[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 114 (Tuesday, September 21, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7262-H7263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                WESTERN RESERVE HERITAGE AREAS STUDY ACT

  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3257) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing 
the Western Reserve Heritage Area, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3257

       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 ``Western Reserve Heritage 
     Areas Study Act''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STUDY REGARDING THE WESTERN 
                   RESERVE, OHIO.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
       (1) The area that encompasses the modern-day counties of 
     Trumbull, Mahoning, Ashtabula, Portage, Geagua, Lake, 
     Cuyahoga, Summit, Medina, Huron, Lorain, Erie, Ottawa, and 
     Ashland in Ohio with the rich history in what was once the 
     Western Reserve, has made a unique contribution to the 
     cultural, political and industrial development of the United 
     States.
       (2) The Western Reserve is distinctive as the land settled 
     by the people of Connecticut after the Revolutionary War. The 
     Western Reserve holds a unique mark as the original 
     wilderness land of the West that many settlers migrated to in 
     order to begin life outside of the original 13 colonies.
       (3) The Western Reserve played a significant role in 
     providing land to the people of Connecticut whose property 
     and land was destroyed during the Revolution. These settlers 
     were descendants of the brave immigrants who came to the 
     Americas in the 17th century.
       (4) The Western Reserve offered a new destination for those 
     who moved west in search of land and prosperity. The 
     agricultural and industrial base that began in the Western 
     Reserve still lives strong in these prosperous and historical 
     counties.
       (5) The heritage of the Western Reserve remains transfixed 
     in the counties of Trumbull, Mahoning, Ashtabula, Portage, 
     Geagua, Lake, Cuyahoga, Summit, Medina, Huron, Lorain, Erie, 
     Ottawa, and Ashland in Ohio. The people of these counties are 
     proud of their heritage as shown through the unwavering 
     attempts to preserve agricultural land and the industrial 
     foundation that has been embedded in this region since the 
     establishment of the Western Reserve. Throughout these 
     counties, historical sites, and markers preserve the unique 
     traditions and customs of its original heritage.
       (6) The counties that encompass the Western Reserve 
     continue to maintain a strong connection to its historic past 
     as seen through its preservation of its local heritage, 
     including historic homes, buildings, and centers of public 
     gatherings.
       (7) There is a need for assistance for the preservation and 
     promotion of the significance of the Western Reserve as the 
     natural, historic and cultural heritage of the counties of 
     Trumbull, Mahoning, Ashtabula, Portage, Geagua, Lake, 
     Cuyahoga, Summit, Medina, Huron, Lorain, Erie, Ottawa and 
     Ashland in Ohio.
       (8) The Department of the Interior is responsible for 
     protecting the Nation's cultural and historical resources. 
     There are significant examples of such resources within these 
     counties and what was once the Western Reserve to merit the 
     involvement of the Federal Government in the development of 
     programs and projects, in cooperation with the State of Ohio 
     and other local governmental entities, to adequately 
     conserve, protect, and interpret this heritage for future 
     generations, while providing opportunities for education and 
     revitalization.
       (b) Study.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall, in consultation with 
     the State of Ohio, the counties of Trumbull, Mahoning, 
     Ashtabula, Portage, Geagua, Lake, Cuyahoga, Summit, Medina, 
     Huron, Lorain, Erie, Ottawa, and Ashland, and other 
     appropriate organizations, carry out a study regarding the 
     suitability and feasibility of establishing the Western 
     Reserve Heritage Area in these counties in Ohio.
       (2) Contents.--The study shall include analysis and 
     documentation regarding whether the Study Area--
       (A) has an assemblage of natural, historic, and cultural 
     resources that together represent distinctive aspects of 
     American heritage worthy of recognition, conservation, 
     interpretation, and continuing use, and are best managed 
     through partnerships among public and private entities and by 
     combining diverse and sometimes noncontiguous resources and 
     active communities;
       (B) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, and folklife 
     that are a valuable part of the national story;
       (C) provides outstanding opportunities to conserve natural, 
     historic, cultural, or scenic features;
       (D) provides outstanding recreational and educational 
     opportunities;
       (E) contains resources important to the identified theme or 
     themes of the Study Area that retain a degree of integrity 
     capable of supporting interpretation;
       (F) includes residents, business interests, nonprofit 
     organizations, and local and State governments that are 
     involved in the planning, have developed a conceptual 
     financial plan that outlines the roles for all participants, 
     including the Federal Government, and have demonstrated 
     support for the concept of a national heritage area;
       (G) has a potential management entity to work in 
     partnership with residents, business interests, nonprofit 
     organizations, and local and State governments to develop a 
     national heritage area consistent with continued local and 
     State economic activity;
       (H) has a conceptual boundary map that is supported by the 
     public; and
       (I) has potential or actual impact on private property 
     located within or abutting the Study Area.
       (c) Boundaries of the Study Area.--The Study Area shall be 
     comprised of the counties of Trumbull, Mahoning, Ashtabula, 
     Portage, Geagua, Lake, Cuyahoga, Summit, Medina, Huron, 
     Lorain, Erie, Ottawa, and Ashland in Ohio.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. 
Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).


                             General Leave

  Mr. PEARCE. 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 New Mexico?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3257 sponsored by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Ryan) and amended by the Committee on Resources would authorize the 
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the 
suitability and feasibility of establishing the Western Reserve 
Heritage Area. The proposed study area under this bill would encompass 
14 modern-day counties in Ohio which throughout history have made a 
unique contribution to the cultural, political and industrial 
development of the United States.
  The Western Reserve is every bit as distinctive as the land settled 
by the people of Connecticut after the Revolutionary War and holds a 
unique mark as the original wilderness in the West that many settlers 
migrated to in order to begin life outside the original 13 colonies.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3257, as amended, is supported by the majority and 
minority of the committee and by the administration. I urge adoption of 
this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, our system of national heritage areas, created over the 
last two decades, has been enormously successful. These are grassroots 
projects that leverage limited Federal support to develop locally 
funded and managed conservation and preservation programs.
  Areas rich in historic and scenic resources but which might not 
qualify for inclusion in the National Park System receive the funding 
they need through the National Heritage Area Program. H.R. 3257 will 
authorize a study to determine whether or not the area in Ohio once 
known as the Western Reserve would qualify as a National Heritage Area.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) is to be commended 
for his tireless efforts on behalf of the communities that would be 
included in this new area. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) is a 
freshman member of this body, but he is already demonstrating a 
willingness to go to bat for communities in need of the kind of Federal 
support the Heritage Area Program can provide. We look forward to 
working with him to create the Western Reserve Heritage Area should the 
study we are authorizing today support such a move.
  The gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) and I congratulate the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) on this important legislation, and I 
urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3257.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).

                              {time}  1445

  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding 
me this time. And I would also like to take this opportunity to thank 
the gentleman from California (Chairman Pombo) for the opportunity to 
do this study.
  This is a tremendous opportunity for our community. We have had a ton 
of

[[Page H7263]]

issues in Northern Ohio and in Northeastern Ohio, and I would like to 
just thank the chairman for giving me an opportunity to help us try to 
redefine our community. I would also like to thank the gentleman from 
West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), ranking member, who has been a tremendous 
help and support in guidance and his counsel over the past couple of 
years since I have been in Congress on a variety of issues, but this 
one in particular. I would also like to thank Jim Zoia on his staff for 
helping us with the day-to-day operations. I would also like to thank 
Jennifer Moore on my staff and my chief of staff, Mary Anne Walsh, for 
their help in making this happen.
  The Western Reserve, as has been stated already, was the original 
West. There were many people from the American Revolution who were 
forced out of their houses and their homes over into the West, just 
west of Pennsylvania into Northern Ohio, and it was 14 original 
counties that are still there today; and there have been significant 
changes. But since 1792, this area has always represented a place that 
was indicative, I think, of the American spirit, and the people who 
were there were very industrious, and they came there with that spirit; 
and we have had enormous success.
  The Western Reserve has been the leader and has showed great progress 
since 1792. It has been the foundation of the steel industry. It has 
been the rubber capital of the world. It had the first African American 
newspaper. It has the oldest labor newspaper. In the last 25 or 30 
years or so, this area has had some great challenges. With the 
decimation, really, of the steel industry in the United States of 
America, this area took a great fall, and there have been enormous 
challenges throughout the whole manufacturing sector in these 14 
counties, which I think makes this legislation that much more 
significant because we need to preserve what I believe to be the real 
history of these communities, a history of progress, a history of 
economic progress, a history of participation in the social justice 
aspects of our society.
  And I think it is important for us through this heritage corridor to 
communicate to our children and to our grandchildren that they come 
from an area that once led the world in the economic and social arenas.
  This is the area for the first electric street car, the first Warner 
Brothers film. The first Packard car was produced in this area; the 
baseball score card; and one of my favorites, the hot dog, was invented 
in the old Connecticut Western Reserve; also, the American trucking 
industry.
  And we want our children to know that they come from a place that had 
three Presidents, President Garfield, President McKinley, President 
Hayes; three United States Supreme Court justices; Thomas Edison; John 
Brown the great abolitionist. And the success of our future depends on 
our understanding of the past. As the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. 
Rahall) said, this heritage corridor in many instances throughout this 
country provides the economic engine for rebirth of an area, and that 
is exactly what we need.
  We are working on regionalization in Northeast Ohio, and we cannot 
just have economic regionalization. We need the cultural and historic 
preservations and have all the groups in our community working 
together, and this is the rallying point for our community.
  So I want to thank, again, the chairman. I want to thank the 
gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) for helping us improve the 
quality of life in our community. I would like to thank the gentleman 
from New Mexico, as well, because I think if these kids and our 
grandkids know that they come from this stock of Presidents and 
inventors and entrepreneurs and scientists and many others who have 
contributed to the economic progress of our country and the social 
justice of our country that they will be inspired to continue this 
proud tradition.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, as the Ranking Democratic Member of the 
Resources Committee, it is a pleasure and privilege to have H.R. 3257, 
sponsored by our esteemed colleague from Ohio, Tim Ryan, be considered 
on the floor today.
  The dramatic tapestry of our Nation's cultural heritage is one which 
many of us are seeking to preserve for the benefit of not just current, 
but future generations, in the form of National Heritage Areas. We do 
this not just for educational or inspirational purposes, but also, 
because heritage areas are engines for economic development.
  While the measure pending before us today is the logical first step, 
an authorization of a feasibility study for a proposed Western Reserve 
Heritage Area, I am confident that once completed, it will find that 
this particular region of Ohio deserves national recognition for the 
special cultural and historic resources values it contains. And when 
that day arrives, it will be a tribute to the untiring dedication and 
hard work of Representative Tim Ryan.
  Indeed, although a freshman Member of this body, Tim Ryan has already 
garnered a reputation as a fighter for the people of the 17th District 
of Ohio. The bill we are considering today is reflective of their good 
judgment in sending a person such as Tim Ryan to Congress to represent 
them.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3257.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for his 
comments, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Boozman). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3257, 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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