[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 11367-11369]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      GRANTING EASEMENT TO THE LEWIS AND CLARK INTERPRETIVE CENTER

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 255) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to grant an 
easement to facilitate access to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive 
Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 255

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

     SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO GRANT EASEMENT.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior is 
     authorized to grant an easement to Otoe County, Nebraska, for 
     the purpose of constructing and maintaining an access road 
     between the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Nebraska 
     City, Nebraska, and each of the following roads:
       (1) Nebraska State Highway 2.
       (2) Otoe County Road 67.
       (b) Location of Road.--The access road referred to in 
     subsection (a) shall not be located, in whole or in part, on 
     private property.
       (c) Use of Federal Funds.--No funds from the Department of 
     the Interior may be used for design, construction, 
     maintenance, or operation of the access road referred to in 
     subsection (a).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands 
(Mrs. Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich).
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.

[[Page 11368]]

  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 255, as introduced by the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Bereuter) and amended by the Committee on Resources, would 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to grant an easement to Otoe 
County, Nebraska, to facilitate the construction of a road to access 
the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The 
committee amendment simply states that the road will not be located on 
private property and that no funds from the Department of the Interior 
will be used for the construction and operation of the access road.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 255, introduced by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. 
Bereuter), is a fairly simple and straightforward piece of legislation. 
The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is being developed in Nebraska 
City, Nebraska; and the local county would like an access road to link 
the center to the main roads in the area.
  H.R. 255 simply authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant 
such an easement provided that the road is only located on public lands 
and that road is developed and maintained at no expense to the Federal 
Government. Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to the consideration of 
H.R. 255 and support its adoption today.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter).
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 255. This 
legislation is noncontroversial. It is one introduced by this Member.
  I very much appreciate the support and assistance of the gentleman 
from California (Chairman Pombo) and the ranking member, the gentleman 
from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), as well as the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin 
Islands, (Mrs. Christensen), for moving this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, what this facilitates is the granting of an easement by 
the National Park Service to Otoe County, Nebraska, so that a road may 
be constructed to the Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Interpretive 
Trails and Visitors Center, expected to open in July of next year in 
time for the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The Otoe 
County government will construct and maintain the road, but it is 
essential that we have a road for visitors to visit the visitors 
center.
  I introduced this legislation originally in the 107th Congress. It 
was not acted upon. Time is running short; and, therefore, I very much 
appreciate the fact that the majority leader, the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. DeLay), and his staff facilitated the presentation of the bill for 
the consideration of the House today.
  This visitors center will focus primarily on the flora and fauna 
discovered by Lewis and Clark, well documented for the Nation as they 
paved the way for the settlement of the great American West.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member rises in strong support of H.R. 255. This is 
a non-controversial, but very necessary bill. It would simply grant an 
easement to Otoe County in Nebraska allowing it to build an access road 
to the Missouri River Basin Lewis & Clark Interpretive Trails & 
Visitors Center which is now under construction at a site adjacent to 
Nebraska City, Nebraska.
  This Member originally introduced this legislation during the 107th 
Congress when it became clear that the National Park Service could not 
grant this easement without congressional action. Otoe County has 
agreed to construct and maintain the access road.
  This Member would like to begin by thanking the distinguished 
gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), the Chairman of the Resources 
Committee, and the distinguished gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. 
Rahall), the Ranking Member of the Committee, for their assistance in 
expediting this legislation.
  When completed, the access road facilitated by H.R. 255 will lead 
visitors from the State Highway Route 2 Expressway to an outstanding 
Lewis and Clark interpretive center. The center is scheduled to be 
completed in early 2004 with the grand opening set on July 30, 2004, 
which coincides with the Lewis and Clark signature event in Nebraska at 
historic Fort Atkinson, the site of the famous ``Council Bluff'' in 
Nebraska where Lewis and Clark had their first council with Native 
American leaders.
  The Nebraska City Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center will find an 
important role by focusing on the flora and fauna encountered and 
documented by the expedition. Across the country, the bicentennial 
commemoration is expected to draw millions of Americans and foreign 
visitors to sites along the Lewis and Clark trail over the next several 
years. This new center will certainly be one of the must-see stops.
  Much like the Expedition itself, this project has had to overcome 
numerous challenges and obstacles. Its success is due to the remarkable 
foresight, persistence and dedication of many individuals. This Member 
has had a longstanding interest in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 
Starting from a first reading of Lewis and Clark's journals, many years 
ago, this Member has always been thrilled with the story of this 
extraordinary and courageous journey which was so important in the 
settlement of our region and the westward expansion of our Nation and 
people.
  This Member's legislative efforts related to the Lewis and Clark 
Expedition began more than two decades ago with the authorship of an 
amendment to the National Trails System Act in 1980 to include 
provisions for a series of interpretive markets along the Lewis and 
Clark Trail in Nebraska and for the authorization of an interpretive 
center in each of the states through which the Lewis and Clark Trail 
passes. It has taken Nebraska about 22 years to reach the point of 
constructing a center, but the results will be worth the effort.
  In 1987, Congress specifically authorized construction of a Lewis and 
Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center in Nebraska to 
explain the significance of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The same 
year, at this Member's request, Congress appropriated $25,000 for 
historical markers at Lewis and Clark campsites in Nebraska and $30,000 
for initial planning of a trail interpretation center, both under the 
1980 authorization this Member authored.
  The National Park Service plan issued in 1991 recommended that the 
center be located in Nebraska City. The same year, the Park Service 
acquired a 65-acre tract of land for the center. This tract, along with 
adjacent land that was later donated, provides a panoramic view of the 
Missouri River, much as Lewis and Clark would have viewed it. In fact, 
two stops on the river at Nebraska City in 1804 are recorded in their 
journals.
  The story of the incredible Lewis and Clark expedition has appeal for 
Americans of all ages and backgrounds and presents an opportunity for a 
unifying experience. In the coming months and years, the public will 
undoubtedly increase its demands for more information about Lewis and 
Clark and their bold and courageous adventures.
  When Thomas Jefferson took office in 1801, the United States had only 
about five and a half million people all concentrated in the eastern 
third of the continent, primarily along the coast. As a result of the 
Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the size of the country nearly doubled and 
the stage was set for a period of unparalleled development and 
progress.
  But first, the new acquisition had to be explored. President 
Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to ``explore the 
Missouri River & such principal streams of it, as, by its course and 
communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether the 
Columbia, Oregon, Colorado, or any other river may offer the most 
direct and practicable water communication across this continent for 
the purposes of commerce.''
  Lewis and Clark departed St. Louis on May 14, 1804, and returned to 
St. Louis 28 months later on September 23, 1806. That difficult but 
exciting journey covered 8,000 miles through the area which now 
constitutes the states of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, 
North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.
  Along the way, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery encountered 
formidable challenges that easily could have thwarted their mission. 
However, they continued to keep their focus firmly on the ultimate 
goal. During their journey to the Pacific Ocean and back, the Lewis and 
Clark expedition documented numerous scientific and geographic 
discoveries and helped pave the way for the United States to become a 
great world power.
  This Member believes that passage of H.R. 255, will play a small, but 
vital role in permitting ready access to the new visitors center and 
thus increase the attention to the bicentennial activities. As someone 
with a long-standing interest in the Expedition and a co-chair of the 
Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Congressional Caucus, this Member is 
pleased to

[[Page 11369]]

have H.R. 255 considered on the Floor and urges his colleagues to 
support it.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 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. Radanovich) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 255, 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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