San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Boundary Expansion Act of 2013

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, at 10:00 a.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. 37, to sustain the economic development and recreational

use of National Forest System land and other public land in

the State of Montana, to add certain land to the National

Wilderness Preservation System, to release certain wilderness

study areas, to designate new areas for recreation, and for

other purposes;

S. 343, to provide for the conveyance of certain Federal

land in Clark County, Nevada,

for the environmental remediation and reclamation of the

Three Kids Mine Project Site, and for other purposes;

S. 364, to establish the Rocky Mountain Front Conservation

Management Area, to designate certain Federal land as

wilderness, and to improve the management of noxious weeds in

the Lewis and Clark National Forest, and for other purposes;

S. 404, to preserve the Green Mountain Lookout in the

Glacier Peak Wilderness of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie

National Forest;

S. 753, to provide for national security benefits for White

Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss;

S. 1169, to withdraw and reserve certain public land in the

State of Montana for the Limestone Hills Training Area, and

for other purposes;

S. 1294, to designate as wilderness certain public land in

the Cherokee National Forest in the State of Tennessee, and

for other purposes;

S. 1300, to amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of

2003 to provide for the conduct of stewardship end result

contracting projects;

S. 1301, to provide for the restoration of forest

landscapes, protection of old growth forests, and management

of national forests in the eastside forests of the State of

Oregon;

S. 1309, to withdraw and reserve certain public land under

the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior for

military uses, and for other purposes;

H.R. 507, to provide for the conveyance of certain land

inholdings owned by the United States to the Pascua Yaqui

Tribe of Arizona, and for other purposes;

H.R. 862, to authorize the conveyance of two small parcels

of land within the boundaries of the Coconino National Forest

containing private improvements that were developed based

upon the reliance of the landowners in an erroneous survey

conducted in May 1960;

H.R. 876, to authorize the continued use of certain water

diversions located on National Forest System land in the

Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and the Selway-

Bitterroot Wilderness in the State of Idaho, and for other

purposes, and;

H.R. 993 and S. 507, to provide for the conveyance of

certain parcels of National Forest System land to the city of

Fruit Heights, Utah.

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, 304 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to John_Assini@energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact please contact David Brooks (202) 224-9863, or John Assini (202) 224-9313.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

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, July 31, 2013, at 2:30 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. 398, to establish the Commission to Study the Potential

Creation of a National Women's History Museum, and for other

purposes;

S. 524, to amend the National Trails System Act to provide

for the study of the Pike National Historic Trail;

S. 618, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct

certain special resource studies;

S. 702, to designate the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers

Valley National Heritage Corridor as ``The Last Green Valley

National Heritage Corridor'';

S. 781, to modify the boundary of Yosemite National Park,

and for other purposes;

S. 782, to amend Public Law 101-377 to revise the

boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park to

include the Gettysburg Train Station, and for other purposes;

S. 869, to establish the Alabama Black Belt National

Heritage Area, and for other purposes;

S. 925, to improve the Lower East Side Tenement National

Historic Site, and for other purposes;

S. 995, to authorize the National Desert Storm Memorial

Association to establish the National Desert Storm and Desert

Shield Memorial as a commemorative work in the District of

Columbia, and for other purposes;

S. 974, to provide for certain land conveyances in the

State of Nevada, and for other purposes;

S. 1044, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to install

in the area of the World War II Memorial in the District of

Columbia a suitable plaque or an inscription with the words

that President Franklin D. Roosevelt prayed with the United

States on D-Day, June 6, 1944;

S. 1071, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make

improvements to support facilities for National Historic

Sites operated by the National Park Service, and for other

purposes;

S. 1138, to reauthorize the Hudson River Valley National

Heritage Area;

S. 1151, to reauthorize the America's Agricultural Heritage

Partnership in the State of Iowa;

S. 1157, to reauthorize the Rivers of Steel National

Heritage Area, the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area,

the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and the

Schuylkill River Valley National Heritage Area;

S. 1168, to reauthorize the Essex National Heritage Area;

S. 1252, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to

designate segments of the Missisquoi River and the Trout

River in the State of Vermont, as components of the National

Wild and Scenic Rivers System;

S. 1253, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to

designate certain segments of the Farmington River and Salmon

Brook in the State of Connecticut as components of the

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other

purposes;

H.R. 674, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to

study the suitability and feasibility of designating

prehistoric, historic, and limestone forest sites on Rota,

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as a unit of

the National Park System;

H.R. 885, to expand the boundary of the San Antonio

Missions National Historical Park, and for other purposes;

H.R. 1033 and S. 916, to authorize the acquisition and

protection of nationally significant battlefields and

associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812

under the American Battlefield Protection Program, and

H.R. 1158, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to

continue stocking fish in certain lakes in the North Cascades

National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake

Chelan National Recreation Area.

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, 304 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to John_Assini@energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact please contact David Brooks (202) 224-9863 or John Assini (202) 224-9313.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, at 2:30 p.m., in room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on S. 1240, the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013.

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 may do so by sending it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510-6150, or by e-mail to Lauren_Goldschmidt@ energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact Sam Fowler at (202) 224-7571, Dave Berick at (202) 224-2209, or Lauren Goldschmidt at (202) 224-5488.

Thank you to my colleague from California, who has ties directly to San Antonio and appreciates the importance of this legislation.

I do rise in support of the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park Boundary Expansion Act, a measure that has enjoyed the support of all of the members of the Texas delegation who represent a part of Bexar County. The bill does expand the park by 137 acres.

The Spanish Missions in San Antonio are truly a unique treasure--for us as Texans, and for all Americans. The Missions National Historic Park preserves the largest collection of Spanish colonial resources anywhere in the United States. It's an educational, historical, and cultural resource that each year is bringing over a million people to enjoy and learn from it.

The park is important to the understanding of Texas and the development of the United States and, of course, it has a significant impact on San Antonio and Bexar County economically.

In his famous ``San Antonio Rose,'' Bob Wills sung of the Alamo and ``old San Antone.'' And most people do associate San Antonio with the Alamo, a landmark of Texas independence. But in addition to the Alamo, there are five remaining Spanish Missions in San Antonio.

The Alamo lies just north of these four missions that compose the Missions National Historical Park. All of them date back to the 1600s, 1700s, the oldest one to 1690, and they were built when the first of six flags flew over Texas, as Spanish colonialists settled San Antonio, then on the frontier with the Comanches and Apaches.

The missions reached out to a number of local Native American tribes, teaching them trades and crafts. The missions do reflect the original ``old San Antone.''

Thanks to the leadership of Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, there's now a great new Mission Reach Trail that connects from near the Alamo to all four missions within the park. It's possible to walk or cycle that trail along the San Antonio River, from the excitement of downtown, first to Mission Concepcion.

Next up is the larger Mission San Jose, site of so many gatherings. Recently, I joined Father Tony Posadas, Andrew Anguiano, Neighborhood Association President Armando Cortez and thousands of people who gathered there for the annual Mission Fest.

Nearby is Mission San Juan Capistrano, a very narrow white stucco building, beautiful with its simplicity. Archbishop Gustavo Garcia- Siller, Father David Garcia and Father Jim Galvin recently reopened that mission after an impressive and complex restoration effort. Each of these missions is a working parish church, relying on their parishioners, and fully restored thanks to the leadership of Father Garcia.

Working closely with him is a group called Los Compadres, a group of committed citizens who've raised over $1 million for the continued restoration and preservation of the missions, led by Pamela Bain and Executive Director Susan Chandoha. Their annual Music Under the Stars concert at Mission San Jose is a great way to experience the park.

And thanks to the leadership of State Representative Joe Farias, park visitors also benefit now from a newly dedicated Veterans Memorial Bridge in the historic Bergs Mill area.

The last of the missions, or the first when it comes to our colleague, Congressman Gallego, is Mission Espada, and he'll have more to say about it, a very important part of the park.

Among the many community partners who've joined with us in the delegation for park expansion are Susan Snow, the World Heritage coordinator of the National Park Service; Suzanne Dixon, with the National Parks Conservation Association; Bexar County Commissioners Tommy Adkisson and Chico Rodriguez; Shannon Miller, with the city's Historic Preservation Office; Suzanne Scott, with the River Authority; and Marco Barros, with the San Antonio Tourism Council. They're making the missions even more accessible and enjoyable for both neighbors and tourists.

One economic study has recently concluded that the park is already supporting almost $100 million in annual economic activity and over 1,100 jobs. With the completion of initiatives associated with this park expansion, the missions can more than double their economic impact in San Antonio.

In addition to the bill that we have here today, it is very important that we achieve our Quest for World Heritage Status for the missions. About a year ago this week, then-Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Department of the Interior had officially authorized the Spanish Missions for nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Another economic study has found that that World Heritage status for this expanded park could yield over $500 million for the San Antonio area within a decade of the World Heritage status.

Unfortunately, because the United States is not paying its dues to UNESCO, which funds the World Heritage Committee, our application could be hampered. I hope that obstacle can be overcome by the time next year that there's a formal submission of this application.

I'm hopeful that by passing this bill relatively early in this Congress that the Senate will finally be able to move it and have ample time to consider it.

Frankly, as my colleague Mrs. Napolitano pointed out, I would have liked to have achieved more today. There are other lands in Bexar and Wilson County with historic ties to the mission that should really be a part of this park. I know the Wilson County part is of particular importance to Congressman Cuellar. But after so many years of failed attempts to secure this legislation, it's better to move forward together and achieve what is possible today.

So together, I believe we are taking constructive steps forward to enhance a national treasure. Our action is not only about preserving culture but about promoting jobs. This park expansion provides another good reason for family vacations and national conventions to take the ``road to San Antone.''

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public, that a business meeting has been scheduled before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The business meeting will be held on Thursday, November 13, 2014, at 3 p.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Building.

The purpose of the Business Meeting is to consider the following legislation:

1. S. 2638, a bill to amend the Natural Gas Act to provide

certainty with respect to the timing of Department of Energy

decisions to approve or deny applications to export natural

gas. (Mr. Hoeven)

2. S. 2379, a bill to approve and implement the Klamath

Basin agreements, to improve natural resource management,

support economic development, and sustain agricultural

production in the Klamath River Basin in the public interest

and the interest of the United States, and for other

purposes. (Mr. Wyden)

3. S. 1784, a bill to improve timber management on Oregon

and California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road grant land,

and for other purposes. (Mr. Wyden)

4. S. 2602, a bill to establish the Mountains to Sound

Greenway National Heritage Area in the State of Washington.

(Ms. Cantwell)

5. S. 182, a bill to provide for the unencumbering of title

to non-Federal land owned by the city of Anchorage, Alaska,

for the purposes of economic development by conveyance of the

Federal reversion interest to the City. (Ms. Murkowski)

6. S. 776, a bill to establish the Columbine-Hondo

Wilderness in the State of New Mexico, to provide for the

conveyance of certain parcels of National Forest System land

in the State, and for other purposes. (Mr. Udall of New

Mexico)

7. S. 841, a bill to designate certain Federal land in the

San Juan National Forest in the State of Colorado as

wilderness, and for other purposes. (Mr. Bennet)

8. S. 1419, a bill to promote research, development, and

demonstration of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy

technologies, and for other purposes. (Mr. Wyden)

9. S. 1971, a bill to establish an interagency coordination

committee or subcommittee with the leadership of the

Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior,

focused on the nexus between energy and water production,

use, and efficiency, and for other purposes. (Ms. Murkowski).

10. S. 398, a bill to establish the Commission to Study the

Potential Creation of a National Women's History Museum, and

for other purposes. (Ms. Collins)

11. S. 2031, a bill to amend the Act to provide for the

establishment of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in

the State of Wisconsin, and for other purposes, to adjust the

boundary to that National Lakeshore to include the lighthouse

known as Ashland Harbor Breakwater Light, and for other

purposes. (Ms. Baldwin)

12. S. 1750, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the

Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into

agreements with States and political subdivisions of States

providing for the continued operation, in whole or in part,

of public land, units of the National Park System, units of

the National Wildlife Refuge System, and units of the

National Forest System in the State during any period in

which the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of

Agriculture is unable to maintain normal level of operations

at the units due to a lapse in appropriations, and for other

purposes. (Mr. Flake)

13. S. 1966, a bill to provide for the restoration of the

economic and ecological health of National Forest System land

and rural communities, and for other purposes. (Mr. Barrasso)

14. S. 2104, a bill to require the Director of the National

Park Service to refund to States all State funds that were

used to reopen and temporarily operate a unit of the National

Park System during the October 2013 shutdown. (Mr. Flake)

15. H.R. 1526, an Act to restore employment and educational

opportunities in, and improve the economic stability of,

counties containing National Forest System land, while also

reducing Forest Service management costs, by ensuring that

such counties have a dependable source of revenue from

National Forest System land, to provide a temporary extension

of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination

Act of 2000, and for other purposes. (Rep. Hastings)

16. H.R. 885, an Act to expand the boundary of the San

Antonio Missions National Historical Park, and for other

purposes. (Rep. Doggett)

17. S. 1328, an bill to authorize the Secretary of the

Interior to conduct a special resource study of the

archeological site and surrounding land of the New

Philadelphia town site in the State of Illinois, and for

other purposes. (Mr. Kirk and Mr. Durbin)

18. H.R. 1241, an Act to facilitate a land exchange

involving certain National Forest System lands in the Inyo

National Forest, and for other purposes. (Rep. Cook)

19. S. 1437, a bill to provide for the release of the

reversionary interest held by the United States in certain

land conveyed in 1954 by the United States, acting through

the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, to the State

of Oregon for the establishment of the Hermiston Agriculture

Research and Extension Center of Oregon State University in

Hermiston, Oregon. (Mr. Wyden)

20. S. 2873, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the

Interior to acknowledge contributions at units of the

National Park System. (Mr. Coburn)

Because of the limited time available for the Business Meeting, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the business meeting record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, 304 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to Sam_Fowler@energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact Sam Fowler at (202) 224-7571.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before Subcommittee on National Parks. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, July 31, 2013, at 2:30 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. 398, to establish the Commission to Study the Potential

Creation of a National Women's History Museum, and for other

purposes;

S. 524, to amend the National Trails System Act to provide

for the study of the Pike National Historic Trail;

S. 618, to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct

certain special resource studies;

S. 702, to designate the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers

Valley National Heritage Corridor as ``The Last Green Valley

National Heritage Corridor'';

S. 781, to modify the boundary of Yosemite National Park,

and for other purposes;

S. 782, to amend Public Law 101-377 to revise the

boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park to

include the Gettysburg Train Station, and for other purposes;

S. 869, to establish the Alabama Black Belt National

Heritage Area, and for other purposes;

S. 925, to improve the Lower East Side Tenement National

Historic Site, and for other purposes;

S. 995, to authorize the National Desert Storm Memorial

Association to establish the National Desert Storm and Desert

Shield Memorial as a commemorative work in the District of

Columbia, and for other purposes;

S. 974, to provide for certain land conveyances in the

State of Nevada, and for other purposes;

S. 1044, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to install

in the area of the World War II Memorial in the District of

Columbia a suitable plaque or an inscription with the words

that President Franklin D. Roosevelt prayed with the United

States on D-Day, June 6, 1944;

S. 1071, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make

improvements to support facilities for National Historic

Sites operated by the National Park Service, and for other

purposes;

S. 1138, to reauthorize the Hudson River Valley National

Heritage Area;

S. 1151, to reauthorize the America's Agricultural Heritage

Partnership in the State of Iowa;

S. 1157, to reauthorize the Rivers of Steel National

Heritage Area, the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area,

the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and the

Schuylkill River Valley National Heritage Area;

S. 1186, to reauthorize the Essex National Heritage Area;

S. 1252, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to

designate segments of the Missisquoi River and the Trout

River in the State of Vermont, as components of the National

Wild and Scenic Rivers System;

S. 1253, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to

designate certain segments of the Farmington River and Salmon

Brook in the State of Connecticut as components of the

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other

purposes;

H.R. 674, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to

study the suitability and feasibility of designating

prehistoric, historic,

and limestone forest sites on Rota, Commonwealth of the

Northern Mariana Islands, as a unit of the National Park

System;

H.R. 885, to expand the boundary of the San Antonio

Missions National Historical Park, and for other purposes;

H.R. 1033 and S. 916, to authorize the acquisition and

protection of nationally significant battlefields and

associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812

under the American Battlefield Protection Program, and

H.R. 1158, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to

continue stocking fish in certain lakes in the North Cascades

National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake

Chelan National Recreation Area.

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, 304 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to John_Assini@energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact please contact David Brooks (202) 224-9863 or John Assini (202) 224-9313.

committee on rules and administration

I'd like to thank Chairman Hastings and the ranking member for their work on this vital piece of legislation.

I'm proud to be an original cosponsor of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Boundary Expansion Act of 2013. This bill would expand the boundaries of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, including the Espada Mission in the 23rd District.

Originally, the Espada Mission was the front door. It was the mission in San Antonio that grew the food that raised the cattle that fed the rest of the missions. It's the only mission that still retains its original property. This is a great opportunity for the redevelopment on the south side of San Antonio.

Texas' missions are inextricably part of our culture, our heritage, and our history. Like the families of their founders, the missions can trace their history back to decades before the

United States ever claimed its independence. All four of the missions, as Congressman Doggett has said, are within several miles of each other. Individually, they're marvels of architecture and history. Together, they're an incomparable treasure, allowing each of us the opportunity to come face-to-face with our Nation's proud past. Enacting this legislation is critical to the completion of the world-famous San Antonio Mission Trail, which is a national example of public and private cooperation. The community needs the resources and the expertise of the National Park Service. Yet the National Park Service could not operate without the investment of time and money by the local community.

As the Congressman who represents the Espada Mission--and as a personal fan of the missions and their history--I believe the National Park Service, the city of San Antonio, and the county of Bexar, will benefit historically and economically with the passage of this act. It's very rare that we can protect key areas, preserve history, and create jobs all at the same time. Expanding the mission boundaries will do all of that--and much more.

I encourage my colleagues to support and pass this bill.