To modify a land grant patent issued by the Secretary of the Interior.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 404) to modify a land grant patent issued by the Secretary of the Interior.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 404 would simply modify a land patent that was issued by the Department of the Interior to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society in 1998 to reflect an agreement between the historical society, the Michigan Audubon Society, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The current land patent references an outdated 1992 Comprehensive Plan for Whitefish Point, a 43-acre spit of land surrounded by Lake Superior. The Michigan Audubon Society sued when this plan for development was proposed, and following a court-ordered settlement of the lawsuit, a new plan was negotiated in 2002. This bill would modify the land patent to appropriately reference the 2002 plan and finally allow for the development to go forward.

Congressman Dan Benishek, our colleague from Michigan, is the author of the companion House bill, H.R. 3411, and he should be commended for his commonsense approach to help manage this important tourism area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

And with that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the author of the companion bill in the House of this legislation, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Benishek).

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of S. 404, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, this evening the House will take up Senate bill S. 404, a bill authored by my colleague in the Senate, Senator Carl Levin. As you heard, I authored a companion bill in the House last November.

This bill will end a bureaucratic roadblock that has prevented the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum from making improvements to its facility located in Chippewa County, Michigan, along the southern shore of Lake Superior. Only an act of Congress is able to correct an error in the land patent that was enacted in 1992.

From the bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald to the U.S. Coast Guard's Whitefish Point Lighthouse, the shipwreck museum's exhibits tell the story of brave men and women who have navigated the Great Lakes for hundreds of years.

This facility displays important parts of Northern Michigan's history. Each year, some 60,000 individuals visit the museum and explore firsthand the rich maritime traditions of Michigan's First District. Preserving Michigan's maritime history is a resource that both Senator Levin and I agree warrants enthusiastic bipartisan support for the benefit of future generations of visitors.

I want to thank Chairman Hastings for bringing this bill to the floor today, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support this measure and bring it one step closer to the President's desk.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 404 requires the Secretary of the Interior to modify a land grant patent in Chippewa County, Michigan. The patent, issued to the Michigan Audubon Society and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, will be amended to allow for use and modification of the property to allow for new use plans.

We have no objection to this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we have no other speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.