[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22658-22660]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    AUTHORIZING EXCHANGE OF LAND AT FORT FREDERICA NATIONAL MONUMENT

  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1113) to authorize an exchange of land at Fort Frederica 
National Monument, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1113

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EXCHANGE OF LANDS.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to convey to 
     Christ Church of St. Simons Island, Georgia, the 
     approximately 6.0 acres of land within the boundary of Fort 
     Frederica National Monument adjacent to Christ Church and 
     depicted as ``NPS Lands for Exchange'' on the map entitled 
     ``Fort Frederica National Monument 2003 Boundary Revision'' 
     numbered 369/80016, and dated April 2003, in exchange for 
     approximately 8.7 acres of land to be acquired by Christ 
     Church, which is depicted as ``Private Lands for Addition'' 
     on the same map.
       (b) Map Availability.--The map referred to in subsection 
     (a) shall be on file and available for public inspection in 
     the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
       (c) Boundary Adjustment.--Upon completion of the land 
     exchange under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior 
     shall revise the boundary of Fort Frederica National Monument 
     to reflect the exchange and shall administer the land 
     acquired through the exchange as part of that monument.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. 
Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1113, introduced by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Kingston), and amended by the Committee on Resources, would authorize 
the Secretary of the Interior to convey 6 acres of land within the 
boundaries of Fort Frederica National Monument on St. Simons Island, 
Georgia, to the Christ Church also located on St. Simons Island. In 
return, the park service would receive 8.7 acres of nearby property

[[Page 22659]]

that would be acquired first by the church from the Sea Island Company 
and then exchanged with the park service. The exchange is viewed by all 
parties as a win-win.
  Mr. Speaker, Christ Church has doubled in size in the last 9 years, 
and the additional land is needed for its expansion. In return, the 
monument would receive lands that are known to contain valuable 
archeological remains from the colonial period.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1113, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as may I 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1113, which authorizes a land exchange at Fort 
Frederica National Monument in Georgia, raises a number of issues that 
were discussed at the hearing on this measure in April before the 
Committee on Resources. Evidently, appraisals and archeological surveys 
of the lands proposed to be exchanged have not been completed. So the 
value and historical significance of the proposed lands have not been 
established. Furthermore, the National Park Service testified that the 
noncontiguous parcel that the National Park Service would acquire 
through the exchange will likely increase the administrative and 
operational costs of the national monument.
  The National Park Service testimony on H.R. 1113 elaborated on these 
concerns and, while generally supportive of the exchange, provided 
little guidance on how they should be addressed. We need to be careful 
about altering the boundaries of national park system units. Former 
Resources Committee Chairman Hansen spoke many times about the National 
Park Service acquiring a historic site that did not contain the 
historic resources that were claimed. We should not make the same 
mistake here. In that regard I would note that H.R. 1113 authorizes, 
but does not require, a land exchange at Fort Frederica National 
Monument. Before any exchange should occur, the National Park Service 
would be required to complete appraisals and historical surveys as well 
as comply with the requirements of NEPA.
  As such, there are a number of administrative procedures in place to 
ensure that the exchange, if it goes forward, is in the public 
interest. Mr. Speaker, that being the case, we will not object to the 
consideration of H.R. 1113 by the House today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), the sponsor of H.R. 1113.
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico for 
yielding me this time, and I thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin 
Islands for the opportunity to speak about H.R. 1113.
  This bill is a small one, but it represents an important land 
exchange between Fort Frederica National Monument on St. Simons Island 
and Christ Church. Aside from some of the issues which the gentlewoman 
from the Virgin Islands has already outlined, it is largely 
noncontroversial and it benefits all the parties.
  The Christ Church community, and I have to say this about Christ 
Church, it is an old Episcopal church and I would love everybody to 
visit particularly if they have the time this summer when the G-8 is 
going to be held in the Golden Isles of Georgia. I believe those dates 
are anywhere from June 12 to June 14, somewhere in that time frame; but 
of course everybody is really excited about it. The G-8, the economic 
impact, for those who have ever followed it, they probably know it is 
about a $200 million economic impact. People from all over the world 
will be there, 2,500 members of the press alone along coastal Georgia 
really all the way from Jacksonville to Charleston; and I have the 
honor of representing the entire coast.
  We already have 7,000 hotel rooms reserved. I am glad I can say this 
because the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands and the gentleman from 
New Mexico know what beautiful States they represent; and if this deal 
was not already done, they would probably be trying to solicit the G-8 
and give us a very competitive run for our money on it, but we are very 
excited; and already members of the international community, members of 
the press community, members of the G-8 itself have already been coming 
to town and making preparations. So there is a lot of excitement; and I 
just want to say, Mr. Speaker, when any Member of Congress comes to 
that area, I hope that they will take the time not just to witness the 
G-8 but to look at all the other things we have in that area.
  Christ Church is one of the oldest churches. John Wesley taught 
there. John Wesley came to America to Savannah and was actually a 
minister right after George Whitfield in Christ Church, Savannah, which 
was founded in 1733; and incidentally that is the home of America's 
first Sunday school, and then he moved to St. Simons and helped start 
Christ Church. And it was after that that he returned to England and 
started Methodism, but it can accurately be said that the birthplace of 
the Methodist Church, or the concept, was probably the Golden Isles of 
Georgia in Glynn County.
  Christ Church, though, is not just about history; but if the Members 
do want to read about the history, there is a great book written by a 
man named Ethridge called ``Strange Fires,'' and I would recommend it 
to anybody. But it is not just about history. It is about today. It is 
about children in the nursery. It is about young couples getting 
married. It is about senior citizens living out their life in communion 
with Christ. This church, because it is dynamic and because it is part 
of the fabric of today's society, has doubled in the last 9 years and 
needs additional land.
  The church recently acquired, with private funds, not with any 
Federal tax dollars, 8.69 acres of land, and this land is adjacent to 
Fort Frederica National Monument. Fort Frederica is where some of the 
early colonists lived, and it is nothing but ruins; but the ruins are 
very well preserved, and it is an interesting romantic spot to look at.
  One of the great things they do at Fort Frederica is they have some 
archeological findings, some items which are not historically 
significant, old cannonballs and bits and pieces of utensils and 
pottery; and they dug it up and they have identified it and catalogued 
it as not being historically significant, and they get the local 
elementary school and they rebury these archeological gems, and they 
let the school kids dig it back up, and then they catalogue it and then 
they study it and then they rebury it for the next year's class. And it 
is such a great living way to teach children. In today's world of 
education, and I was so proud that we passed No Child Left Behind with 
such great bipartisan support, that this is just one other way to teach 
children. And the thing that I think we all share in common, liberals, 
conservatives, Democrats, and Republicans, is that we want our kids to 
get the best education they can possibly have and then they can go on 
and think for themselves, and I think examples of that are just 
wonderful exercises of things that are going on in the country today.
  This land also was recognized as the site James Oglethorpe occupied 
after coming to Georgia. Oglethorpe actually landed in Savannah Harbor 
and founded the city of Savannah in 1733, February 12, 1733, and then 
went on to Brunswick, Georgia, which is where the Battle of the Bloody 
Marsh was fought, because as the Members well know, the British 
basically owned most of the colonies, the 12 colonies north of Georgia. 
The Spanish owned Florida. The gentleman from Florida who is the 
distinguished gentleman who sits as Speaker today knows well of the 
great Spanish heritage of Florida. And if we go to cities like St. 
Augustine and we see the influences of forts down there like Castillo 
de San Marco and St. Augustine and so many of the other things, it is 
great Spanish heritage.
  But back then the British and the Spanish were kind of fighting over 
the land a little bit, and Georgia was a buffer State. It was founded 
as a penal colony. And the showdown happened

[[Page 22660]]

actually in Glynn County, Georgia, between the British and the Spanish; 
and it was called the Battle of Bloody Marsh because there was so much 
blood spilled that the water itself turned to red because of the blood, 
and we can still visit that site. And again, if the Members come down 
for the G-8, let me know. I am going to give the tour personally if 
they give me the honor. But James Oglethorpe's part, as one of the 
founders of Georgia, is very significant and yet another reason why we 
want this bill to go through.
  The Christ Church community wants to give this 8.69 acres to the 
National Park Service so that it can expand the national monument and 
in return get 6 acres back from Fort Frederica National Monument, which 
is already adjacent to Christ Church; and then they can use this for 
their future expansion and whatever needs they have.
  I want to say that the 6 acres do not hold any historical 
significance and are not occupied by any facilities of the national 
park right now. So the national park is not going to be inconvenienced 
by it.
  My sister, Mr. Speaker, lived in Italy for a number of years; and one 
of the things I found somewhat to my amusement when one goes to Rome or 
Naples or any of those great Italian cities, they cannot issue building 
permits because every time they put a trowel in the ground, they hit an 
ancient Roman ruin. We all know the song by Bob Dylan that says ``The 
streets of Rome are filled with rubble. Ancient footprints are 
everywhere.'' I do not want to overindulge, but I think the next line 
was also pretty, ``You can almost think that you're seein' double on a 
cold, dark night on the Spanish stairs.'' And if one has ever been to 
Rome, I think that song captures so much of the essence and the 
romanticism and the history of Rome.
  To a minor degree, the coastal area of Georgia is the same way. Every 
time they dig, they can find something. From native Americans to the 
early Spanish to the British to missionaries and everybody else in 
between has been there at one time or the other.
  But I strongly believe that this exchange would benefit the United 
States and protect and conserve significant cultural resources as the 
Oglethorpe ruins. This property contains historical and archeological 
resources worthy of protection and preservation by the National Park 
Service for all generations in the future, and the bill is supported by 
the National Park Service.
  In conclusion, let me say this: this bill will allow Christ Church to 
expand; so it is a win-win. It captures history and yet lets progress 
take place.
  I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), Committee on 
Resources chairman; the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich), the 
subcommittee chairman; the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), 
the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), the ranking 
members, for their support of this bill. And I also want to recognize 
the efforts of the former Senator of Georgia, Mr. Mack Mattingly, for 
his dedication to this cause.

                              {time}  1445

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) for 
sharing such rich cultural heritage of the area.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Foley). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1113, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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