[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 40 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1621-H1622]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        REVISING BOUNDARIES OF GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4395) to revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg National 
Military Park to include the Gettysburg Train Station, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4395

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK BOUNDARY 
                   REVISION.

       Section 1 of the Act titled ``An Act to revise the boundary 
     of the Gettysburg National Military Park in the Commonwealth 
     of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes'', approved August 
     17, 1990 (16 U.S.C. 430g-4), is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:
       ``(d) Additional Land.--In addition to the land identified 
     in subsections (a) and (b), the park shall also include the 
     following, as depicted on the map titled `Gettysburg National 
     Military Park Proposed Boundary Addition', numbered 305/
     80,045 and dated January 2010:
       ``(1) The land and interests in land commonly known as the 
     `Gettysburg Train Station' and its immediate surroundings in 
     the Borough of Gettysburg.
       ``(2) The land and interests in land located along Plum Run 
     in Cumberland Township.''.

     SEC. 2. ACQUISITION AND DISPOSAL OF LAND.

       Section 2 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 430g-5) is amended by 
     adding at the end of subsection (a) the following: ``The 
     Secretary is also authorized to acquire publicly owned 
     property within the area defined in section 1(d)(1) by 
     purchase, from willing sellers only, if efforts to acquire 
     that property without cost have been exhausted. The Secretary 
     may not acquire property within the area defined in section 
     1(d) by eminent domain.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Guam.

                              {time}  1545


                             General Leave

  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Guam?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, H.R. 4395, introduced by Representative 
Todd Platts of Pennsylvania, would authorize a boundary change at 
Gettysburg National Military Park to include the Gettysburg Train 
Station. Madam Speaker, it was here that President Lincoln arrived to 
honor the war dead on the field of battle and deliver the address that 
would forever define the Civil War as a battle for the freedom and the 
rights of all Americans.
  Under the proposed legislation, the National Park Service would take 
over management of the train station from the Borough of Gettysburg, 
and community partners would staff it. The bill would also expand the 
park boundaries to include additional historic lands and would add 
protections for the resources of this hallowed site.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 4395 has broad bipartisan support, and we urge 
its adoption by the House today.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  The legislation allows the National Park Service to accept the 
donation of a small parcel of land that will allow it to better 
interpret the historic battle for which the park was created. It also 
authorizes the Park Service to purchase the historic train depot where 
Abraham Lincoln arrived and departed from his historic visit in 1863.
  I am told that there was a time when that historic train depot served 
as a pizza parlor. Today, it serves a much more fitting role as a 
museum, and under this measure the Park Service will take over its 
operation.
  I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman, Mr. Platts, the 
author of the measure.
  Mr. PLATTS. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. And I 
certainly rise in support today of H.R. 4395, a bill to extend the 
boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park. I am honored to 
have introduced this legislation and certainly appreciate the support 
of the chairman and ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee 
in moving this bill to the floor.
  Madam Speaker, Gettysburg is a unique and very special place. When I

[[Page H1622]]

travel around the country, I am always proud to talk to fellow citizens 
about my district in central Pennsylvania, including Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania, where the United States Army War College is located, and 
certainly my hometown of York, where the Continental Congress met for 9 
months in 1777, and where the Articles of Confederation were adopted. 
No town, however, that I mentioned gets quite the reaction as 
Gettysburg. Not only did Gettysburg host the battle that marked the 
turning point of the Civil War in 1863, but it is also where President 
Lincoln gave one of the most historic addresses in our Nation's 
history.
  H.R. 4395 would expand the boundaries of the Gettysburg National 
Military Park to include the historic Lincoln Train Station, as well as 
a 45-acre plot of land at the southern base of Big Round Top, in order 
to ensure preservation of these properties for generations to come. 
Both pieces of land are historically significant.

  The Lincoln Train Station served as a hospital during the time of the 
1863 battle and was the departure point for many wounded and deceased 
soldiers as they were returned to their homes. The station is also 
where President Lincoln arrived when he visited Gettysburg to give his 
historic Gettysburg Address in November 1863.
  The 1858 structure is listed on the National Register of Historic 
Places and is currently owned by the Borough of Gettysburg. The Borough 
uses the station currently as a visitor's center. However, due to the 
lack of funding and available volunteers, it is unable to keep the 
center open on a regularly scheduled basis. The Borough of Gettysburg 
supports this legislation and wishes for the National Park Service to 
acquire this historic parcel and, as was referenced, be truly restored 
to its original beauty so it can be an added destination point for so 
many visitors to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
  The 45-acre parcel of land at the base of Big Round Top hosted 
cavalry skirmishes in July 1863 as part of the battle and currently 
contains critical wetlands and wildlife habitat associated with Plum 
Run. The Gettysburg Foundation currently owns this piece of land and 
would like to donate it ``fee title interest'' to the National Park 
Service once it is added to the park's boundary.
  As we all certainly appreciate, the National Park Service is tasked 
with preserving and maintaining a huge number of very important parks, 
over 400, I believe.
  Like all Federal agencies, the National Park Service works within a 
constrained budget to allocate resources efficiently and effectively. I 
am sensitive to the current obligations of the NPS and believe that we 
should expand these commitments with thoughtfulness and without haste. 
I strongly believe that these two additions proposed by this 
legislation are truly historic in nature and would add great value to 
the park's already impressive resources. With that, I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, if the gentlelady from Guam has no 
further speakers, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I again urge members to support the 
bill, and I wish to thank my colleague, the gentleman from California 
(Mr. McClintock), for managing the bill with me this afternoon.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4395, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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