was previously passed out of the 
House Committee on Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Recreation and Public Lands. Passage of S. 254 in its stead today will 
allow this vital initiative to proceed directly to the President's 
desk.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 254 authorizes expansion of the park boundaries to 
allow the National Park Service to purchase a 2.14-acre parcel with an 
existing building to serve as the park's headquarters. The park has 
been without a permanent headquarters since its establishment in 1978 
and is now renting space some distance from the park itself.
  Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, an initiative of my former 
boss and mentor, U.S. Senator Spark Matsunaga, was created for the 
national preservation, protection, and interpretation of native 
Hawaiian activities and culture. This 1,160-acre park located along the 
Pacific Ocean in Kona is remarkable not only for its cultural and 
historical attributes, but as an incredibly beautiful, unspoiled 
natural treasure.

                              {time}  1945

  The park is the site of an ancient Hawaiian settlement, which 
encompasses portions of four different ahupua'a, or traditional sea-to-
mountain land divisions. Its resources include ancient fishponds, 
kahua, house site platforms, ki'i pohaku, petroglyphs, a holua, stone 
slide, and heiau, religious sites. The park is of tremendous 
significance to the people of Hawaii and especially to indigenous 
native Hawaiians.
  The National Park Service is currently renting space for its 
headquarters at a cost of $150,000 a year. The current headquarters 
only has parking for three to four visitors at a time, which is 
woefully inadequate to accommodate the growing number of visitors to 
this special park. Visitors increased from 54,000 in 2001 to 70,000 in 
2002 and are well on track to increase even more in the current year. 
The proposed acquisition has plenty of parking for visitors and park 
vehicles. And the existing building has more than adequate space for 
the National Park Service's administrative needs not only for Kaloko-
Honokohau, but for the other fantastic national and historic treasures 
under the Service's direction along the Kona Coast ranging from 
Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site to the north, to Pu'uhonua, 
National Historic Park to the south. The already-developed parcel has 
the additional benefit of being right next to the park so that the 
fragile resources within the park proper will not be adversely 
affected.
  For the people of Hawaii and for the indigenous native Hawaiians who 
hold this park in special esteem, I am deeply grateful to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Pombo) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. 
Rahall) of the Committee on Resources and to my colleagues from Indiana 
and from American Samoa for facilitating the prompt passage of this 
measure. I urge its prompt passage. Mahalo.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, my good friend, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder), 
had alluded earlier in his observations about the nature of the way we 
have been passing legislation. And I just want to second, and certainly 
support, his comments to the fact that this is probably one of the 
things that as Members of the sense of comity among our colleagues in 
the House, especially when the bill is proposed by a Member whose 
district is directly affected, that by and large whether you are a 
Republican or Democrat, but at least give the courtesy to that Member, 
the benefit of doubt that he knows what he is talking about.
  For passage of this proposed legislation affecting each Member's 
district, just as my good friend, the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case), 
has just done here, I think speaks well of the spirit of comity that 
should exist. And I would think that my good friend, the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Souder), had mentioned earlier about how we should go 
about passing legislation.
  The gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case) had made a comment about this 
Big Island of Hawaii. The Volcano National Park of Hawaii is the most 
visited national park in the State of Hawaii with over 4 million 
visitors just last year. And also by way of information to my 
colleagues of the House, if you visit Statutory Hall, that huge 
Hawaiian king who was about six foot eight when he was at the height of 
his power as a warrior king named Kamehameha, with warriors amounting 
to about 16,000 warriors and with about 900 war canoes came from that 
Big Island and managed to conquer all of the islands coming under his 
rulership. Something that is tremendous history.
  Some times there is tremendous misunderstanding of my colleagues when 
you say a Hawaiian, you think that it is the same as being called a 
Californian or a Texan. I think we need to understand there is a sense 
of culture in the State of Hawaii. When you are a Hawaiian, there are 
people who are called native Hawaiians, indigenous people of the State 
of Hawaii, which I am so proud to be a part of. And as a fellow 
Polynesian, I commend my good friend, the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. 
Case), for bringing out some of these pronunciations that I realize 
sometimes it sounds like Greek to some of

[[Page H11468]]

the Members here in the Chamber. A tremendous opportunity for education 
of my colleagues, I must say, Mr. Speaker.
  Again, I thank my good friend, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Souder) for his leadership and management of these proposed bills.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pearce). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 254.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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