[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 4, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1194-H1195]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[[Page H1194]]
PORT CHICAGO NAVAL MAGAZINE NATIONAL MEMORIAL ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2008
Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3111) to provide for the administration of Port Chicago
Naval Magazine National Memorial as a unit of the National Park System,
and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3111
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 ``Port Chicago Naval Magazine
National Memorial Enhancement Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. PORT CHICAGO NAVAL MAGAZINE NATIONAL MEMORIAL.
Section 203 of the Port Chicago National Memorial Act of
1992 (Public Law 102-562; 16 U.S.C. 431; 106 Stat. 4235) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (f);
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new
subsections:
``(c) Administration.--The Secretary of the Interior shall
administer the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
as a unit of the National Park System in accordance with this
Act and laws generally applicable to units of the National
Park System, including the National Park Service Organic Act
(39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) and the Act of August 21,
1935 (49 Stat. 666; 16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.). Land transferred
to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the
Interior under subsection (d) shall be administered in
accordance with this subsection.
``(d) Transfer of Land.--The Secretary of Defense shall
transfer a parcel of land, consisting of approximately 5
acres, depicted within the proposed boundary on the map
titled `Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial,
Proposed Boundary', numbered 018/80,001, and dated August
2005, to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of
the Interior if the Secretary of Defense determines that--
``(1) the land is excess to military needs; and
``(2) all environmental remediation actions necessary to
respond to environmental contamination related to the land
have been completed in accordance with the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) and other applicable laws.
``(e) Agreement With City of Concord and East Bay Regional
Park District.--The Secretary of the Interior is authorized
to enter into an agreement with the City of Concord,
California, and the East Bay Regional Park District, to
establish and operate a facility for visitor orientation and
parking, administrative offices, and curatorial storage for
the Memorial.''; and
(3) in subsection (f), (as redesignated by paragraph (1)),
by striking ``Secretary of the Navy to provide public access
to the Memorial.'' and inserting ``Secretary of Defense to
provide as much public access as possible to the Memorial
without interfering with military needs.''.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON REMEDIATION AND REPAIR OF PORT
CHICAGO NAVAL MAGAZINE NATIONAL MEMORIAL.
(a) Remediation.--It is the sense of Congress that, in
order to facilitate the land transfer described in subsection
(d) of section 203 of the Port Chicago National Memorial Act
of 1992, as added by section 2, the Secretary of Defense
should promptly remediate remaining environmental
contamination related to the land.
(b) Repair.--It is the sense of Congress that, in order to
preserve the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
for future generations, the Secretary of Defense and the
Secretary of the Interior should work together to--
(1) repair storm damage to the Port Chicago site; and
(2) develop a process by which future repairs and necessary
modifications to the site can be achieved in as timely and
cost-effective a manner as possible.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West Virginia.
General Leave
Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from West Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring to the House for its
consideration this legislation that's sponsored by the former chairman
of the Committee on Natural Resources and current chairman of the
Committee on Education and Labor, Representative George Miller.
This bill provides that the Port Chicago Naval Magazine Memorial be
managed as a unit of the National Park System. Currently, the area is
managed as an affiliated site by the National Park Service.
On July 17, 1944, 320 men, 202 of whom were African American sailors,
were killed in an explosion at the Port Chicago Navy ammunition loading
base in the San Francisco Bay area. This was the largest homeland
disaster during World War II.
In 1992, Congress designated the Port Chicago Naval Magazine
Memorial. The pending measure furthers that commitment by providing
that the Port Chicago Naval Magazine Memorial be managed as a unit of
the National Park System.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support for H.R. 3111, and I submit the following
exchange of letters for the Record.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC, January 31, 2008.
Hon. Nick J. Rahall II,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: On October 10, 2007, the Committee on
Natural Resources ordered H.R. 3111, the ``Port Chicago Naval
Magazine National Memorial Enhancement Act of 2007,'' to be
reported. As you know, this measure contains certain
provisions that are within the jurisdiction of the Committee
on Armed Services, and thus, was sequentially referred to the
Committee on Armed Services by the Parliamentarian for the
House.
Our Committee recognizes the importance of H.R. 3111 and
the need for the legislation to move expeditiously.
Therefore, while we have a valid claim to jurisdiction over
this legislation, the Committee on Armed Services will waive
further consideration of H.R. 3111. I do so with the
understanding that by waiving further consideration of the
bill, the Committee does not waive any future jurisdictional
claims over similar measures. In the event of a conference
with the Senate on this bill, the Committee on Armed Services
reserves the right to seek the appointment of conferees,
I would appreciate the inclusion of this letter and a copy
of the response in your Committee's report on H.R. 3111 and
the Congressional Record during consideration of the measure
on the House floor.
Very truly yours,
Ike Skelton,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Natural Resources,
Washington, DC, February 5, 2008.
Hon. Ike Skelton,
Chairman, Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your willingness to
expedite floor consideration of H.R. 3111, which provides for
the administration of the Port Chicago Naval Magazine
National Memorial as a unit of the National Park System.
I appreciate your willingness to waive rights to further
consideration of H.R. 3111, and am pleased that mutually
agreed upon language was developed for this legislation. Of
course, this waiver does not prejudice any further
jurisdictional claims by your Committee over this legislation
or similar language. Furthermore, I agree to support your
request for appointment of conferees from the Committee on
Armed Services if a conference is held on this matter.
Although the Committee's report on H.R. 3111 has already
been filed, this exchange of letters will be inserted in the
Congressional Record as part of the consideration of the bill
on the House floor. Thank you for the cooperative spirit in
which you have worked regarding this matter and others
between our respective committees.
With warm regards, I am
Sincerely,
Nick J. Rahall II,
Chairman.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on H.R. 3111, and I
yield myself 15 seconds.
The chairman has adequately explained the bill. It's a good bill.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of
the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Enhancement Act, a
bill that ensures that the stories of Port Chicago will be preserved
and that the site will be properly maintained for generations to come.
This bill will increase the National Memorial's accessibility, provide
additional visitor services, and help ensure long-term preservation of
the site.
The legislation before us today is the result of months of diligent
and collaborative effort, for which I want to thank: Chairman Nick
Rahall of the Natural Resources Committee, and ranking member Don
Young; Chairman Raul Grijalva of the National Parks, Forests, and
Public Lands Subcommittee, and ranking member Rob Bishop; Chairman Ike
Skelton of the Armed Services Committee, and ranking member Duncan
Hunter; and the
[[Page H1195]]
thoughtful and hard-working staff for the two committees, including
Meghan Conklin, Dave Watkins, and David Sienicki, and my own
legislative director, Ben Miller.
The Port Chicago memorial, which is in my district, commemorates a
very important story in American history.
The deadly munitions explosion there on the night of July 17, 1944,
killed more than 300 people--the worst homefront disaster of World War
II.
When sailors were ordered to resume work a few weeks later, most of
them refused to return to their dangerous tasks until supervision,
training, and working conditions were improved.
In response, the Navy charged 50 men with conspiring to mutiny--all
were convicted.
The majority of the men killed while handling ordinance at Port
Chicago, and all of those convicted of mutiny, were African-American.
The Port Chicago story was a turning point in American history. The
injustice strongly influenced the Navy's move toward desegregation in
1945.
The Port Chicago memorial tells that story, and I am proud to have
authored the legislation designating the memorial, as I am proud to be
involved in enhancing it with this legislation.
At our hearing in Mr. Grijalva's subcommittee last fall, we heard
from the National Park Service, in support of this bill; from Dr.
Robert Allen, who literally wrote the book on Port Chicago and is a
board member of the Friends of Port Chicago; and Mr. Eugene Sayles, who
was a seaman first class at Port Chicago and helped to get injured men
out of the barracks after the explosion.
As they and others have said, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine
National Memorial tells a critical story in our civil rights and
military history, and with this legislation, we are ensuring that more
Americans will hear the Port Chicago story.
The National Parks Conservation Association has also strongly
supported this legislation, pointing to the ``broad local and national
support'' for the effort, and noting that the Port Chicago memorial
deserves elevation to its ``rightful place as a fully-fledged unit of
the National Park System.''
The new designation under this bill brings with it increased
stature--and more importantly, the Park Service will be able to budget
for the memorial's needs.
In addition, the bill provides for an interpretive center for the
Memorial--this facility will allow school groups, families, and other
visitors to learn about Port Chicago even if they can't access the
site, which is located within the Concord Naval Weapons Station.
Again, I want to thank Chairman Grijalva, Chairman Rahall, Chairman
Skelton, and their staff for helping us bring this important
legislation to the floor today.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RAHALL. 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 West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3111, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________