Virgin Islands National Park School Lease Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 53) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a long-term lease with the Government of the United States Virgin Islands to provide land on the island of Saint John, Virgin Islands, for the establishment of a school, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to explain the bill.

I want to thank the Chair of the Subcommittee on Parks for coming to the Virgin Islands and having a hearing in St. John on this important bill.

This bill, H.R. 53, was introduced by me on January 4 of this year to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease land on the island of St. John to the Government of the United States Virgin Islands to build a public school. The legislation is strongly supported by the people of the Virgin Islands, particularly the residents of St. John.

The Virgin Islands National Park was authorized by Congress in 1956 and established largely by an initial land donation by Laurance Rockefeller through the Jackson Hole Preserve, Incorporated. In 1962 and 1978, the park was enlarged by Congress so that it now takes up almost two-thirds of St. John, which is only 22 square miles.

For at least the past three decades, the Government of the Virgin Islands and the National Park Service have been discussing the question of securing suitable land on the island of St. John to construct the public school. Since the 1970s, public school enrollment on St. John has more than doubled, and the U.S. VI Government owns no land on the island to expand either of the two public schools that now exist or to build a new one.

The two existing public schools, Julius E. Sprauve and the Guy H. Benjamin Elementary School, only accommodate children up to the ninth grade. St. Johnian high school children have to travel to St. Thomas, 20 minutes by ferry over open ocean to complete their secondary education.

The Julius E. Sprauve School is in the middle of a heavily trafficked area, which really threatens and puts the lives of our children at risk as they come to and from school. About 2 years ago, a second-grade student was killed leaving a Christmas party. The schools are not in the best location; especially that school is not in the best location for our students.

It is clear that with limited land and the continued growth and population, this legislation is critically needed.

I want to thank Chairman Rahall and Ranking Member Don Young and Subcommittee Parks Chairman Raul Grijalva and Insular Affairs Subcommittee ranking member, Luis Fortuno, for their support to have this legislation considered on the floor today.

I also have to thank the One Campus Group in St. John, Kirstin Cox, Lorelei Monsanto, Alvis Christian, Ronnie Jones and all of the others for the work that they have done to get us this far and to bring the community together in support of the process that is outlined in H.R. 53 when all else failed.

I urge my colleagues to support the people of St. John and to support

I thank the gentleman for his support.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Subcommittee on National Parks. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 3:00 p.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills: S. 662, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to evaluate resources at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Brunswick, Maine, to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing the site as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes; S. 827, to establish the Freedom's Way National Heritage Area in the States of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and for other purposes; S. 923 and H.R. 1528, to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the New England National Scenic Trail, and for other purposes; S. 956, to establish the Land Between the Rivers National Heritage Area in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes; S. 2073, to amend the National Trails System Act relating to the statute of limitations that applies to certain claims; S. 2513, to modify the boundary of the Minute Man National Historical Park, and for other purposes; S. 2604, to establish the Baltimore National Heritage Area in the State of Maryland, and for other purposes; S. 2804, to adjust the boundary of the Everglades National Park, and for other purposes; H.R. 53, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a long-term lease with the Government of the United States Virgin Islands to provide land on the island of Saint John, Virgin Islands, for the establishment of a school, and for other purposes; and H.R. 1483 (Subtitles C, D, and F of title II, title III, section 4006 of title IV, and titles V and VI only), to amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to extend the authorization for certain national heritage areas, and for other purposes.

Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to [email protected] .gov.

For further information, please contact David Brooks or Rachel Pasternack.

I do thank my colleague from the Virgin Islands for outlining H.R. 53.

Two-thirds of the island of St. John is comprised of the Virgin Islands National Park. The park's dominant size is negatively impacting the quality of life for the growing population there at St. John. Without utilizing the park land, there is no other suitable property to build a school on St. John.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill. We had hoped to consider an amendment to convey the property outright for the school, as was offered, but then withdrawn by Congressman Jeff Flake during our committee consideration of this bill.

However, Chairman Rahall has given his support for other long-term leases, and this bill does establish an important precedent for the National Park Service.

We support the bill. It is for a great purpose. I would urge my colleagues to support this, since we don't have an amendment to give it outright to my colleague, but, in the meantime, we support this bill and wish the project well.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.