[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 6, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H5064-H5065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        FORT FREDERICA NATIONAL MONUMENT BOUNDARY EXPANSION ACT

  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3480) to expand the boundary of Fort 
Frederica National Monument in the State of Georgia, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3480

       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 ``Fort Frederica National 
     Monument Boundary Expansion Act''.

[[Page H5065]]

  


     SEC. 2. FORT FREDERICA NATIONAL MONUMENT, GEORGIA.

       (a) Maximum Acreage.--The first section of the Act of May 
     26, 1936 (16 U.S.C. 433g), is amended by striking ``two 
     hundred and fifty acres'' and inserting ``305 acres''.
       (b) Boundary Expansion.--
       (1) In general.--The boundary of the Fort Frederica 
     National Monument in the State of Georgia is modified to 
     include the land generally depicted as ``Proposed Acquisition 
     Areas'' on the map entitled ``Fort Frederica National 
     Monument Proposed Boundary Expansion'', numbered 369/132,469, 
     and dated April 2016.
       (2) Availability of map.--The map described in paragraph 
     (1) shall be on file and available for public inspection in 
     the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
       (3) Acquisition of land.--The Secretary of the Interior may 
     acquire the land and interests in land described in paragraph 
     (1) by donation or purchase with donated or appropriated 
     funds from willing sellers only.
       (4) Written consent of owner.--No non-Federal property may 
     be included in the Fort Frederica National Monument without 
     the written consent of the owner.
       (5) No use of condemnation or eminent domain.--The 
     Secretary of the Interior may not acquire by condemnation or 
     eminent domain any land or interests in land under this Act 
     or for the purposes of this Act.
       (6) No buffer zone created.--Nothing in this Act, the 
     establishment of the Fort Frederica National Monument, or the 
     management plan for the Fort Frederica National Monument 
     shall be construed to create buffer zones outside of the 
     Monument. That activities or uses can be seen, heard, or 
     detected from areas within the Fort Frederica National 
     Monument shall not preclude, limit, control, regulate, or 
     determine the conduct or management of activities or uses 
     outside of the Monument.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous materials on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  The Fort Frederica National Monument, located on St. Simons Island, 
Georgia, preserves the archaeological remnants of a fort established in 
1736 by James Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe constructed the fort to protect 
the colony of Georgia from attack from the Spanish. The fort 
successfully fended off a Spanish attack in 1742 and confirmed Georgia 
as a British territory.
  H.R. 3480, introduced by Congressman Buddy Carter of Georgia, expands 
Fort Frederica by 21 acres. The St. Simons Land Trust currently owns 
the additional acreage and will steward the land until the National 
Park Service can acquire the property. This bipartisan bill is 
cosponsored by the entire Georgia delegation, and Congressman Carter 
worked closely with Chairman Bishop to modify the bill before markup.
  I urge the adoption of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As the chairman has said, this bill expands the Fort Frederica 
National Monument to include a 20-acre property, known as the North 
Marsh, which is currently owned by the St. Simons Land Trust. The 
National Park Service evaluated the property in a 2014 study and 
determined that its acquisition would provide additional opportunities 
to protect and interpret resources that are associated with the site.
  Fort Frederica, located on St. Simons Island, Georgia, was built by 
James Oglethorpe in 1736 to protect the colony of Georgia from Spanish 
Florida. The fort has been managed by the National Park Service since 
1936, when President Franklin Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act to 
designate the site as a national monument.
  As a quick aside, I climbed Mount Katahdin last week, which is 
Maine's highest mountain, and I was in Maine when Secretary Jewell 
arrived to celebrate President Obama's use of the Antiquities Act to 
accept a gift of 87,000 acres in order to create the new Katahdin Woods 
and Waters National Monument--some of the most beautiful country I have 
ever seen.
  This bill is an important reminder of how a decision to protect and 
elevate our shared heritage resonates for generations. Eighty years 
after President Roosevelt made the decision to establish a national 
monument, we are looking at opportunities to expand it and increase the 
resources it protects. By using money from the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund--a Federal program that was not around in FDR's time 
but that is one, I am sure, he would have supported--we can continue 
this important legacy.
  I thank the majority and my friend from Georgia (Mr. Carter) for 
advancing this bill. I look forward to working with them to advance 
similar legislation that is designed to expand and enhance our public 
lands.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), the author of bill.
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, the First Congressional District of Georgia is home to 
many natural and historic treasures, including the Fort Frederica 
National Monument. Fort Frederica was built on St. Simons Island in 
1736 by James Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia, to protect the new 
British colony from the Spanish. The fort's strategic location ensured 
a decisive victory for Oglethorpe in 1742 at the Battle of Bloody 
Marsh, which ended further Spanish attempts to claim Georgia as their 
own.
  Today, the Fort Frederica National Monument is a popular destination 
in Glynn County that features portions of the original fort, a museum, 
and extensive hiking trails. H.R. 3480 would authorize the National 
Park Service to obtain adjacent land that likely contains artifacts 
from prehistoric human settlements, adding more to the rich history of 
this site.
  I thank the chairman for his consideration of this bill as well as to 
thank the entire Georgia delegation for supporting and cosponsoring 
this legislation. I also thank the Natural Resources Committee staff 
for their work and dedication to this bill.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3480, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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