[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 98 (Friday, June 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

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                           HON. JOHN L. MICA

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 2009

  Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership 
standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information 
regarding an earmark I received as part of H.R. 2996, the Interior, 
Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. This legislation 
appropriates $500,000 to the Department of the Interior National Park 
Service account for the Castillo de San Marco National Monument in the 
City of St. Augustine, Florida, which is in my district. The entity to 
receive this funding is the U.S. Department of Interior, National Park 
Service, Castillo de San Marco National Monument located at 1 South 
Castillo Drive, St. Augustine, FL 32084.
  The City of St. Augustine, founded 444 years ago in 1565, is our 
nation's oldest enduring settlement of European design. Prominent 
within the Historic Spanish Colonial District, which features thirty-
six original colonial buildings, is the majestic Castillo de San Marcos 
stone fortress that began construction in 1672.
  As the only existing 17th century fort in North America, the Castillo 
de San Marcos is an important historical and cultural landmark that 
features the oldest surviving masonry in our nation. About 538,500 
people visited the Castillo in 2008, hosting as many as 3,751 tourists 
in just one day.
  Authorized by Public Law 108-480, this funding will be used for the 
planning and design phase of the Castillo de San Marcos National 
Monument Restoration Project, as outlined in Alternative C of the March 
2007 Final General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement.
  This planning will help preserve and expand the Castillo by 
constructing a visitor center in the Spanish Quarter of St. Augustine 
and removing a portion of the visitor parking lot to restore the 
glacis.

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