To authorize the Mayor of the District of Columbia and the Director of the National Park Service to enter into cooperative management agreements for the operation, maintenance, and management of units of the National Park System in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank both of my friends for their work on this bill, and I want to thank Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, who is a cosponsor of this bill, for his support and leadership of this legislation, as well as Ranking Member Raul Grijalva, who has also supported our efforts.

I also want to thank Oversight and Government Reform Chair Trey Gowdy and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings for their support and for moving this bipartisan legislation through their committee as well. So you see, we have gone through two committees, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am particularly pleased and grateful to Senator Lisa

Murkowski, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over the bill, who has introduced the Senate companion of this bill.

Our bill is noncontroversial, as you have heard, Mr. Speaker. It would only clarify that the District of Columbia has the authority to enter into cooperative management agreements, called CMAs, to maintain and invest in National Park Service properties in the city. There are many such properties, we are grateful to say, in the District of Columbia.

NPS already has the authority to enter into these agreements with States, and I believe with the District of Columbia, but the better part of valor was to make sure that that was understood.

Our bill would simply provide the District with the same opportunity to work collaboratively with the NPS as States and cities already do.

NPS is the steward of many of the country's most beautiful natural wonders, but they are uniquely responsible for most of the small urban parks in the District's neighborhoods, as well.

Given NPS' limited budget and resources, we should encourage local jurisdictions to work with NPS to make sure that our national parks are properly cared for in the way this bill incentivizes.

The city already has plans to enter into a CMA with the National Park Service to assume operational jurisdiction of Franklin Park. This park is located in downtown D.C., right in the center of town, but it has seen better days.

The city plans to work with the Downtown Business Improvement District to transform the park to its former glory by ensuring regular maintenance and providing amenities such as food, gardens, and other services.

As the city's downtown core has grown to include more housing, businesses, and workers, the need for green space also has grown.

The city's plans for Franklin Park are a model of what can be done when local jurisdictions get creative about protecting and improving the Nation's parks.

Mr. Speaker, I hope Members are taking this bill as a model for what can be done if they have parks. Perhaps the park for this bill would not be as easily patterned. But there are many small parks that are near local businesses. Local businesses do not thrive when green space is in poor condition, so we did not find it difficult to get the business community around this park to partner with the District of Columbia to bring it up to what a park should look like in the center of the city.

The National Park Service has a backlog that has been described by my friend on the other side, so we cannot expect the Park Service, even if it had the most robust funding appropriation here, to get to many of our parks very soon.

What works here can work throughout the United States. My bill is, of course, a win for my city, but it is also a win for the Federal Government, and it is a win for the more than 30 million visitors who visit the District of Columbia every day because it is our Nation's capital, and, of course, it is a win for the surrounding jurisdictions because this park is so centrally located in this region.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa) for yielding time to me.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2897) to authorize the Mayor of the District of Columbia and the Director of the National Park Service to enter into cooperative management agreements for the operation, maintenance, and management of units of the National Park System in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which 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.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2897, introduced by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, authorizes the District of Columbia to establish cooperative management agreements with the National Park Service to operate, manage, and maintain National Park Service properties within the city limits.

As of 2015, 21.7 percent of the District's total surface area, over 8,000 acres in all, was owned and managed by the National Park Service. This area includes 23 distinct units of the National Park System, the National Mall, and many of the small urban green spaces spread throughout the city.

A significant portion of this land is in disrepair. The District ranks second in the National Park Service's deferred maintenance, with an estimated total deferred maintenance of approximately $1.2 billion.

H.R. 2897 authorizes the District of Columbia to enter into cooperative management agreements with the National Park Service for the operation and maintenance of units around the city.

This bill is a component to a major restorative initiative headed by the Mayor's office and sponsored by local nonprofits, and conversations are already underway between the District and the National Park Service for the improvement and repair of Franklin Park.

The city has set aside nearly $14 million for the restoration of the park, and local public and private partnerships will provide yearly maintenance and upkeep.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill for both the citizens of the District and the citizens of our great country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

H.R. 2897 authorizes the District of Columbia and the National Park Service to enter into cooperative management agreements for the operation, maintenance, and management of the National Park System units in the District of Columbia.

Cooperative management agreements are effective tools used throughout the National Park System that lead to creative partnerships that enhance programming and management capacity.

As we will hear from Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia and the National Park Service have worked out an agreement to update Franklin Square that will revitalize an area in an important quadrant of downtown. This bill simply provides the city with authority to execute the agreement.

In addition to Franklin Square, H.R. 2897 has the potential to foster cooperation that will enhance many of the small urban parks found throughout our Nation's capital.

Mr. Speaker, this is a win/win, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. Speaker, I am closing by asking that our colleagues support this great bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.