Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The American Battlefield Protection Act addressed the preservation and protection of Civil War battlefields through conservation easements or through the purchase of land from willing sellers with Federal grants. H.R. 1033 renews this effort which will soon expire and adds Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields to those eligible for protection. It is important to know that the bill we are considering mirrors the version from the last Congress that passed the House and included improvements made by the Natural Resources Committee. Specifically, the program sunset was moved up from 10 to 5 years, and we retained the existing authorization of appropriations to provide a more realistic funding level in these times of deficit spending. Additionally, the committee added language to prohibit these funds from being used for lobbying activities or for being distributed to organizations that participate in lobbying. With so many existing needs within the National Park Service, we want to ensure that these funds go specifically for battlefield protection and not outside advocacy. I would also like to point out that this legislation does not fund advocacy or educational seminars and programs. These grants are strictly available to State and local governments for battlefield protection. There is a separate and distinct Federal authorization for educational programs and partnership that is not part of this bill. Mr.…”