[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 130 (Monday, July 26, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3862-H3864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   AMACHE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE ACT

  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2497) to establish the Amache National Historic Site in the 
State of Colorado as a unit of the National Park System, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2497

       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 ``Amache National Historic 
     Site Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

        In this Act:
       (1) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map entitled ``Amache 
     National Historical Site Proposed Boundary'', numbered 100/
     175348 and dated July 2021.
       (2) National historic site.--The term ``National Historic 
     Site'' means the Amache National Historic Site established by 
     section 3(a).
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.

     SEC. 3. AMACHE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.

       (a) Establishment.--Subject to subsection (c), there is 
     established the Amache National Historic Site in the State of 
     Colorado as a unit of the National Park System.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the National Historic Site is 
     to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of 
     present and future generations resources associated with--
       (1) the incarceration of civilians of Japanese ancestry 
     during World War II at Amache, also known as the Granada 
     Relocation Center, and the military service of center 
     incarcerees;
       (2) public reaction in the State of Colorado to the 
     incarceration of Japanese Americans, including the position 
     of Governor Ralph Carr and the local community; and
       (3) the transition of the incarcerees and their descendants 
     following the closure of the center

[[Page H3863]]

     and resettlement in the State of Colorado and other States.
       (c) Determination by the Secretary.--The National Historic 
     Site shall not be established until the date on which the 
     Secretary determines that a sufficient quantity of land or 
     interests in land has been acquired to constitute a 
     manageable park unit.
       (d) Notice.--Not later than 30 days after the Secretary 
     makes a determination under subsection (c), the Secretary 
     shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the 
     establishment of the National Historic Site.
       (e) Boundary; Map.--
       (1) Boundary.--The boundary of the National Historic Site 
     shall be as generally depicted on the Map.
       (2) Availability of map.--The Map shall be on file and 
     available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of 
     the National Park Service.
       (f) Land Acquisition Authority.--The Secretary may acquire 
     any land or interests in land located within the boundary of 
     the Camp Amache National Historic Landmark, as generally 
     depicted on the Map, by--
       (1) donation;
       (2) purchase from a willing seller with donated or 
     appropriated Funds; or
       (3) exchange.
       (g) Addition to Boundary.--Any lands or interests in land 
     acquired under paragraph (1) shall be included within the 
     boundary of the National Historic Site.
       (h) Administration.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall administer the 
     National Historic Site in accordance with--
       (A) this Act; and
       (B) the laws generally applicable to units of the National 
     Park System.
       (2) Management plan.--
       (A) Deadline for completion.--Not later than 3 years after 
     the date on which funds are first made available to the 
     Secretary for this purpose, the Secretary shall prepare a 
     general management plan for the National Historic Site in 
     accordance with section 100502 of title 54, United States 
     Code.
       (B) Submission to congress.--On completion of the general 
     management plan under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 
     submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
     the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
     House of Representatives the general management plan prepared 
     under that subparagraph.
       (i) Administrative Facilities.--For the purposes of 
     ensuring the preservation, protection, and proper management 
     of the site and associated resources, the Secretary may 
     establish facilities for administration, visitor services, 
     and curation of personal property, outside the boundary of, 
     and in the vicinity of, the National Historic Site.
       (j) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may enter into 
     agreements with--
       (1) the public or private entities for the purpose of 
     establishing and operating facilities outside of the boundary 
     of the National Historic Site for administration, visitor 
     services and curation of personal property; and
       (2) other public or private entities for the purposes of 
     carrying out this Act.
       (k) Effect on Water Rights.--Except as provided for in 
     subsection (l), nothing in this Act shall affect--
       (1) the use, allocation, ownership, or control, in 
     existence on the date of the enactment of any water, water 
     right, or any other valid existing right;
       (2) any vested absolute or decreed conditional water right 
     in existence on the date of the enactment;
       (3) any interstate water compact in existence on the date 
     of the enactment; or
       (4) State jurisdiction over any water law.
       (l) Operation and Maintenance of Water Infrastructure and 
     Appurtenances.--
       (1) The town of Granada, Colorado, shall maintain 
     responsibility for the operation and maintenance of all water 
     infrastructure, systems and appurtenances located within the 
     boundary of the National Historic Site in existence on the 
     date of enactment of this Act, including but not limited to 
     wells, pumps, tanks, water lines, valves, and water treatment 
     facilities.
       (2) The Secretary shall provide the town of Granada, 
     Colorado, with access to those areas of the National Historic 
     Site determined as necessary for the operation and 
     maintenance of water infrastructure and appurtenances.
       (3) The Secretary may permit the city of Granada, Colorado, 
     to construct or install new water infrastructure, systems and 
     appurtenances consistent with applicable laws, limited only 
     to those areas determined in subsection (i)(2), and in a 
     manner that ensures the preservation, protection, and proper 
     management of the National Historic Site.
       (4) At such time that all water infrastructure, systems and 
     appurtenances located within the boundary of the National 
     Historic Site are no longer utilized by the city of Granada, 
     Colorado, associated improvements and associated water rights 
     may be acquired through donation to and made part of the 
     National Historic Site in a condition satisfactory to 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 today in support of H.R. 2497, the Amache 
National Historic Site Act, introduced by the chair of the Subcommittee 
on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, my colleague from 
Colorado, Representative   Joe Neguse.
  H.R. 2497 would establish the Amache imprisonment site in southeast 
Colorado as a national historic site to ensure permanent protections 
and provide for the interpretation of the Amache site of Japanese-
American incarceration.
  Following the United States' entry into World War II, President 
Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order forcibly removing more 
than 120,000 people, primarily of Japanese descent, to 10 remote 
military-style prisons across the Nation.
  The Granada Relocation Center, commonly known as Amache, was one of 
those 10 centers and was the only one located in the State of Colorado. 
Although Amache was the smallest of the relocation centers, it became 
the tenth largest city in Colorado with more than 10,000 people passing 
through the camp between 1942 and 1945, nearly two-thirds of whom were 
American citizens.
  Most had never been to Japan and most were given a week or less to 
leave their homes and dispose of everything they owned, everything they 
had worked hard to build up for themselves. This unjustifiable, 
horrific, and unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese Americans is, 
without doubt, one of the darkest chapters in our country's history.
  And while these incarceration sites no longer hold prisoners, many of 
the wrongfully imprisoned are still with us today, even as anti-Asian 
rhetoric continues to permeate our country. As we continue to reckon 
with our Nation's painful legacy of systemic racism, it is critical 
that we honor and share the stories of those who came before us. It is 
vital that we remember and learn from their fights against injustice 
and for equity.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2497, and join me in 
working to ensure that we remember this dark time in our Nation's 
history so we may honor those who lived it, share their stories, and 
continue to heal as a country. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2497, offered by my friend, Representative Neguse 
from Colorado, would establish the Amache National Historic Site in 
Colorado as a unit of the National Park System.
  In 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an executive 
order, later enforced by law, to forcibly remove tens of thousands of 
Japanese Americans, including nearly 70,000 American citizens, from the 
West Coast to internment centers further inland during World War II. 
The smallest internment camp was located a mile from Granada, Colorado, 
and was officially known as Amache. Over 7,000 residents of Japanese 
ancestry, most of them American citizens, were imprisoned at Amache 
from 1942 to 1945. The Amache site was added to the National Register 
of Historic Places in 1994 and designated a National Historic Landmark 
in 2005.
  Amache is currently owned by the town of Granada, Colorado, and 
maintained by a group of student volunteers who, led by their high 
school social studies teacher, are known as the Amache Preservation 
Society.
  During a hearing on the bill in the Natural Resources Committee 
earlier this year, we heard testimony from an Amache survivor, Mr. Bob 
Fuchigami. Mr. Fuchigami was just 11 when his family was forcibly 
relocated to Amache and during his powerful testimony, he said the 
following about the bill: ``Designating Amache a national park site 
would shine a light on our forgotten history and help tell a more 
complete story of America. Amache is our collective story. It is an 
American story.''
  Adding the Amache site to the National Park System will help educate 
Americans about this dark chapter in

[[Page H3864]]

our Nation's history and help us not to repeat the mistakes of our 
past. Sites like Amache help to remind us of the challenges our Nation 
has faced and the mistakes we have made as we have endeavored to form a 
more perfect Union.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill so that in Mr. 
Fuchigami's own words we can ``help shine a light on this forgotten 
history.''
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  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. 2497, as amended.
  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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