[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6097-6098]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD PRESERVATION ACT OF 2009

  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 548) to assist citizens, public and private institutions, 
and governments at all levels in planning, interpreting, and protecting 
sites where historic battles were fought on American soil during the 
armed conflicts that shaped the growth and development of the United 
States, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 548

       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 ``Civil War Battlefield 
     Preservation Act of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD PROTECTION PROGRAM.

       The purpose of this Act is to assist citizens, public and 
     private institutions, and governments at all levels in 
     planning, interpreting, and protecting sites where historic 
     battles were fought on American soil during the armed 
     conflicts that shaped the growth and development of the 
     United States, in order that present and future generations 
     may learn and gain inspiration from the ground where 
     Americans made their ultimate sacrifice.

     SEC. 3. PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE.

       (a) In General.--Using the established national historic 
     preservation program to the extent practicable, the Secretary 
     of the Interior, acting through the American Battlefield 
     Protection Program, shall encourage, support, assist, 
     recognize, and work in partnership with citizens, Federal, 
     State, local, and tribal governments, other public entities, 
     educational institutions, and private nonprofit organizations 
     in identifying, researching, evaluating, interpreting, and 
     protecting historic battlefields and associated sites on a 
     National, State, and local level.
       (b) Financial Assistance.--To carry out subsection (a), the 
     Secretary may use a cooperative agreement, grant, contract, 
     or other generally adopted means of providing financial 
     assistance.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated $3,000,000 annually to carry out this 
     section, to remain available until expended.

     SEC. 4. BATTLEFIELD ACQUISITION GRANT PROGRAM.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Battefield report.--The term ``Battlefield Report'' 
     means the document entitled ``Report on the Nation's Civil 
     War Battlefields'', prepared by the Civil War Sites Advisory 
     Commission, and dated July 1993.
       (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
     State or local government.
       (3) Eligible site.--The term ``eligible site'' means a 
     site--
       (A) that is not within the exterior bound- aries of a unit 
     of the National Park System; and (B) that is identified in 
     the Battlefield Report.
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior, acting through the American Battlefield 
     Protection Program.
       (b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a 
     battlefield acquisition grant program under which the 
     Secretary may provide grants to eligible entities to pay the 
     Federal share of the cost of acquiring interests in eligible 
     sites for the preservation and protection of those eligible 
     sites.
       (c) Nonprofit Partners.--An eligible entity may acquire an 
     interest in an eligible site using a grant under this section 
     in partnership with a nonprofit organization.
       (d) Non-Federal Share.--The non-Federal share of the total 
     cost of acquiring an interest in an eligible site under this 
     section shall be not less than 50 percent.
       (e) Limitation on Land Use.--An interest in an eligible 
     site acquired under this section shall be subject to section 
     6(f)(3) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 
     (16 U.S.C. 4601-8(f)(3)).
       (f) Willing Sellers.--Acquisitions of land and interests in 
     land under this Act shall be limited to acquisitions, from 
     willing sellers only, of conservation easements and fee-
     simple purchases of eligible sites.
       (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary to provide grants under 
     this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 
     through 2013.

     SEC. 5. REPEAL.

       This Act shall be repealed on September 30, 2019.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Holt) and the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HOLT. Madam 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 bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, since its inception in 1996, the American 
Battlefield Protection Program has provided grants for preserving 
endangered battlefields of the Civil War, which are specifically not 
part of the National Park system.

                              {time}  1430

  The program contains two components. The Battlefield Preservation 
Grants Program is designed to help State and local governments, private 
organizations and citizens protect battlefield sites.
  The Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program provides matching funds to 
help State and local governments acquire and preserve battlefield 
sites. Together, these two programs have helped protect more than 
15,000 acres at 72 Civil War battlefields. They have leveraged more 
than $50 million in non-Federal funding for battlefield protection.
  Madam Speaker, as we all know, several time-sensitive pieces of 
legislation were caught up in the lengthy debate about public lands 
issues in the other body. Because of that delay, the original law for 
this program lapsed last September. H.R. 548 would restore this 
important program and authorize it through 2019.
  As I said in connection with the previous bill on battlefields of the 
War of 1812 and the Revolution, preserving these historic sites is 
important not for looking back, but for looking forward, for knowing 
where we came from and where we are going, for knowing that we are a 
Nation conceived in liberty and dedicated on the proposition that all 
are equal. The lesson of the Civil War battlefields is a lesson for 
today's children, for tomorrow's children, for all citizens.
  I commend our colleague, Representative Gary Miller of California, 
for his leadership on this issue and his commitment to historic 
preservation.
  I urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 548.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  The American Civil War captures the imagination of people like no 
other event in our history. In bookstores, most shelves in the history 
section are devoted to events of the 1860s. On weekends, battles are 
re-enacted by serious hobbyists who strive for authenticity in costume, 
weaponry, and skirmish details. Pictures of Lincoln are found in 
countless homes and classrooms, Confederate flags adorn pick-up trucks, 
and the words of the Gettysburg Address are as familiar as the 23rd 
Psalm.
  As a Nation, we clearly recognize the continuing importance of the 
War Between the States, so it is natural that we should try to find 
appropriate ways to keep safe the places where our great grandfathers 
witnessed events so noble and so horrific. But since our country is 
about liberty rather than glorification of the State, we have to 
safeguard not just the hills and the mud on which they fought, but also 
the freedoms for which they fought. Therefore, it would be tragic if we 
would allow our well-meaning enthusiasm for protecting historic sites 
to result in programs that diminish the property rights of our fellow 
citizens.
  This bill has two important safeguards. First, a ``willing seller'' 
provision--and we need to make sure the seller's willingness is 
uncoerced. Second, a sunset provision so that Congress will have an 
opportunity to see if this program merits continued Federal support. 
The bill's author, Congressman Gary Miller, is to be commended for 
including these good government provisions.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

[[Page 6098]]


  Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentleman for yielding time.
  This bill is about history, American history. And sometimes we forget 
our own history, no matter what it is. But if you recall, it all 
started in 1861, the War Between the States. And after the smoke 
cleared, there were 600,000 Americans from the North and from the South 
killed--250,000 from the South, 350,000 from the North, and many more 
died years later from wounds that they had received.
  Many of those battles that took place took place in Virginia. One 
such battle was the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5-7 of 1864. In 
that battle, 145,000 troops from the Union and the South fought each 
other. Madam Speaker, that's the number of troops we have in all of 
Iraq. They assembled together in Orange County, near Fredericksburg, to 
do battle.
  After that battle was over with, between 18,000 and 20,000 died in 
those 3 days of battle. And that is one of the areas that this bill 
would affect. It would help preserve the surrounding community to 
sellers that would willfully sell their land to help preserve the 
battlefield.
  One such location near Fredericksburg is a location where the profit 
motive is moving in. None other than Wal-Mart wants to build a Wal-Mart 
on the very spot where Union troops assembled before that battle 
started. And this bill would help protect and preserve that location.
  This bill is especially important to me and this battle is especially 
important to me because, although the casualties were great on both 
sides, the State of Vermont lost a great percentage of the soldiers 
from Vermont that fought in that battle. And being from Texas, Texas 
had the same result on the south; 86 percent of the Texans that went to 
battle in those 3 days were killed or wounded. And it would be 
important that battles such as the Battle of the Wilderness and all the 
other battles from the War Between the States be preserved for our 
heritage because history, Madam Speaker, is what we do in this country.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman, my 
friend and colleague from Texas, for those eloquent remarks reminding 
us that this is not just for land preservation, it is for values 
preservation that we are supporting Mr. Miller's bill. And I thank my 
colleagues also for recognizing the work that Mr. Miller has put into 
this.
  With that, I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 548, 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. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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