[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 130 (Monday, July 26, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3860-H3861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             GREAT DISMAL SWAMP NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA ACT

  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1154) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating 
certain land as the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area, and for 
other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1154

       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 ``Great Dismal Swamp National 
     Heritage Area Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Heritage area.--The term ``Heritage Area'' means the 
     Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area.
       (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (3) States.--The term ``States'' means the States of 
     Virginia and North Carolina.
       (4) Study area.--The term ``study area'' means--
       (A) the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and 
     Suffolk in the State of Virginia;
       (B) Isle of Wight County in the State of Virginia;
       (C) Camden, Currituck, Gates, and Pasquotank counties in 
     the State of North Carolina; and
       (D) any other areas in the States that--
       (i) have heritage aspects that are similar to the areas 
     described in subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C); and
       (ii) are adjacent to, or in the vicinity of, those areas.

     SEC. 3. STUDY.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with State 
     and local organizations and governmental agencies, Tribal 
     governments, non-profit organizations, and other appropriate 
     entities, shall conduct a study to assess the suitability and 
     feasibility of designating the study area as a National 
     Heritage Area, to be known as the ``Great Dismal Swamp 
     National Heritage Area''.
       (b) Requirements.--The study shall include analysis, 
     documentation, and determinations on whether the study area--
       (1) has an assemblage of natural, historic, and cultural 
     resources that--
       (A) represent distinctive aspects of the people and 
     cultures of the United States;
       (B) are worthy of recognition, conservation, 
     interpretation, and continuing use; and
       (C) would be best managed--
       (i) through partnerships among public and private entities; 
     and
       (ii) by linking diverse and sometimes noncontiguous 
     resources and active communities;
       (2) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, and folklife 
     that are a valuable part of the story of the United States;
       (3) provides outstanding opportunities--
       (A) to conserve natural, historic, cultural, or scenic 
     features; and
       (B) for recreation and education;
       (4) contains resources that--
       (A) are important to any identified themes of the study 
     area; and
       (B) retain a degree of integrity capable of supporting 
     interpretation;
       (5) includes residents, business interests, nonprofit 
     organizations, and State, local, and Tribal governments, and 
     other appropriate entities that--
       (A) are involved in the planning of the Heritage Area;
       (B) have developed a conceptual financial plan that 
     outlines the roles of all participants in the Heritage Area, 
     including the Federal Government; and
       (C) have demonstrated support for the designation of the 
     Heritage Area;
       (6) has a potential management entity to work in 
     partnership with the individuals and entities described in 
     paragraph (5) to develop the Heritage Area while encouraging 
     State and local economic activity; and
       (7) has a conceptual boundary map that is supported by the 
     public.

     SEC. 4. REPORT.

       Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds are 
     first made available to carry out this Act, 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--
       (1) the findings of the study under section 3; and
       (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. Dingell) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. DINGELL. 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 material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1154, the Great Dismal Swamp 
National Heritage Area Act, introduced by the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. McEachin), my Natural Resources Committee colleague.
  This bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
study assessing the suitability and the feasibility of designating the 
Great Dismal Swamp in the States of Virginia and North Carolina as a 
national heritage area.
  The Great Dismal Swamp is an area of great historical, cultural, and 
environmental importance, and has been home to indigenous people since 
time immemorial. The swamp includes the ancestral lands of the 
Nansemond Indian Nation and the historic lands of the Haliwa-Saponi and 
Meherrin tribes.
  The swamp was also one of the only known water-based stops on the 
Underground Railroad and home to a thriving community descending from 
early colonial free people of color whose families resisted American 
slavery by finding refuge within the swamp.
  In 1974 the swamp was designated as a national wildlife refuge due to 
its ecological significance, and today it holds the largest intact 
remnant of a vast forest that once covered more than a million acres.
  Designating the Great Dismal Swamp as a national heritage area will 
help share the often untold stories of some of our Nation's 
underrepresented communities.
  From the indigenous communities who first called the swamp home to 
the enslaved African Americans who endured the swamp's hardships in 
their fight for freedom, these are stories worth sharing with current 
and future generations.
  I would like to thank my friend and colleague, Representative 
McEachin, for championing this important legislation. I urge all my 
colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 1154, offered by Congressman McEachin, requires the Secretary of 
the Interior to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating a 
national heritage area comprised of cities and counties in Virginia and 
counties in North Carolina to be known as the Great Dismal Swamp 
National Heritage Area.
  While many think of Washington, D.C. as a great dismal swamp, it is 
actually a marshy region on the coastal plain of southeastern Virginia 
and northeastern North Carolina that stretches roughly 37 miles north 
to south and covers an area approximately 750 square miles. The Great 
Dismal Swamp has a long history of Native American inhabitants and was 
a known route and destination for freedom seekers.
  This measure already passed the House as an amendment to H.R. 803, 
the Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act earlier this 
Congress. I did not support the measure then because it had not gone 
through regular order and was being added to a package that created 1.5 
million acres of new wilderness. You could say this measure was bogged 
down here in the swamp.
  While this is not how the process should work, I am happy that this 
bill has now gone through regular order, and I would, therefore, urge 
adoption of the measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation. I am glad that my colleague's thoughts came through the 
swamp, and I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H3861]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1154.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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