[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 162 (Tuesday, November 3, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11050-S11051]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and Mr. Enzi):
  S. 2722. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility 
of adding the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, in the State of 
Wyoming, as a unit of the National Park System; to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I join Senator Enzi today to introduce 
the Heart Mountain Relocation Center Study Act. This legislation will 
authorize the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study 
of the site of Heart Mountain Relocation Center near Powell, Wyoming. 
The site is an important part of our national history and of the 
history of our communities in western Wyoming.
  This legislation is truly a credit to the individuals, local 
communities and grassroots organizations supporting recognition of the 
Heart Mountain site. Many of these individuals readily share their 
experience of the years between 1942 and 1945, when Japanese American 
families from the West Coast were forcibly moved to Park County, 
Wyoming and interned at the site near Heart Mountain. During those 
years, the Heart Mountain site was the third-

[[Page S11051]]

largest community in Wyoming, housing nearly 11,000 Japanese Americans. 
The experience during those years shaped internees and local residents 
alike. It represents an important chapter in American history.
  The legislation introduced today will authorize study of the Heart 
Mountain site and its significance to the mission of the National Park 
Service. The study will involve participation by the public and 
evaluate options for future management of the Heart Mountain site.
  I want to thank the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, along with 
other supporting organizations, for championing this cause. It is 
because of their efforts that this important historical site has been 
preserved and presented to the public.
  The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II is a part of 
America's history. The special resource study of Heart Mountain 
Relocation Center will lay groundwork for protecting this history for 
future generations. I urge Senators to support the Heart Mountain 
Relocation Center Study Act.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the importance of 
preserving the Heart Mountain World War II Internment Camp in Powell, 
Wyoming. My good friend and colleague Senator John Barrasso and I are 
introducing a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and 
feasibility of adding the Heart Mountain Relocation Center as a unit of 
the National Park System.
  Heart Mountain, WY, was 1 of 10 relocation centers created during 
World War II to house Japanese and Japanese-Americans who were forcibly 
relocated inland from the west coast. The current site contains the 
most existing structures of any site in the country. To memorialize 
this history, the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation is working to 
develop a Learning Center on the site of the Internment Camp. The 
Foundation is a well-established and creditable organization serving 
2,800 on its mailing list, with notable Board and Advisory Board 
members including former Senator Alan Simpson and former U.S. 
Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary 
Norman Mineta. Senator Simpson and Secretary Mineta first met as Boy 
Scouts when Senator Simpson's Cody, WY, Scout Troop visited Secretary 
Mineta's troop while he was interned as a young man in the Heart 
Mountain camp. They developed a bond that would last for decades and 
eventually served in Congress together.
  Private and public entities alike strongly believe that Heart 
Mountain, WY, should be preserved for future generations. I, too, 
believe preservation of one of our country's landmarks from World War 
II should be saved so our children and grandchildren have another tool 
to learn about our country's history.
  In 2000, I secured Federal funding from the Economic Development 
Initiative Grant Program, EDI, under the U.S. Department of Housing and 
Urban Development for the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation. The 
foundation used this funding to acquire land and conduct environmental 
assessment of the land in order to build an interactive learning 
facility at Heart Mountain's World War II Internment Camp in Powell, 
WY. The facility educates tourists and Wyomingites about the camp's 
history and effects on the Japanese American population. In the past 9 
years, private individuals, non-profit organizations, and the Federal 
Government have issued additional dollars to the Heart Mountain, 
Wyoming Foundation in order to achieve its goal of preserving the land, 
remaining structures, and building the Learning Center.
  The next step in this journey is the bill Senator Barrasso and I are 
introducing today. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the 
suitability and feasibility of adding the Heart Mountain Relocation 
Center as a unit of the National Park System. When conducting the 
study, the Secretary of the Interior will be looking at various factors 
including, but not limited to, evaluating the national significance of 
Heart Mountain, WY; identifying the cost estimates for any Federal 
acquisition, development, operation and maintenance of the area; and 
identifying any potential impacts of designation of site as a unit of 
the National Park System on private landowners. Once funds are made 
available for the study, the Secretary of the Interior has 3 years to 
study the issue and issue a report about next steps to the appropriate 
House and Senate committees of jurisdiction.
  Simply because we are introducing this legislation does not guarantee 
that Heart Mountain will become a part of the National Park System. The 
bill we are introducing will allow the Secretary to study that question 
and to make a recommendation based on the merits of Heart Mountain and 
how it would fit within the entire National Park System.
  Heart Mountain Camp internees want to leave a legacy of learning 
through this Center to future generations such that abridgements of 
freedoms and lack of ethnic understanding not occur again in this great 
country. Preserving the land and structures and building the Learning 
Center will do just that. This bill is the next step forward in making 
their dream a reality.
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