[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 186 (Wednesday, November 20, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H9088-H9089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT
STUDY ACT
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1487) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a
special resource study of portions of the Los Angeles coastal area in
the State of California to evaluate alternatives for protecting the
resources of the coastal area, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1487
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 ``Santa Monica Mountains
National Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment Study Act''.
SEC. 2. RESOURCE STUDY OF THE LOS ANGELES COASTAL AREA,
CALIFORNIA.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(2) Study area.--The term ``study area'' means the
coastline and adjacent areas to the Santa Monica Bay from
Will Rogers State Beach to Torrance Beach, including the
areas in and around Ballona Creek and the Baldwin Hills and
the San Pedro section of the City of Los Angeles, excluding
the Port of Los Angeles north of Crescent Avenue.
(b) Special Resource Study.--
(1) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a special resource
study of the study area.
(2) Contents.--In conducting the study under paragraph (1),
the Secretary shall--
(A) evaluate the national significance of the study area;
(B) determine the suitability and feasibility of
designating the study area as a unit of the National Park
System;
(C) consider other alternatives for preservation,
protection, and interpretation of the study area by the
Federal Government, State or local government entities, or
private and nonprofit organizations;
(D) consult with interested Federal agencies, State or
local governmental entities, private and nonprofit
organizations, or any other interested individuals; and
(E) identify cost estimates for any Federal acquisition,
development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance
associated with the alternatives.
(3) Applicable law.--The study required under paragraph (1)
shall be conducted in accordance with section 100507 of title
54, United States Code.
(4) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which
funds are first made available for the study under paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that
describes--
(A) the results of the study; and
(B) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Huffman) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
McClintock) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman).
General Leave
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the measure under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1487, introduced by my colleague Ted Lieu from
California, would direct the National Park Service to conduct a special
resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of
designating a new national recreation area along the Santa Monica Bay
coastline or incorporating the area into the existing Santa Monica
Mountains National Recreation Area.
Expanding the National Park Service to include this area would
significantly enhance recreational and public lands access in one of
our Nation's most congested, polluted, and park-poor regions, Los
Angeles County.
[[Page H9089]]
Although our public lands belong to all Americans, many simply don't
have the opportunity or the resources to visit these incredible places.
H.R. 1487 would help us take an important step toward ensuring that
public lands access exists for all Americans, and I thank my colleague
Congressman Lieu for championing this proposal.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1487 authorizes a special resource study of
portions of the Los Angeles coastal area in California to evaluate
alternatives for land management, including designating the coastal
area as a unit of the National Park System.
While I do not oppose authorizing a special resource study of this
area, I hope that Congress will exercise caution before adding
significant amounts of coastline to the existing Santa Monica Mountains
National Recreation Area, which is already struggling to manage its
current resources and is increasingly beginning to resemble Lincoln's
story of a farmer who said, ``I ain't greedy for land. I just want what
joins mine.''
In 2018, because of bad land management, the vast majority of this
same area burned in the massive Woolsey fire. More than 21,000 of the
23,595 National Park Service acres, about 88 percent of the land, were
burned. This included most of the Western Town at Paramount Ranch, the
1926 Peter Strauss Ranch home, most of the joint National Park Service/
UCLA La Kretz Research Center, two ranger residences, and an attached
archives building.
Further, the National Park Service is already stretched perilously
thin and facing a nearly $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog that
we discussed in an earlier bill.
Although I recognize that this measure simply authorizes a study and
doesn't transfer any land or jurisdiction, it is imperative that we
take into account the realities that our parks are facing and the
devastating consequences of a land management policy that can only be
described as benign neglect. As we are discovering, the consequences
are anything but benign.
Mr. Speaker, with that caveat, I urge adoption of the measure, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Ted Lieu).
Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Huffman
for his leadership and for supporting this legislation, and I thank
Congressman McClintock for supporting this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1487, the Santa Monica
Mountains National Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment Study Act.
In the 1970s, Congress established the Santa Monica Mountains
National Recreation Area to preserve natural and historic sites and to
provide recreational, educational, scientific, and public health
benefits to our greater Los Angeles community.
Today, it spans more than 150,000 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura
Counties, including parts of the Santa Monica Bay Watershed in my
congressional district. Much of the Santa Monica Bay Watershed,
however, remains outside of the national recreation area. This includes
several miles of beaches and acres of wetlands that stand to benefit
greatly from Federal resources.
My bill would commission the National Park Service to conduct a 3-
year special resource study to determine whether to expand the boundary
of the existing Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area or
create a new national recreation area altogether.
The study would cover the entire Santa Monica Bay coastline, from
Venice Beach to Torrance Beach, as well as the Ballona Wetlands,
Ballona Creek, Baldwin Hills, and the San Pedro coastline.
While conducting the study, the National Park Service will consult
with State and local government groups, community groups, nonprofits,
and residents.
The study would become a basis for future congressional action to
modify the national recreation area borders. Expanding the national
recreation area would allow the watershed to benefit from available
Federal, scientific, and infrastructure resources, enabling better
conservation and recreational use. It would also help Federal agencies
enter into cooperative agreements to manage the land and carry out
improvement projects aimed at connecting trails, building wildlife
corridors, and more.
Importantly, all of this would be accomplished without affecting
private property rights or creating unfunded mandates on State or local
governments.
The Los Angeles coastal region stands to benefit tremendously from
increased Federal resources to preserve open space for conservation and
recreation, and I am proud to have the support of many of my colleagues
in the Los Angeles delegation. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of
H.R. 1487.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I would urge adoption of the measure
with the caveats I have already discussed, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote with no caveats, and
I thank the gentleman, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1487, 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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