Preserving America’s Battlefields Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 225 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 24, 2019 Mr. ISAKSON (for himself, Mr. KAINE, and Mr. BLUNT) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Natural Resources 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. 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S225.IS S225 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 225 IS SEC. 2. CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD PRESERVATION ACT OF 1 2002. 2 Section 2 of the Civil War Battlefield Preservation 3 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–359) is amended to read 4 as follows: 5 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 6 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 ‘‘(1) Battlefields of the American Revolution, 8 War of 1812 and the Civil War— 9 ‘‘(A) provide a means for the people of the 10 United States to understand our Nation’s tur- 11 bulent first century; 12 ‘‘(B) serve as living memorials to those 13 who fought and sacrificed in these conflicts to 14 establish and maintain our freedom and liberty; 15 ‘‘(C) serve as training grounds for our Na- 16 tion’s Armed Forces; and 17 ‘‘(D) serve as heritage tourism destina- 18 tions, generating revenue for local economies. 19 ‘‘(2) According to the Report on the Nation’s 20 Civil War Battlefields, prepared by the National 21 Park Service and updated in 2010, of the 383 Civil 22 War battlefields identified as national preservation 23 priorities— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S225.IS S225 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 225 IS ‘‘(A) only at 31 battlefields is more than 1 half of the surviving landscape permanently 2 protected; 3 ‘‘(B) at 227 battlefields, less than half of 4 the surviving landscape is permanently pro- 5 tected; 6 ‘‘(C) 65 battlefields have no protection at 7 all; and 8 ‘‘(D) 113 battlefields have been severely 9 hampered by development since the Civil War 10 or are on the verge of being overwhelmed. 11 ‘‘(3) According to the 2007 Report to Congress 12 on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War 13 and War of 1812 Sites in the United States, pre- 14 pared by the National Park Service, of the 243 prin- 15 cipal Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battle- 16 fields identified as national preservation priorities— 17 ‘‘(A) almost 70 percent lie within urban 18 areas as denoted in the 2000 U.S. Census; 19 ‘‘(B) 141 are lost or extremely fragmented, 20 with residential and commercial development 21 being the chief threats; 22 ‘‘(C) 100 other battlefields retain signifi- 23 cant features and lands from the period of bat- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S225.IS S225 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 225 IS tle, although on average these battlefields retain 1 only 37 percent of the original historic scene; 2 ‘‘(D) of these 100 surviving but diminished 3 battle landscapes, 82 are partially owned and 4 protected by public and nonprofit stewards, al- 5 though the extent of that protection varies from 6 site to site; 7 ‘‘(E) 18 are without any legal protection; 8 ‘‘(F) the condition of two battlefields is un- 9 known, with additional research and survey 10 being required to determine their exact location 11 and condition; and 12 ‘‘(G) the paucity of existing battlefield 13 landscapes necessitates preservation and main- 14 tenance of what precious little remains today. 15 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 16 ‘‘(1) to act quickly and proactively to preserve 17 and protect nationally significant battlefields of the 18 American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War 19 through conservation easements and fee-simple pur- 20 chases of those battlefields from willing sellers; and 21 ‘‘(2) to create partnerships among State and 22 local governments, regional entities, and the private 23 sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the visitor 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S225.IS S225 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 225 IS experience at nationally significant battlefields of the 1 American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War.’’. 2 SEC. 3. PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE. 3 Section 308103(f) of title 54, United States Code, is 4 amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 6 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to pro- 7 vide grants under this section $20,000,000 for each fiscal 8 year through 2028, of which not more than 10 percent 9 may be used each fiscal year as follows: 10 ‘‘(1) Not more than $1,000,000 for projects 11 and programs that modernize battlefield interpretive 12 and educational assets through the deployment of 13 technology, disbursed through the competitive grant 14 process to non-profit organizations. 15 ‘‘(2) Not more than $1,000,000 for grants to 16 organizations described in section 501(c)(3) of the 17 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 18 taxation under section 501(a) of such Code to be 19 used for projects that restore day-of-battle condi- 20 tions on land preserved through Battlefield Land 21 Acquisition Grant Program funds.’’. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S225.IS S225 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS