Sanford Bishop: “This Presidential site is located within my congressional district and enjoys bipartisan support. The bill is identical…”

“This Presidential site is located within my congressional district and enjoys bipartisan support. The bill is identical to H.R. 1714, a bill I introduced in the House. I would like to thank the Speaker, the majority leader, minority leader, Committee on Resources, and all of those responsible for helping to bring this bill to the floor today. Public law 100-206, which created the site at the old Plains Depot, requires that the Seaboard Railroad donated land under it. However, since Congress passed that law, it has been discovered that the CSX Railroad, which is the successor to the old Seaboard Railroad, does not have the legal capacity to donate the land under the depot, nor are there remaining heirs of the original land owners available to make the donation. With that being the case, the plan to work on the site cannot proceed. Because of the confusion over identification of the heirs, the depot has not been developed to its full potential as an element of the historic site.”