[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 22, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H6822-H6824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CASA GRANDE RUINS NATIONAL MONUMENT BOUNDARY MODIFICATION ACT OF 2010
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 5110) to modify the boundary of the Casa Grande Ruins
National Monument, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5110
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 ``Casa Grande Ruins National
Monument Boundary Modification Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled
``Proposed Casa Grande Ruins Boundary Modification'',
numbered 303/100,934, and dated January 2010.
(2) Monument.--The term ``Monument'' means the Casa Grande
Ruins National Monument in the State of Arizona.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Arizona.
SEC. 3. ACQUISITION AND TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE
JURISDICTION OF LANDS.
(a) Acquisition of Lands.--The Secretary is authorized to
acquire by donation, exchange, or purchase with donated or
appropriate funds from willing owners only, the private or
State lands or interests in lands generally depicted on the
map, to be administered as part of the Monument.
(b) Transfer of Administrative Jurisdiction to NPS.--The
following Federal lands as generally depicted on the map are
hereby withdrawn from all forms of entry, appropriation, and
disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and
patent under the mining laws; and operation of the mineral
leasing and geothermal leasing laws and mineral materials
laws, and administrative jurisdiction of such Federal lands
is hereby transferred to the National Park Service to be
administered as part of the Monument:
(1) The approximately 3.8 acres of Federal land
administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
(2) The approximately 7.41 acres of Federal land of
administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(c) Transfer of Administrative Jurisdiction to BIA.--
Administrative jurisdiction of the approximately 3.5 acres of
Federal land administered by the National Park Service as
generally depicted on the map as ``Lands to be Transferred to
BIA'' are hereby transferred to the Bureau of Indian Affairs
for the purposes of the San Carlos Irrigation Project.
(d) Administration.--Upon acquisition or transfer of the
lands identified in subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary
shall administer those lands as part of the Monument in
accordance with the laws generally applicable to units of the
National Park System, including--
(1) the National Park Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1 et
seq.); and
(2) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).
(e) Boundary and Map Update.--
(1) Transfers.--Upon completion of the transfers pursuant
to subsection (b), the Secretary shall modify the boundary of
the Monument accordingly, and shall update the map to reflect
such transfers.
(2) Acquisitions.--Upon completion of any of the
acquisitions pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall
modify the boundary of the Monument accordingly, and shall
update the map to reflect such acquisitions.
(f) Map on File.--The map shall be on file and available
for inspection in the appropriate offices of the National
Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF STATE TRUST LANDS.
The Secretary may enter in to an agreement with the State
to provide for cooperative management of the approximately
200 acres of State trust lands generally depicted on the map.
SEC. 5. BOUNDARY STUDY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct a study to
identify any additional lands that the Secretary considers
appropriate to be a part of any future adjustments to the
boundary of the Monument.
(b) Criteria.--The study shall examine the natural,
cultural, recreational, and scenic values and characteristics
of the lands identified under subsection (a).
(c) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date funds
are made available for the study under this section, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the findings,
conclusions, and recommendations of the study.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) and the gentleman from Washington
(Mr. Hastings) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands.
General Leave
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. 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 bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
There was no objection.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5110 would add 415 acres to Casa
Grande Ruins National Monument located south of Phoenix, Arizona.
Currently, the 472-acre monument represents only part of the historic
Native American community that once existed in that area. A 2003
National
[[Page H6823]]
Park Service report identified seven parcels for potential addition to
this monument.
H.R. 5110 authorizes the acquisition of three properties ``by
donation, exchange, or purchase with donated or appropriated funds from
willing owners only.''
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5110 is a good bill. Representative Ann Kirkpatrick
has worked hard to bring it to the floor, and I urge the House to
approve it.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, there are many things in my view that are wrong with
this bill, but I just want to point out three of them. First, this bill
represents wasteful and unnecessary spending at a time of exploding
Federal debt. Second, it lacks needed protection for private property
rights. Third, it expands the already bloated Federal Government at a
time when our priority should be on jobs and economic growth, not the
growth of government.
It shouldn't be necessary to point out that at a time of near double-
digit unemployment and trillion-dollar debt, we really ought to be
working to unleash private-sector economic growth so more Americans can
find jobs, can pay their mortgages, and provide for a better life for
their families. Instead, as usual, with the current Democrat
leadership, we are talking about borrowing more money from foreign
countries to pass a bill to further aggrandize the Federal estate.
The National Park Service estimates that it would cost $10 million to
buy the land targeted in this bill. Now this isn't beachfront property
in the Virgin Islands like we saw targeted earlier in this Congress.
Instead, it is in the Arizona desert. But we are hearing the same
argument why we should go along with this.
Are these private lands in danger of being injured by development?
Hardly. It seems some of the land may be owned by the State or a
wealthy nonprofit presumably created to protect the land from
development. There is no urgent need to borrow money to buy this land
right now. No one can claim that these lands are in imminent danger.
Further, this legislation does not protect the rights of private
property owners. Instead it continues the disturbing practice of
Congress drawing boundaries of Federal land management areas around
private property, even in cases where the landowners have not given
their written approval.
When Congress expands Federal boundaries to encircle private
property, we sometimes shower ourselves in praise for protecting
private property from the dreaded private property owner. But Congress
should only draw boundaries around lands the Federal Government already
owns, not around what it wants to own.
I know the bill purports to protect private property, but it does
nothing, Mr. Speaker, and this is important, it does nothing to
restrain the eminent domain authority already possessed by the
Secretary of the Interior according to both Federal case law and the
Congressional Research Service. This bill expands an area previously
designated under the Antiquities Act. As the Committee on Natural
Resources learned from recently leaked Department of the Interior
documents, this administration is strongly interested in creating new
national monuments or expanding existing ones, and doing so with or
without Congress.
The American people are way ahead of Washington on these issues, Mr.
Speaker. They know that what we should be doing is controlling
spending, protecting private property, taking better care of the land
we already own, and reducing the dead weight of taxation and Federal
bureaucracy that is stifling free enterprise, which is the engine of
economic growth.
{time} 1440
With that being said, there are parts of this bill that I could
support, such as clearing up administrative jurisdiction issues and a
boundary modification to remedy trespassing issues for an irrigation
project. However, I am sorry that these sections, which had broad
support, weren't allowed to stand on their own.
So for those reasons I've cited, I urge a ``no'' vote on H.R. 5110.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume
to the sponsor of this important piece of legislation, the gentlewoman
from Arizona, Representative Ann Kirkpatrick.
Mrs. KIRKPATRICK of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my
legislation, H.R. 5110, the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Boundary Modification Act.
In Coolidge, Arizona, we have the largest prehistoric structure in
the Nation--the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Throughout
Coolidge and the nearby city of Florence, there is evidence of
prehistoric structures--homes, irrigation canals and potential
recreational facilities.
Each year, thousands of visitors come to Pinal County to visit the
ruins, to learn about the ancient Hohokam culture that lived there, and
to see the amazing prehistoric architecture they left behind.
Protecting more of these sensitive areas will allow further development
of tourism to the area, and it will help fulfill the mission of the
monument.
The legislation under consideration today does two things. First, it
allows an expansion of the boundary of the monument to include land
nearby, which will greatly enhance the existing site. Second, it
provides for a study to determine what additional sites in Coolidge and
Florence could be incorporated in the future.
This bill is critical to the economic development of Coolidge and
Florence and of the entire county. It is critical for the preservation
of cultural and historical sites, which is unequaled anywhere else on
the continent. It is the kind of low-cost, job-creating project we need
in Arizona.
Mr. Speaker, since I have been in Congress, I have been the voice of
fiscal discipline, and I have been looking for low-cost, job-creating
projects. This is one of them. This project would create hundreds of
jobs in an area where it does have double-digit unemployment. Talk
about double-digit unemployment--that's in my district. That is what
this is going to address. This is a low-cost jobs project.
Let me tell you that this is exactly why the American people right
now are so angry and frustrated. It is why I am angry and frustrated,
and it is why you are angry and frustrated. It is because Washington is
not listening to the local people. The people of Coolidge and Florence
have worked on this project for years. It is not about partisanship.
They have come together as local community leaders and as private
businesses to support this job-creation project. It makes common sense.
Yet, once again, Washington is not going to listen to the voices of the
American people. Once again, Washington is going to impose its partisan
bickering to stop jobs and to not listen to the American people. That
is what is wrong with Washington.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this critical legislation.
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair reminds Members that it is not in
order to address occupants of the gallery.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry the gentlewoman from Arizona did not yield to
me so I could ask her a question as we have heard a great deal of talk
here on the floor about jobs creation. I am certainly one who believes
that we need to create jobs, particularly in the private sector,
because the private sector is the engine of growth in our country.
I was simply going to ask the gentlewoman if she could document
officially how many jobs have been created. The reason, Mr. Speaker, is
that this existing area is already some 1,600 acres. To suggest that an
area which is 1,600 acres is not creating jobs but that adding some
400-plus acres would create jobs flies in the face of common sense.
What this bill is all about, once again, is the Federal Government's
buying more land when we have a backlog of some $9 billion of
maintenance in this country. Yet here we are, trying to add more land,
which presumably adds more to the backlog. The American people get it.
They understand it. While this is small, I understand, Mr. Speaker, it
is the reason I think this bill is ill-advised today. I urge my
colleagues to vote ``no.''
I yield back the balance of my time.
[[Page H6824]]
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I also want to commend Congresswoman
Kirkpatrick for her leadership in preserving the culture, history and
artifacts of this important area.
Just like Castle Nugent, enacting this bill spends no money and
acquires no land--none. What it does is puts in place the authority
necessary to acquire these invaluable pieces of our ancient past if and
when the time is right and the money is available. Given the value of
the resources involved, this should be an easy decision. It would be a
shame if political gamesmanship and partisan bickering allowed these
pieces of our past, the jobs that would be created, and the hard work
of the people of this part of Arizona to be lost forever.
I ask my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5110, 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.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. 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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