[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 106 (Monday, June 25, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5591-H5593]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   GOLDEN SPIKE 150TH ANNIVERSARY ACT

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 5751) to redesignate Golden Spike National Historic Site 
and to establish the Transcontinental Railroad Network, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows

                               H.R. 5751

       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 ``Golden Spike 150th 
     Anniversary Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Adjacent landowner.--The term ``adjacent landowner'' 
     means the non-Federal owner of property that directly abuts 
     the Park boundaries.
       (2) Historical crossing.--The term ``historical crossing'' 
     means a corridor with a maximum width of 30 feet across 
     former railroad rights-of-way within the Park--
       (A) that has been used by adjacent landowners in an open 
     manner multiple times in more than 1 of the past 10 years for 
     vehicle, farm machinery, or livestock travel; or
       (B) where existing utility or pipelines have been placed.
       (3) Network.--The term ``Network'' means the 
     Transcontinental Railroad Network established under section 
     4.
       (4) Park.--The term ``Park'' means the Golden Spike 
     National Historical Park designated under section 3.
       (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National 
     Park Service.
       (6) Transcontinental railroad.--The term ``Transcontinental 
     Railroad'' means the approximately 1,912-mile continuous 
     railroad constructed between 1863 and 1869 from Council 
     Bluffs, Iowa, to San Francisco, California.

     SEC. 3. REDESIGNATION.

       (a) Redesignation.--The Golden Spike National Historic Site 
     designated April 2, 1957, and placed under the administration 
     of the National Park Service under the Act of July 10, 1965 
     (79 Stat. 426), shall be known and designated as the ``Golden 
     Spike National Historical Park''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     Golden Spike National Historic Site shall be considered a 
     reference to the ``Golden Spike National Historical Park''.
       (c) Network.--The Park shall be part of the Network.

     SEC. 4. TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD NETWORK.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish, within the 
     National Park Service, the Transcontinental Railroad Network. 
     The Network shall not include properties used in active 
     freight railroad operations (or other ancillary purposes) or 
     reasonably anticipated to be used for freight railroad 
     operations in the future.
       (b) Study.--The Secretary shall--
       (1) inventory National Park Service sites, facilities, and 
     programs; and
       (2) identify other sites, facilities, and programs,
     to determine their suitability for inclusion in the Network, 
     as delineated under subsection (e).
       (c) Duties of the Secretary.--In carrying out the Network, 
     the Secretary shall--
       (1) produce and disseminate appropriate education materials 
     relating to the history, construction, and legacy of the 
     Transcontinental Railroad, such as handbooks, maps, 
     interpretive guides, or electronic information;
       (2) identify opportunities to enhance the recognition of 
     immigrant laborers' contributions to the history, 
     construction, and legacy of the Transcontinental Railroad;

[[Page H5592]]

       (3) enter into appropriate cooperative agreements and 
     memoranda of understanding to provide technical assistance 
     under subsection (d); and
       (4) create and adopt an official, uniform symbol or device 
     for the Network and issue guidance for the use of such symbol 
     or device.
       (d) Elements.--The Network shall encompass the following 
     elements:
       (1) All units and programs of the National Park Service 
     that are determined by the Secretary to relate to the 
     history, construction, and legacy of the Transcontinental 
     Railroad.
       (2) With the consent of each person owning any legal 
     interest in the property, other Federal, State, local, and 
     privately owned properties that have a verifiable connection 
     to the history, construction, and legacy of the 
     Transcontinental Railroad and are included in, or determined 
     by the Secretary to be eligible for inclusion in, the 
     National Register of Historic Places.
       (3) Other governmental and nongovernmental programs of an 
     educational, research, or interpretive nature that are 
     directly related to the history, construction, and legacy of 
     the Transcontinental Railroad.
       (e) Cooperative Agreements and Memoranda of 
     Understanding.--To achieve the purposes of this section and 
     to ensure effective coordination of the Federal and non-
     Federal elements of the Network described in subsection (d) 
     with National Park System units and programs of the National 
     Park Service, the Secretary may enter into cooperative 
     agreements and memoranda of understanding with, and provide 
     technical assistance to, the heads of other Federal agencies, 
     States, units of local government, regional governmental 
     bodies, and private entities.

     SEC. 5. AGREEMENTS AFFECTING CERTAIN HISTORICAL CROSSINGS.

       (a) Programmatic Agreement.--No later than 6 months after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter 
     into a Programmatic Agreement with the Utah State Historic 
     Preservation Office and other consulting parties to add 
     certain undertakings in the Park to the list of those 
     eligible for streamlined review under section 106 of the 
     Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (54 U.S.C. 306108). In the 
     development of the Programmatic Agreement, the Secretary 
     shall collaborate with adjacent landowners, Tribes, and other 
     consulting parties.
       (b) Process for Approval.--After the completion of the 
     Programmatic Agreement under subsection (a), an adjacent 
     landowner shall give the Secretary notice of proposed certain 
     undertakings. Within 30 days of the receipt of the notice, 
     the Secretary shall review and approve the proposed certain 
     undertakings if consistent with the Programmatic Agreement.
       (c) Definition of Certain Undertakings.--As used in this 
     section, the term ``certain undertakings'' means those 
     activities that take place on, within, or under a historical 
     crossing and--
       (1) will last less than 1 month and will have limited 
     physical impact on the surface of the historical crossing;
       (2) have been implemented by an adjacent landowner or other 
     adjacent landowners in the past; or
       (3) is the subject of a categorical exclusion under the 
     National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
     seq.).

     SEC. 6. INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL.

       At the request of an adjacent landowner, within 30 days of 
     such a request, the Secretary shall authorize the adjacent 
     landowner to participate in the eradication of invasive 
     species in the Park for a period of up to 10 years, subject 
     to renewal. Such an authorization shall provide--
       (1) that the invasive species proposed for eradication is 
     identified as such by the National Park Service;
       (2) that the method, timing, and location of the 
     eradication must be approved by the Secretary; and
       (3) appropriate indemnification of the adjacent landowner.

     SEC. 7. FUNDING CLARIFICATION.

       No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 
     requirements of this Act. Such requirements shall be carried 
     out using amounts otherwise authorized.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. 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 Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  May 10, 1869, is one of the most significant dates that we have in 
American history because that is the date when a congressionally 
mandated provision to try to unite the two oceans on this continent 
Nation together actually came into being.
  The final spike that was put into this effort that was originated by 
Congress and, actually, oddly enough, Congress had to get them to stop 
going at different directions and come together at one point, took 
place in Promontory Summit in my State of Utah, in my district, about 
30 miles from where I live.
  This is a prominent symbol of the most significant achievement we had 
in the 19th century. It is, for transportation, as significant as 
landing a man on the moon would be for the 20th century.
  Having the rail system go in there meant that some of my ancestors 
who had to walk every step across the plains, taking months to get to 
Utah, could now do it in 7 days on the new train that was going through 
there.
  This is one of those things that has the support of the National Park 
Service, which wants to make sure that some of the less visual parks 
are given the quality attention they deserve, to make them something 
that is important for the future history of this country.
  So it is not just going to be a park. This is going to be a historic 
park, and it is going to be part of a transcontinental railroad network 
that will take all sorts of other activities that deal with 
transportation within the area, allow them to make them more public, 
and allow people to spend several days visiting different areas.
  It is also important since, ironically, within a few miles of this 
location is also the site where most of the motors that were made for 
outer space travel were also built at the same time.
  This can also become a hub of truly educational value about 
transportation in both the 19th century as well as the 20th century. It 
can also be an opportunity to tell the story of the literally thousands 
of immigrants who helped build the system going both ways in both 
directions. And it establishes a process so that challenges that have 
been longstanding with neighboring landowners can be resolved in an 
easy and simple way not only now but also going into the future.

                              {time}  1600

  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill which will 
make the Golden Spike a national historical park in time for the 150th 
birthday which will be May 10, 2019.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5751 redesignates the Golden Spike National 
Historic Site as the Golden Spike National Historical Park and directs 
the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program known as the 
Transcontinental Railroad Network within the National Park Service.
  On May 10, 1869, a historically very significant day in the history 
of our country, the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts were linked for the 
first time in our Nation's history when the 1,912-mile system of hand-
built tracks was completed in Promontory, Utah.
  This national historical park designation is a fitting tribute that 
acknowledges the significance of this event. The bill will also help 
the National Park Service educate the public about the history, 
construction, and legacy of the transcontinental railroad without 
additional funds.
  I would like to thank the chairman for his efforts to preserve an 
important part of our history. This is a good bill, and I urge my 
colleagues to support its passage.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I invite all of you out next May 10 
to a celebration at this site. It will be a party you will not forget.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues' adoption, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bacon). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5751, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.

[[Page H5593]]

  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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