[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.
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A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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