[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 172 (Monday, November 30, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H8429-H8431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BILLY FRANK JR. TELL YOUR STORY ACT
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2270) to redesignate the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge,
located in the State of Washington, as the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually
National Wildlife Refuge, to establish the Medicine
[[Page H8430]]
Creek Treaty National Historic Site within the wildlife refuge, and for
other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2270
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 ``Billy Frank Jr. Tell Your
Story Act''.
SEC. 2. REDESIGNATION OF THE NISQUALLY NATIONAL WILDLIFE
REFUGE.
(a) Redesignation.--The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge,
located in the State of Washington, is redesignated as the
``Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge''.
(b) References.--Any reference in any statute, rule,
regulation, Executive Order, publication, map, paper, or
other document of the United States to the Nisqually National
Wildlife Refuge is deemed to refer to the Billy Frank Jr.
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
SEC. 3. MEDICINE CREEK TREATY NATIONAL MEMORIAL, WASHINGTON.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Medicine Creek
Treaty National Memorial within the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually
National Wildlife Refuge to commemorate the location of the
signing of the Medicine Creek Treaty of 1854 between the
United States Government and leaders of the Muckleshoot,
Nisqually, Puyallup, and Squaxin Island Indian Tribes.
(b) Acreage and Administration.--The Secretary of the
Interior shall establish the boundaries of the Medicine Creek
Treaty National Memorial and provide for administration and
interpretation of the memorial by the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service.
(c) Coordination.--The Secretary of the Interior shall
coordinate with representatives of the Muckleshoot,
Nisqually, Puyallup, and Squaxin Island Indian Tribes in
providing for the interpretation of the Medicine Creek Treaty
National Memorial.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. LaMalfa) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 2270, introduced by my friend, Congressman Denny Heck of
Washington, and cosponsored by the entire Washington delegation would
redesignate the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, located in the
State of Washington, as the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife
Refuge and establish within the refuge the Medicine Creek Treaty
National Memorial.
{time} 1715
This bill is intended to honor the life and legacy of Billy Frank
Jr., who dedicated his life to bringing together tribes, government
officials, and others to improve treaty rights, tribal sovereignty,
environmental stewardship, and salmon recovery in the Puget Sound area.
Frank Jr., who passed away in 2014, was awarded the Albert Schweitzer
Prize for Humanitarianism and the Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished
Service Award and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.
The bill also establishes a national memorial within the refuge to
commemorate the signing of the 1854 Medicine Creek Treaty, which
established reservation land and the right to fish for Puget Sound area
tribes.
Congressman Heck has worked tirelessly to honor the treaty and the
life and work of Billy Frank Jr. I strongly encourage my colleagues to
vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2270.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 2270 designates the national wildlife refuge on the Nisqually
River Delta as the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
Renaming this refuge will honor Billy Frank Jr.'s legacy on the river
where he spent his life. Billy Frank Jr., who passed away last year,
has been recognized for his work defending treaty rights, tribal
sovereignty, and salmon recovery efforts in his home State of
Washington.
Aside from the awards that were noted by my colleague that he has
received, on November 24, President Obama presented his family with the
Medal of Freedom honor that he so justly deserved.
The bill also creates a national memorial to commemorate the signing
of the Medicine Creek Treaty in 1854.
I want to congratulate and thank my colleague from Washington,
Representative Heck, for his tireless work and advocacy on behalf of
this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I again commend the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Heck), my friend, for his quality legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck), the sponsor of the legislation.
Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Speaker, just last week we were home
celebrating Thanksgiving, and we were giving thanks for everything we
are blessed with, everything we cherish--frankly, probably a lot of the
things we take for granted.
For those of us in the Pacific Northwest, we give thanks for the
Puget Sound, we give thanks for our salmon, we give thanks for all the
natural beauty that surrounds us, and we give thanks that Billy Frank
Jr. was in our lives.
As was indicated earlier, in addition to the many other awards he
received in his lifetime, just last week the President conferred upon
Billy Frank Jr., posthumously, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is
literally no exaggeration to suggest that what Martin Luther King meant
to civil rights and Nelson Mandela meant to South Africa, Billy Frank
Jr. meant to the entire Pacific Northwest, indeed, to indigenous people
throughout the globe.
He is a fitting person for the prestigious honor that we hope to
bestow on him today. We have an opportunity to do something today--and
I recommend we seize it--to preserve his legacy in the place he called
home.
Billy Frank Jr. was, indeed, the foremost advocate for restoration of
Native American fishing treaty rights in the Pacific Northwest. He
cherished clean water and healthy salmon runs. He was a key voice in
the recovery of the Puget Sound.
He also, as has not been mentioned, proudly served our Nation in the
United States Marine Corps. He was an MP, I believe, during the Korean
war.
He got along with everyone. He was open and inclusive. His energy
was, literally, infectious.
We were deeply stunned in May of 2014 that he passed away even
though, at the age of 83, we thought Billy would live forever. He is
gone, but his spirit is not and his story is not. His courage and
belief in us is here because, you see, Billy wandered the Halls of
Congress frequently and testified numerous times. He respected this
institution, and he was a powerful voice within our Chambers.
His story is in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in the 10th
Congressional District, which I have the privilege to represent, which
we now protect to give our wildlife a clean and sustainable home.
Billy grew up at a place called Frank's Landing, which is literally
just a hop, skip, and a jump from the refuge. He fished in the
Nisqually River, in and next to the area where the refuge is now. That
is the location where he was arrested more than 50 times for advocating
for his treaty fishing rights.
This bill will rename that refuge after Billy Frank Jr. Also, as has
been indicated, it calls for the establishment of a national memorial
at the exact place of the signing of the Medicine Creek Treaty in 1854.
That was the first treaty in the State of Washington between Indian
people and the newly established territorial government. In this case,
it was between the people of the Nisqually, the Puyallup, Squaxin
Island, and the Muckleshoots.
Throughout his storied career, people often asked Billy: How is it
you do this, get up every day and so effectively advocate on behalf of
clean water and good fish runs? How do you do that decade after decade?
He would always tell them the same thing: Tell your story.
So when people go to the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife
Refuge, they will be able to see why he held fish-ins. They will see
why he risked
[[Page H8431]]
arrest. They will see why he ultimately worked with others to help
protect his home. Like many young people today, he fought for what he
believed in, but later worked with lawmakers to build consensus. He
started out as a civil rights protestor, civilly disobedient and an
advocate. He ended up being one of the great uniters in the history of
the Nation and certainly the Pacific Northwest.
I hope that when people drive by the sign that directs them to the
refuge, maybe they will feel a little of that Billy magic, too. Maybe
they will wonder: Well, who was this Billy Frank Jr.? What did he do?
For those of us who knew him, it will be a frequent reminder of this
hero.
They say you die twice: the first time, and the second time when they
stop speaking about you. It is our goal that they never stop speaking
about Billy Frank Jr. and the lessons he taught us all. The refuge will
be a constant reminder.
I knew Billy for almost 40 years. I loved him like a beloved uncle.
In fact, I called him Uncle Billy. But I was absolutely not special in
that regard. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people did the same thing.
Indeed, at his memorial service, the official estimate of the number in
attendance was 10,000. That is how beloved this man was.
I would like to thank the members of the House Committee on Natural
Resources who unanimously approved this bill and all the members of the
House delegation from Washington State. I would also like to especially
recognize Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Grijalva, and the hardworking
committee staff, both for the majority and the minority, for their help
on this legislation.
In conclusion, Billy once famously said: ``I don't believe in magic.
I believe in the sun and the stars, the water, the tides, the floods,
the owls, the hawks flying, the river running, the wind talking.
They're measurements. They tell us how healthy things are. How healthy
we are. Because we and they are the same.''
Let's remind visitors that we and they are the same at the Billy
Frank Jr. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, again, Mr. Heck is to be commended for
bringing forward such a worthy piece of legislation to honor a man who
has done so much in that area. Indeed, this legislation will make sure
that his story continues to be told and that he will always be
commemorated and memorialized in that region because of that.
Congratulations to you on this.
I am proud to support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Kilmer).
Mr. KILMER. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in standing up today
for a true American hero, Billy Frank Jr.
For Billy, protecting our natural world and everything that depends
on it wasn't a political issue; rather, it was an innate calling. Folks
responded to that.
They followed his fearless protests by standing up for civil rights.
They followed his example by becoming fishermen themselves in places
like South Puget Sound. They followed his lead in championing clean
water and fish runs and protecting Puget Sound. They listened to his
ideas about keeping communities vibrant by building tribal youth
centers.
In the marble Halls of Congress, he convinced so many that tribal
treaty rights could not be held back and that we can't keep damaging
our environment, that we have got to stand up for extraordinary bodies
of water like Puget Sound. He left tracks all across our State and our
Nation, and his advocacy will live on.
To help honor this legacy, I encourage my colleagues to vote for this
bill sponsored by Congressman Heck that I was proud to cosponsor,
renaming the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge the Billy Frank Jr.
National Wildlife Refuge. It is the right thing to do to honor all the
work that Billy did for all of us. It should serve as a reminder that
we need to keep fighting for all of those things he fought for.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, before I yield back the balance of my
time, let me thank the chair of the Subcommittee on Federal Lands, Mr.
McClintock, and Ranking Member Tsongas for their work and the staff's
work on this.
Again, to Mr. Heck and the delegation from Washington, this is a
great piece of legislation. I urge its passage.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2270, 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. LaMALFA. 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, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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