[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 16, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H394-H395]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AUTHORIZING COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS BETWEEN DISTRICT OF 
                   COLUMBIA AND NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2897) to authorize the Mayor of the District of Columbia and 
the Director of the National Park Service to enter into cooperative 
management agreements for the operation, maintenance, and management of 
units of the National Park System in the District of Columbia, and for 
other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2897

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

     SECTION 1. AUTHORIZING COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS 
                   BETWEEN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND NATIONAL PARK 
                   SERVICE FOR OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, AND 
                   MANAGEMENT OF UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM 
                   IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

       (a) Authorization.--The Mayor of the District of Columbia 
     and the Director of the National Park Service may enter into 
     cooperative management agreements under section 101703 of 
     title 54, United States Code, for the operation, maintenance, 
     and management of units of the National Park System located 
     in the District of Columbia, including the design and 
     construction of improvements to such units.
       (b) Terms and Conditions.--A cooperative management 
     agreement entered into under this section may include such 
     terms and conditions as may be agreed to by the Mayor and 
     Director, including terms and conditions relating to--
       (1) the allocation of responsibility for the operation, 
     maintenance, and management of a unit of the National Park 
     System between the District of Columbia and the National Park 
     Service; and
       (2) the payment of funds by the National Park Service and 
     the District of Columbia in support of the agreement.
       (c) Relation to Other Laws.--
       (1) Treatment of district of columbia as a state for 
     purposes of cooperative management agreements under title 
     54.--Section 101703 of title 54, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Definition of State.--For the purposes of this 
     section, the term `State' means each of the several States 
     and the District of Columbia.''.
       (2) Anti-deficiency act.--Nothing in subchapter III of 
     chapter 13 or subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31, United 
     States Code (commonly known as the ``Anti-Deficiency Act'') 
     may be construed to prohibit the payment or use of funds by 
     the District of Columbia or the National Park Service to 
     carry out a cooperative management agreement entered into 
     under this Act, in accordance with the terms and conditions 
     of the agreement.
       (3) District of columbia home rule act.--Nothing in section 
     602(a)(3) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (sec. 1-
     206.03(a)(3), D.C. Official Code) may be construed to 
     prohibit the District of Columbia from operating, 
     maintaining, or managing a unit of the National Park System 
     in accordance with the terms and conditions of a cooperative 
     management agreement entered into under this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Montana (Mr. Gianforte) and the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Montana.


                             GENERAL LEAVE

  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within 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 
gentleman from Montana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2897, introduced by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes 
Norton of the District of Columbia, authorizes the District of Columbia 
to establish cooperative management agreements with the National Park 
Service to operate, manage, and maintain National Park Service 
properties within the city limits.
  As of 2015, 21.7 percent of the District's total surface area, over 
8,000 acres in all, was owned and managed by the National Park Service. 
This area includes 23 distinct units of the National Park System, the 
National Mall, and many of the small urban green spaces spread 
throughout the city.
  A significant portion of this land is in disrepair. The District 
ranks second in the National Park Service's deferred maintenance, with 
an estimated total deferred maintenance of approximately $1.2 billion.
  H.R. 2897 authorizes the District of Columbia to enter into 
cooperative management agreements with the National Park Service for 
the operation and maintenance of units around the city.
  This bill is a component to a major restorative initiative headed by 
the Mayor's office and sponsored by local nonprofits, and conversations 
are already underway between the District and the National Park Service 
for the improvement and repair of Franklin Park.
  The city has set aside nearly $14 million for the restoration of the 
park, and local public and private partnerships will provide yearly 
maintenance and upkeep.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill for both the citizens of the 
District and the citizens of our great country.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 2897 authorizes the District of Columbia and the National Park 
Service to enter into cooperative management agreements for the 
operation, maintenance, and management of the National Park System 
units in the District of Columbia.
  Cooperative management agreements are effective tools used throughout 
the National Park System that lead to creative partnerships that 
enhance programming and management capacity.
  As we will hear from Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of 
Columbia and the National Park Service have worked out an agreement to 
update Franklin Square that will revitalize an area in an important 
quadrant of downtown. This bill simply provides the city with authority 
to execute the agreement.
  In addition to Franklin Square, H.R. 2897 has the potential to foster 
cooperation that will enhance many of the small urban parks found 
throughout our Nation's capital.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a win/win, and I urge my colleagues to support 
this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank both of my friends for their 
work on this bill, and I want to thank Natural Resources Committee 
Chairman Rob Bishop, who is a cosponsor of this bill, for his support 
and leadership of this legislation, as well as Ranking Member Raul 
Grijalva, who has also supported our efforts.
  I also want to thank Oversight and Government Reform Chair Trey Gowdy 
and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings for their support and for moving 
this bipartisan legislation through their committee as well. So you 
see, we have gone through two committees, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, I am particularly pleased and grateful to Senator Lisa

[[Page H395]]

Murkowski, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources, which has jurisdiction over the bill, who has introduced the 
Senate companion of this bill.
  Our bill is noncontroversial, as you have heard, Mr. Speaker. It 
would only clarify that the District of Columbia has the authority to 
enter into cooperative management agreements, called CMAs, to maintain 
and invest in National Park Service properties in the city. There are 
many such properties, we are grateful to say, in the District of 
Columbia.
  NPS already has the authority to enter into these agreements with 
States, and I believe with the District of Columbia, but the better 
part of valor was to make sure that that was understood.
  Our bill would simply provide the District with the same opportunity 
to work collaboratively with the NPS as States and cities already do.
  NPS is the steward of many of the country's most beautiful natural 
wonders, but they are uniquely responsible for most of the small urban 
parks in the District's neighborhoods, as well.
  Given NPS' limited budget and resources, we should encourage local 
jurisdictions to work with NPS to make sure that our national parks are 
properly cared for in the way this bill incentivizes.
  The city already has plans to enter into a CMA with the National Park 
Service to assume operational jurisdiction of Franklin Park. This park 
is located in downtown D.C., right in the center of town, but it has 
seen better days.
  The city plans to work with the Downtown Business Improvement 
District to transform the park to its former glory by ensuring regular 
maintenance and providing amenities such as food, gardens, and other 
services.
  As the city's downtown core has grown to include more housing, 
businesses, and workers, the need for green space also has grown.
  The city's plans for Franklin Park are a model of what can be done 
when local jurisdictions get creative about protecting and improving 
the Nation's parks.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope Members are taking this bill as a model for what 
can be done if they have parks. Perhaps the park for this bill would 
not be as easily patterned. But there are many small parks that are 
near local businesses. Local businesses do not thrive when green space 
is in poor condition, so we did not find it difficult to get the 
business community around this park to partner with the District of 
Columbia to bring it up to what a park should look like in the center 
of the city.
  The National Park Service has a backlog that has been described by my 
friend on the other side, so we cannot expect the Park Service, even if 
it had the most robust funding appropriation here, to get to many of 
our parks very soon.
  What works here can work throughout the United States. My bill is, of 
course, a win for my city, but it is also a win for the Federal 
Government, and it is a win for the more than 30 million visitors who 
visit the District of Columbia every day because it is our Nation's 
capital, and, of course, it is a win for the surrounding jurisdictions 
because this park is so centrally located in this region.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa) for 
yielding time to me.
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, I am closing by asking that our colleagues 
support this great bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I also urge adoption, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Montana (Mr. Gianforte) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2897.
  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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