Preserving America’s Battlefields Act

IB Union Calendar No. 512 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 307 [Report No. 116–627] To provide for partnerships among State and local governments, regional entities, and the private sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the visitor experience at nationally significant battlefields of the American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 8, 2019 Mr. HICE of Georgia (for himself, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. COLE, Mr. COOK, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIND, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LONG, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SIRES, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. TONKO, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. KATKO, and Mr. COLLINS of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources DECEMBER 8, 2020 Additional sponsors: Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. RIGGLEMAN, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsyl- vania, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mr. POSEY, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. TIPTON, Ms. MENG, Mr. CLAY, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. DIN- GELL, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. BACON, Mr. CASE, Mr. VAN DREW, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. CLINE, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. PETERS, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mrs. MILLER, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. SPANO, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. TRONE, Mr. TURNER, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Ms. PIN- GREE, Mr. GUEST, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. WATKINS, Mr. BEYER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. SMITH of Missouri, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. BUDD, Mr. COSTA, Mr. GUTHRIE, VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H307.RH H307 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 307 RH Mr. HURD of Texas, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. SOTO, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. COOPER, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. WOODALL, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, and Mr. DELGADO DECEMBER 8, 2020 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources; committed to the Com- mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed A BILL To provide for partnerships among State and local govern- ments, regional entities, and the private sector to pre- serve, conserve, and enhance the visitor experience at nationally significant battlefields of the American Revolu- tion, War of 1812, and Civil War, and for other pur- poses. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H307.RH H307 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 307 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preserving America’s 4 Battlefields Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD PRESERVATION ACT OF 6 2002. 7 Section 2 of the Civil War Battlefield Preservation 8 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–359) is amended to read 9 as follows: 10 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 11 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 12 ‘‘(1) Battlefields of the American Revolution, 13 War of 1812 and the Civil War— 14 ‘‘(A) provide a means for the people of the 15 United States to understand our Nation’s tur- 16 bulent first century; 17 ‘‘(B) serve as living memorials to those 18 who fought and sacrificed in these conflicts to 19 establish and maintain our freedom and liberty; 20 ‘‘(C) serve as training grounds for our Na- 21 tion’s Armed Forces; and 22 ‘‘(D) serve as heritage tourism destina- 23 tions, generating revenue for local economies. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H307.RH H307 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 307 RH ‘‘(2) According to the Report on the Nation’s 1 Civil War Battlefields, prepared by the National 2 Park Service and updated in 2010, of the 383 Civil 3 War battlefields identified as national preservation 4 priorities— 5 ‘‘(A) only at 31 battlefields is more than 6 half of the surviving landscape permanently 7 protected; 8 ‘‘(B) at 227 battlefields, less than half of 9 the surviving landscape is permanently pro- 10 tected; 11 ‘‘(C) 65 battlefields have no protection at 12 all; and 13 ‘‘(D) 113 battlefields have been severely 14 hampered by development since the Civil War 15 or are on the verge of being overwhelmed. 16 ‘‘(3) According to the 2007 Report to Congress 17 on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War 18 and War of 1812 Sites in the United States, pre- 19 pared by the National Park Service, of the 243 prin- 20 cipal Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battle- 21 fields identified as national preservation priorities— 22 ‘‘(A) almost 70 percent lie within urban 23 areas as denoted in the 2000 U.S. Census; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H307.RH H307 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 307 RH ‘‘(B) 141 are lost or extremely fragmented, 1 with residential and commercial development 2 being the chief threats; 3 ‘‘(C) 100 other battlefields retain signifi- 4 cant features and lands from the period of bat- 5 tle, although on average these battlefields retain 6 only 37 percent of the original historic scene; 7 ‘‘(D) of these 100 surviving but diminished 8 battle landscapes, 82 are partially owned and 9 protected by public and nonprofit stewards, al- 10 though the extent of that protection varies from 11 site to site; 12 ‘‘(E) 18 are without any legal protection; 13 ‘‘(F) the condition of two battlefields is un- 14 known, with additional research and survey 15 being required to determine their exact location 16 and condition; and 17 ‘‘(G) the paucity of existing battlefield 18 landscapes necessitates preservation and main- 19 tenance of what precious little remains today. 20 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 21 ‘‘(1) to act quickly and proactively to preserve 22 and protect nationally significant battlefields of the 23 American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H307.RH H307 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 307 RH through conservation easements and fee-simple pur- 1 chases of those battlefields from willing sellers; and 2 ‘‘(2) to create partnerships among State and 3 local governments, regional entities, and the private 4 sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the visitor 5 experience at nationally significant battlefields of the 6 American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War.’’. 7 SEC. 3. PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE. 8 Section 308103(f) of title 54, United States Code, is 9 amended to read as follows: 10 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 11 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to pro- 12 vide grants under this section $20,000,000 for each fiscal 13 year through 2028, of which not more than 10 percent 14 may be used each fiscal year as follows: 15 ‘‘(1) Not more than $1,000,000 for projects 16 and programs that modernize battlefield interpretive 17 and educational assets through the deployment of 18 technology, disbursed through the competitive grant 19 process to non-profit organizations. 20 ‘‘(2) Not more than $1,000,000 for grants to 21 organizations described in section 501(c)(3) of the 22 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 23 taxation under section 501(a) of such Code to be 24 used for projects that restore day-of-battle condi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H307.RH H307 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 307 RH tions on land preserved through Battlefield Land 1 Acquisition Grant Program funds.’’. 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H307.RH H307 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS Union Calendar No. 512 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 307 [Report No. 116–627] A BILL To provide for partnerships among State and local governments, regional entities, and the private sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the vis- itor experience at nationally significant battle- fields of the American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War, and for other purposes. DECEMBER 8, 2020 Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H307.RH H307 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS