[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 119 (Tuesday, September 28, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7671-H7672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        EL CAMINO REAL DE LOS TEJAS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL ACT

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 2052) to amend the National Trails System Act to 
designate El Camino Real de los Tejas as a National Trail.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 2052

       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 ``El Camino Real de los Tejas 
     National Historic Trail Act''.

     SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF EL CAMINO REAL DE LOS TEJAS NATIONAL 
                   HISTORIC TRAIL.

       Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 
     1244(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(24) El camino real de los tejas national historic 
     trail.--
       ``(A) In general.--El Camino Real de los Tejas (the Royal 
     Road to the Tejas) National Historic Trail, a combination of 
     historic routes (including the Old San Antonio Road) totaling 
     approximately 2,580 miles, extending from the Rio Grande near 
     Eagle Pass and Laredo, Texas, to Natchitoches, Louisiana, as 
     generally depicted on the map entitled `El Camino Real de los 
     Tejas' contained in the report entitled `National Historic 
     Trail Feasibility Study and Environmental Assessment: El 
     Camino Real de los Tejas, Texas-Louisiana', dated July 1998.
       ``(B) Map.--A map generally depicting the trail shall be on 
     file and available for public inspection in the appropriate 
     offices of the National Park Service.
       ``(C) Administration.--(i) The Secretary of the Interior 
     (referred to in this paragraph as `the Secretary') shall 
     administer the trail.
       ``(ii) The Secretary shall administer those portions of the 
     trail on non-Federal land only with the consent of the owner 
     of such land and when such trail portion qualifies for 
     certification as an officially established component of the 
     trail, consistent with section 3(a)(3). An owner's approval 
     of a certification agreement shall satisfy the consent 
     requirement. A certification agreement may be terminated at 
     any time.
       ``(iii) The designation of the trail does not authorize any 
     person to enter private property without the consent of the 
     owner.
       ``(D) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult with 
     appropriate State and local agencies in the planning and 
     development of the trail.
       ``(E) Coordination of activities.--The Secretary may 
     coordinate with United States and Mexican public and 
     nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, and, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of State, the Government of 
     Mexico and its political subdivisions, for the purpose of 
     exchanging trail information and research, fostering trail 
     preservation and educational programs, providing technical 
     assistance, and working to establish an international 
     historic trail with complementary preservation and education 
     programs in each nation.
       ``(F) Land acquisition.--The United States shall not 
     acquire for the trail any land or interest in land outside 
     the exterior boundary of any federally-administered area 
     without the consent of the owner of the land or interest in 
     land.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. 
Bordallo) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich).
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 2052, introduced by Senator Hutchison of Texas, would 
amend the National Trail System to designate the El Camino Real de los 
Tejas, or the Royal Road of Texas, as a National Historic Trail. 
Originally

[[Page H7672]]

linking Mexico City through modern-day Texas and Louisiana, the El 
Camino Real provided missionaries, explorers, traders, ranchers and 
military passageway through the rugged unconquered terrain of North 
America, and I urge adoption of this Senate bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to the consideration of this 
measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez).
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Guam for 
yielding me this time, and I am honored to rise to support Senate bill 
2052, the Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Act.
  This bill is the Senate version of the legislation I introduced, 
recognizing the historical and cultural heritage of what has become 
known as the Camino Real de los Tejas. The Camino Real de los Tejas is 
a series of trails extending from the Rio Grande through San Antonio, 
and ending in Louisiana, covering nearly 2,600 miles in all.
  For more than 150 years, these trail systems served as critical trade 
routes, post roads, cattle trails and military highways. These roads 
were also, prior to the Spanish, were the trails the Native Americans 
utilized for almost 500 years.
  The history of the United States is often taught as the western 
migration and the settlements of this continent. That history is, of 
course, central to our national experience. But there is another 
history that deserves our attention and recognition. That history is 
the south-to-north migration of the Spanish, the Native Americans, and 
the peoples of Mexico and Latin America.
  The Spanish and the Mexican exploration and development of Texas 
followed these patterns from the late 1600s to the time of Texas 
independence in 1836. Even today, that pattern continues as people from 
Latin America trade with the United States, visit our country, and 
migrate here seeking new lives.
  The Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail will give us the 
tools to remember that critical history and will provide local 
communities and organizations with the opportunity to develop cultural 
tourism in cooperation with the National Park Service. The Camino Real 
de los Tejas trail system was an important commercial and cultural 
trade corridor that helped define the history of Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, I first introduced the legislation to establish El 
Camino de los Tejas Trail in 1998. During these past 6 years, I and my 
staff have worked closely with local community leaders and other 
Members of Congress to craft a bill that would recognize the history of 
the trail while absolutely protecting the private property rights. I am 
proud this legislation enjoys bipartisan support in both the Senate and 
House.
  I want to recognize the support and the work of Senator Kay Bailey 
Hutchison, the senior Senator from Texas, who introduced this companion 
bill earlier this year and successfully negotiated its passage in the 
Senate. I want to personally thank her, because without her efforts, we 
would not be where we are at now.
  I also want to thank the staff who worked on this bill in the 
committee and in our personal offices, including Laura Marquez of my 
office, and I especially want to thank my chief of staff, Jeff 
Mendelsohn, who has spearheaded our efforts to pass this bill during 
the past 6 years. His focus and dedication to the project has made 
today's passage possible.
  I also want to thank Al Notzon, back home in San Antonio, who has 
worked and gotten some 30 or 40 letters from cities and counties and a 
multitude of individuals throughout the State of Texas and Louisiana to 
come forth.
  The beauty of this piece of legislation is that it allows us to get a 
good recognition of our history. One important thing I would like to 
mention, Mr. Speaker, is that during the War of 1812, whether you know 
it or not, through this trail came 10,000 head of cattle. If it had not 
been for those Mexican cows coming through there, no telling what would 
have happened in 1812. But we were able to pull it off in that war, and 
that is one of the little tidbits of history that is there regarding 
this trail and which was so significant to the making of this country.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) for his comments on this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. 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 California (Mr. Radanovich) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 2052.
  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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