American Battlefield Protection Program Enhancement Act of 2023

II Calendar No. 647 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3448 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 7, 2023 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources NOVEMBER 21, 2024 Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, without amendment AN ACT To amend chapter 3081 of title 54, United States Code, to enhance the protection and preservation of America’s battlefields. 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 ‘‘American Battlefield 4 Protection Program Enhancement Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3448.RS H3448 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3448 RS SEC. 2. AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD PROTECTION PROGRAM 1 IMPROVEMENTS. 2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 308101 of title 54, 3 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 4 ‘‘§ 308101. Definitions 5 ‘‘In this chapter: 6 ‘‘(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 7 the Secretary, acting through the American Battle- 8 field Protection Program. 9 ‘‘(2) BATTLEFIELD REPORTS.—The term ‘Bat- 10 tlefield Reports’ means, collectively— 11 ‘‘(A) the document entitled ‘Report on the 12 Nation’s Civil War Battlefields’, prepared by 13 the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, and 14 dated July 1993; and 15 ‘‘(B) the document entitled ‘Report to 16 Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revo- 17 lutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the 18 United States’, prepared by the National Park 19 Service, and dated September 2007.’’. 20 (b) PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE.—Section 21 308102(a) of title 54, United States Code, is amended by 22 striking ‘‘Federal’’ and all that follows through ‘‘organiza- 23 tions’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal agencies, States, Tribes, 24 local governments, other public entities, educational insti- 25 tutions, and nonprofit organizations’’. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3448.RS H3448 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3448 RS (c) BATTLEFIELD LAND ACQUISITION GRANTS IM- 1 PROVEMENTS.—Section 308103 of title 54, United States 2 Code, is amended— 3 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol- 4 lows: 5 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE SITE DEFINED.—In this section, the 6 term ‘eligible site’— 7 ‘‘(1) means a site that— 8 ‘‘(A) is not within the exterior boundaries 9 of a unit of the National Park System; and 10 ‘‘(B) is identified in the Battlefield Reports 11 as a battlefield; and 12 ‘‘(2) excludes sites identified in the Battlefield 13 Reports as associated historic sites.’’; 14 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘State and 15 local governments’’ and inserting ‘‘States, Tribes, 16 local governments, and nonprofit organizations’’; 17 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘State or local 18 government’’ and inserting ‘‘State, Tribe, or local 19 government’’; and 20 (4) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘under this 21 section’’ and inserting ‘‘under this section, including 22 by States, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit 23 organizations,’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3448.RS H3448 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3448 RS (d) BATTLEFIELD RESTORATION GRANTS IMPROVE- 1 MENTS.—Section 308105 of title 54, United States Code, 2 is amended— 3 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol- 4 lows: 5 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab- 6 lish a battlefield restoration grant program (referred to 7 in this section as the ‘program’) under which the Secretary 8 may provide grants to States, Tribes, local governments, 9 and nonprofit organizations for projects that restore day- 10 of-battle conditions on— 11 ‘‘(1) land preserved and protected under the 12 battlefield acquisition grant program established 13 under section 308103(b); or 14 ‘‘(2) battlefield land that is— 15 ‘‘(A) owned by a State, Tribe, local govern- 16 ment, or nonprofit organization; and 17 ‘‘(B) referred to in the Battlefield Re- 18 ports.’’; and 19 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 20 following: 21 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE SITES.—The Secretary may make 22 grants under this section for Revolutionary War, War of 23 1812, and Civil War battlefield sites— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3448.RS H3448 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3448 RS ‘‘(1) eligible for assistance under the battlefield 1 acquisition grant program established under section 2 308103(b); or 3 ‘‘(2) on battlefield land that is— 4 ‘‘(A) owned by a State, Tribe, local govern- 5 ment, or nonprofit organization; and 6 ‘‘(B) referred to in the Battlefield Re- 7 ports.’’. 8 (e) UPDATES AND IMPROVEMENTS.—Chapter 3081 9 of title 54, United States Code, is amended by adding at 10 the end the following: 11 ‘‘§ 308106. Updates and improvements to Battlefield 12 Reports 13 ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact- 14 ment of this section, and every 10 years thereafter, the 15 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that updates 16 the Battlefield Reports to reflect— 17 ‘‘(1) preservation activities carried out at the 18 battlefields in the period since the publication of the 19 most recent Battlefield Reports update; 20 ‘‘(2) changes in the condition, including core 21 and study areas, of the battlefields during that pe- 22 riod; and 23 ‘‘(3) any other relevant developments relating 24 to the battlefields during that period.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3448.RS H3448 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3448 RS (f) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 1 for chapter 3081 of title 54, United States Code, is 2 amended as follows: 3 (1) By amending the item relating to section 4 308101 to read as follows: 5 ‘‘308101. Definitions.’’. (2) By adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘308106. Updates and improvements to Battlefield Reports.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3448.RS H3448 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3448.RS H3448 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 647 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3448 AN ACT To amend chapter 3081 of title 54, United States Code, to enhance the protection and preservation of America’s battlefields. NOVEMBER 21, 2024 Reported without amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Nov 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H3448.RS H3448 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS