[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 13, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1520-H1521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           MODIFYING THE BOUNDARY OF VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK

  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1350) to modify the boundary of Voyageurs National Park in 
the State of Minnesota, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1350

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

     SECTION 1. MODIFICATION OF VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK.

       (a) Boundaries.--
       (1) In general.--Section 102(a) of Public Law 91-661 (16 
     U.S.C. 160a-1(a)) is amended--
       (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``the drawing 
     entitled'' and all that follows through ``February 1969'' and 
     inserting ``the map entitled `Voyageurs National Park, 
     Proposed Land Transfer & Boundary Adjustment', numbered 172/
     80,056, and dated June 2009 (22 sheets)''; and
       (B) in the second and third sentences, by striking 
     ``drawing'' each place it appears and inserting ``map''.
       (2) Technical corrections.--Section 102(b)(2)(A) of Public 
     Law 91-661 (16 U.S.C. 160a-1(b)(2)(A)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``paragraph (1)(C) and (D)'' and inserting 
     ``subparagraphs (C) and (D) of paragraph (1)''; and
       (B) in the second proviso, by striking ``paragraph 1(E)'' 
     and inserting ``paragraph (1)(E)''.
       (b) Land Acquisitions.--Section 201 of Public Law 91-661 
     (16 U.S.C. 160b) is amended--
       (1) by striking the section designation and heading and all 
     that follows through ``(a) The Secretary'' and inserting the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 201. LAND ACQUISITIONS.

       ``(a) Authorization.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary'';
       (2) in subsection (a)--
       (A) in the second sentence, by striking ``When any tract of 
     land is only partly within such boundaries'' and inserting 
     the following:
       ``(2) Certain portions of tracts.--
       ``(A) In general.--In any case in which only a portion of a 
     tract of land is within the boundaries of the park'';
       (B) in the third sentence, by striking ``Land so acquired'' 
     and inserting the following:
       ``(B) Exchange.--
       ``(i) In general.--Any land acquired pursuant to 
     subparagraph (A)'';
       (C) in the fourth sentence, by striking ``Any portion'' and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(ii) Portions not exchanged.--Any portion'';
       (D) in the fifth sentence, by striking ``Any Federal 
     property'' and inserting the following:
       ``(C) Transfers of federal property.--Any Federal 
     property''; and
       (E) by striking the last sentence and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(D) Administrative jurisdiction.--Effective beginning on 
     the date of enactment of this subparagraph, there is 
     transferred to the National Park Service administrative 
     jurisdiction over--
       ``(i) any land managed by the Bureau of Land Management 
     within the boundaries of the park, as depicted on the map 
     described in section 102(a); and
       ``(ii) any additional public land identified by the Bureau 
     of Land Management as appropriate for transfer within the 
     boundaries of the park.
       ``(E) Land owned by state.--
       ``(i) Donations and exchanges.--Any land located within or 
     adjacent to the boundaries of the park that is owned by the 
     State of Minnesota (or a political subdivision of the State) 
     may be acquired by the Secretary only through donation or 
     exchange.
       ``(ii) Revision.--On completion of an acquisition from the 
     State under clause (i), the Secretary shall revise the 
     boundaries of the park to reflect the acquisition.''; and
       (3) in subsection (b), by striking ``(b) In exercising 
     his'' and inserting the following:
       ``(b) Offers by Individuals.--In exercising the''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Curtis) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lowenthal) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. 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 Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Voyageurs National Park, established in 1975, is a 
218,200-acre national park located on the northern border of Minnesota. 
The name ``Voyageurs'' commemorates the French-Canadian fur traders who 
were the first European settlers to frequent the area. The park has 
remarkable water resources and islands and is popular with canoeists, 
kayakers, other boaters, and fishermen.
  The Bureau of Land Management currently manages lands within the 
boundaries of the park that were not transferred to the National Park 
Service at the park's establishment. H.R. 1350 formally transfers these 
Bureau of Land Management lands to the National Park Service. Enactment 
of the legislation is expected to save taxpayer money and agency time 
by eliminating duplicative land management.
  In addition, this legislation resolves an outstanding land management 
issue faced by the State of Minnesota and a county by authorizing a 
land exchange between the State and the National Park Service. Certain 
State tax-forfeited tracts within the boundaries of Voyageurs National 
Park will be traded for a National Park Service-owned tract outside the 
park boundary.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Nolan), the bill's sponsor. I thank 
him for his excellent work on this issue.
  Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my dear friend and colleague 
from California (Mr. Lowenthal) for his distinguished service. I thank 
Mr. Curtis for his distinguished service as well. I also thank Mr. 
Bishop, all the members of the committee, and the staff, of course, for 
the wonderful work they have done on this.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise here to join in support of H.R. 1350.
  Basically, as was explained by Mr. Curtis, the bill authorizes a land 
transfer between the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park 
Service, a move that would greatly improve the overall land management 
and efficiency within the Voyageurs National Park in my district in 
northern Minnesota. I might add, we are very proud of that 
accomplishment.
  Specifically, the bill permits the transfer of 49 acres of land 
within the park from the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management 
to the National Park Service, as was originally intended by the 
original legislation for the park when it was signed into law; but, for 
a variety of reasons, these 49 acres, including 61 separate tracts of 
land, were not included in the original Federal legislation that 
established the park in 1975.

[[Page H1521]]

  It may interest some of my colleagues to know that I was here in 1975 
and was able to, of course, register my support for the establishment 
of that park.
  Now, to be clear, the National Park Service administration already 
manages the 49 acres; but without a change in the law that permanently 
transfers the lands, a cumbersome and duplicative renewal process is 
required every 20 years. The procedure involves a notice, a publication 
in the Federal Register, and a review of comments, all of which are, 
essentially, a waste of taxpayers' money and everybody's time within 
the government who has to deal with it.
  So make no mistake about it, as Mr. Curtis pointed out, this bill 
saves the taxpayers' money and the bureaucracy time.
  In addition, the bill would also authorize the National Park Service 
to acquire and integrate new land into Voyageurs National Park through 
land exchanges with the State and local governments that own land 
within or adjacent to the park's boundaries.
  In short, Mr. Speaker, this bill would eliminate any future concerns 
related to the Department of the Interior's ownership and jurisdiction, 
facilitating the ease of management for the National Park Service, the 
State, and the county; and it would do so at no cost, in addition, of 
course, to saving money for the Federal Government as determined by the 
Congressional Budget Office.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to adopt the measure.
  Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1350 is a commonsense, good governance measure, and 
I want to congratulate Mr. Nolan for his hard work in getting this bill 
through the legislative process.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CURTIS. 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 Utah (Mr. Curtis) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 1350.
  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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