Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act of 2008

Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to express the importance of H.R. 2933, a bill to reauthorize the Civil War Battlefields Preservation Program. I would like to thank Chairman Rahall and Ranking Member Young of the Committee on Natural Resources for shepherding this bill through their committee. Additionally, Chairman Grijalva and Ranking Member Bishop of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, Public Lands must be recognized for their work preserving the American landscape for generations of future citizens to enjoy. Additionally, I would like to particularly thank everyone at the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Trust, especially their President, James Lighthizer, for all the work they have done bringing attention and awareness to the need for preservation. Without the Trust, hundreds of acres of land would likely be lost forever.

Preservation of our Nation's Civil War Battlefields is an issue that I hold close to my heart and fresh in my mind. Without a physical link to the past, we are left with only a passing glimpse of who we are as a Nation.

Our historic battlefields provide outdoor classrooms for visitors to recreate the history of heroes from generations come and gone. In 1993, the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, a blue-ribbon panel was created by Congress to investigate the status of America's battlefields. The Commission reported that 384 Civil War battlefields were considered high priority and were in serious danger of destruction. The report concluded that almost 20 percent of the Civil War battlefields were lost or fragmented, 17 percent in poor condition, and 60 percent to have been lost or in imminent danger of being fragmented and lost as coherent historic sites. Congress recognized the need to safeguard the only living link to the ``War Between the States'' and in fiscal year 1999 a preservation program was financed for the first time.

In 2002, I authored the bill that created the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program. To date, this program has helped save more than 15,000 acres in 14 States. The American Battlefield Protection Program, an arm of the National Park Service, manages and competitively awards the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program grants. Furthermore, this legislation will facilitate the creation of partnerships at the State and local level, encouraging the private sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance nationally significant Civil War battlefields.

The program's 50/50 matching grants formula encourages both public and private sector investment in battlefield protection. Grants are directed to State and local governments for land acquisition only and are not issued to nonprofit or private groups. Grant money cannot be used for administrative costs or overhead.

The grants are awarded based on five requirements: (1) The battlefield must be on the list of 384 priority sites determined by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission; (2) The land must be outside the authorized boundaries of the National Park System, thus keeping the program from contributing to National Park Service maintenance costs; (3) Any land acquired with the assistance of the grant program may not be subsequently converted to a non-conservation use without the prior written permission of the Secretary of the Interior; (4) Any grant awarded must be supported by an appraisal of the property's value in accordance with federal standards for property appraisals; and (5) Any land acquired with the assistance of the grant program must be protected by a perpetual easement to ensure its preservation for future generations.

The effect of this program and intent of this legislation is to preserve nationally significant Civil War battlefields through conservation and purchases of those battlefields from willing sellers at fair market value. Preservation of historic battlefields involves only willing sellers when properties become available, and since only willing sellers are involved in the transaction, all private property rights are preserved. There is absolutely no eminent domain authority associated with this program. Willing sellers are compensated at fair- market value and the program allows preservation groups to compete with developers to buy land.

Among the sites saved as a result of this program are historic properties at: Fort Donelson, Tennessee, where the Union scored its first major victory of the war and Union General Ulysses S. Grant earned the nickname ``Unconditional Surrender''; Antietam, Maryland, where 23,000 soldiers were killed, marking the bloodiest day in American history and leading to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation; and, Chancellorsville, Virginia, where a much smaller Confederate force defeated the larger Union force, while suffering the loss of the famed General Thomas ``Stonewall'' Jackson.

Despite the progress, we still have more to do. Many sites have only been partially preserved and those that have no opportunity for acquisition run the risk of being lost forever. Only about 20 percent of the actual battlefields upon which the Civil War was fought are currently preserved. All of the rest of that hallowed ground is either unprotected or has already been destroyed.

These battlefields offer a porthole to the past. The vivid imagery of an epic conflict can remind visitors of the struggles our country has gone through to preserve the banner of liberty and justice for all. Memorializing the conflict, Oliver Wendell Holmes said, ``We have shared the incommunicable experience of war. We felt, we still feel, the passion of life to its top. In our youths, our hearts were touched by fire.'' By preserving this Nation's historic Civil War Battlefields, we can give visitors a sense of what Mr. Holmes was talking about.

Since fiscal year 1999, Congress has appropriated $36 million to preserve Civil War Battlefields and the White House included a $4 million request for the program as part of its fiscal year 2009 budget. H.R. 2933 is a clean bill that would extend the authorization, from fiscal years 2009 through 2013 for battlefield preservation grants under the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act of 2002. The program's necessity, and proof that the preservation of history is a bipartisan issue, is demonstrated by more than 100 cosponsors divided nearly equally between Republicans and Democrats. A companion bill, authored by Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, has already been approved by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and enjoys widespread support in that chamber. I thank the Speaker and I respectfully request and urge you to support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2933) to amend the American Battlefield Protection Act of 1996 to extend the authorization for that Act, and for other purposes, as amended.

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.

Madam Speaker, since its inception in 1996, the American battlefield protection program has provided grants for preserving endangered Civil War battlefields which are specifically not part of the National Park System.

The program contains two components. The battlefield preservation grants program is designed to help State and local government, 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 grant programs have helped to protect more than 15,000 acres at 72 Civil War battlefields and have leveraged $52 million in non-Federal funding for battlefield protection. With enactment of H.R. 160, which was just considered, this program will be expanded to include Revolutionary War and War of 1812 sites, making the program even stronger.

I commend our colleague, Representative Gary Miller of California, for his leadership on this issue and his commitment to historic preservation. This is a truly bipartisan measure with more than 100 cosponsors from both parties. I ask my colleagues to support passage of this measure.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, but I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would like to make mention, and I think it is fitting that we are entertaining this bill today on what marks the 146th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge the passage of H.R. 2933, the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act of 2007.

H.R. 2933 was introduced by my good friend and colleague Congressman Gary Miller and I have paid special attention to this bill as it as made its way through the legislative process of the Committee on Natural Resources of which I am a member.

H.R. 2933 is an important bill for the residents of coastal South Carolina and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation.

The current Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program funds preservation and conservation efforts at many famous Civil War battlefields across the Nation. It is very important that we preserve these sites for future generations to observe and visit these sites that are so important to our Nation's history.

Some of the more famous locations in my district include, Fort Sumter, the target of the first shots of the Civil War as well as the assault on Morris Island's Battery Wagner, which is the battle which inspired the Academy Award winning movie Glory.

Other famous battles fought at Secessionville, Grimball's Landing, Simmon's Bluff and sites in and around the Charleston Harbor would also be eligible to receive funding for preservation and conservation.

Madam Speaker, reauthorization of the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program could not come at a better time. In just 3 years, America will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.

I know that in my district the planning has already started and many residents of coastal South Carolina are planning to observe this important date from where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill as swift passage of H.R. 2933 would help in the preparation, preservation and conservation of many of these hallowed sites in advance of this important anniversary.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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 reenacted 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 pickup 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 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 on the program's funding authorization. The bill's sponsors are to be commended for including these safeguards.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I at this time, Madam Speaker, yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell).

Madam Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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.

I thank the gentleman from Alaska for yielding.

There are no Civil War battlefield sites in California. There was one place where shots were fired near the Arizona border, but I do admit to having more than a passing interest in the study of and learning about the Civil War. I stand today strongly in favor of this bill. I can't tell you how many times I invoke the quotes or the deeds or the actions of politicians and generals and citizens from the Civil War and the Civil War era in giving us guidance and perspective on how we deal with some of our problems today.

As we today and this week are facing a financial crisis which is not something that could ever even have been conceived in the Civil War but they certainly dealt with crises of their own. How they dealt with them and how they worked with them and the courage with which they faced them are instructive to all of us today.

These battlefield sites bring that history alive. They remind us of the sacrifices that those who came before us

made to give us what we have today, and they instruct us and teach us of the bravery and the courage and the principles upon which they stood and how we can remember and call upon the same bravery and courage and principles today.

As was said, this bill not only protects private property rights but also leverages a tremendous amount of private funds, largely private funds, that are collected from around the country to preserve these battlefield sites.

Madam Speaker, again I stand in strong support of this bill, both for what the Civil War sites have done for us in the past and what they can continue to do to teach us in the future.