[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 173 (Monday, November 14, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H7408-H7409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SAM D. HAMILTON NOXUBEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 588) to redesignate the Noxubee National 
Wildlife Refuge as the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife 
Refuge.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 588

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

     SECTION 1. REDESIGNATION OF THE NOXUBEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE 
                   REFUGE.

       (a) In General.--The Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, 
     located in the State of Mississippi, is redesignated as the 
     ``Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge''.
       (b) Boundary Revision.--Nothing in this Act prevents the 
     Secretary of the Interior from making adjustments to the 
     boundaries of the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife 
     Refuge (referred to in this section as the ``Refuge''), as 
     the Secretary determines to be appropriate, to carry out the 
     mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System in accordance 
     with the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act 
     of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and any other applicable 
     authority.
       (c) Addition of Land.--Nothing in this Act prevents the 
     Secretary of the Interior from adding to the Refuge new land 
     or parcels of the National Wildlife Refuge System, as the 
     Secretary determines to be appropriate, to carry out the 
     mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System in accordance 
     with the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act 
     of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and any other applicable 
     authority.
       (d) References.--Any reference in any statute, rule, 
     regulation, executive order, publication, map, paper, or 
     other document of the United States to the Noxubee National 
     Wildlife Refuge is deemed to refer to the Sam D. Hamilton 
     Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days 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 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Under H.R. 588, the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi 
will be renamed after the former Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Sam Hamilton, who recently died at the young age of 54. It's 
my understanding, Madam Speaker, that his first outdoors job was at the 
Noxubee Refuge, where he learned to band wood ducks and manage wildlife 
habitat.
  I want to compliment my friend and colleague from Mississippi, 
Congressman Gregg Harper, for introducing this no-cost legislation, 
which I think is a fitting tribute to Sam Hamilton and all that he 
stood for.
  With that, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Ms. BORDALLO. I rise in support of H.R. 588, which would redesignate 
the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge as the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee 
National Wildlife Refuge.
  Madam Speaker, it is abundantly clear that everyone who worked with 
Director Hamilton during his three-plus decades of public service had 
the utmost respect and admiration for him. His lifelong commitment to 
conservation and restoration of some of the Nation's most important 
species and ecosystems started at Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, and 
so it is fitting that this place is memorialized in his honor.
  I commend my colleague, Congressman Harper from Mississippi, for 
introducing this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 
3 minutes to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Harper).
  Mr. HARPER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H.R. 
588, legislation that I introduced to redesignate the Noxubee National 
Wildlife Refuge as the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife 
Refuge. This legislation is a companion bill to S. 266, introduced by 
Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, which passed the Senate on February 
17, 2011. I want to thank Senator Cochran for his leadership on this 
and many other conservation matters.
  H.R. 588 honors Mr. Sam D. Hamilton, a lifetime conservationist and a 
great man who spent 30 years at the Fish and Wildlife Service, 
ultimately rising to Director in 2009.
  Established in 1940, the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge consists of 
48,000 acres in east-central Mississippi. Approximately 170,000 people 
visit the refuge annually and enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, and other 
outdoor and recreational activities.
  Mr. Hamilton had a long and personal history with the refuge. A 
native of Starkville, Mississippi, he recalled during his confirmation 
testimony that he caught his first fish at the refuge at the age of 5 
and began his conservation career there as an employee at age 15. Sam 
called the refuge system the ``finest collection of public lands and 
waters dedicated to fish and wildlife conservation in the world.''
  Upon graduating from Mississippi State University, Sam started a 
career that spanned 30 years at the Fish and Wildlife Service. On 
September 1, 2009, Sam Hamilton was sworn in as the 15th Director of 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
  Regrettably, Sam passed away on February 20, 2010. Honoring Sam by 
renaming the refuge would be a tribute to his remarkable career and his 
commitment to conservation. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 
recently provided a grant to the Friends of Noxubee Refuge that will 
allow the name change to occur without the Federal Government's 
incurring these costs.

[[Page H7409]]

  I would also like to thank Chairman Hastings and Subcommittee 
Chairman Fleming for their support and look forward to working with 
them to ensure this legislation is signed into law to remember a man 
who devoted his life and career to the ideals formed during his early 
days at the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, again I urge my colleagues to support 
H.R. 588, which is a bill that would rename the Noxubee National 
Wildlife Refuge as the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife 
Refuge.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I too urge my colleagues 
to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1640

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 588.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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