The Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs puts out weekly reports on hearings, new legislation and other activities on the Hill. This report covers the week ending on Friday, December 7th.

In order to obtain the full text of any of the bills that appear below, click on the following link: http://thomas.loc.gov/ . That will take you to Thomas, the Library of Congress legislative tracking system. Enter the bill number in the “Search Bill Text” block, being sure to also click on the “Bill Number” option below the block.

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New Public Laws

Nothing to report.

Floor Action

On December 4th, the Senate passed S. 3254 (Levin, S-MI), National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013.  Two provisions in the bill affect the National Park Service:

• Title XIX authorizes the establishment of a memorial in the District of Columbia to honor the slaves and free Black persons who served in the military or provided civilian assistance during the American Revolution.  This provision consists of the text of S. 883 (Lieberman, I-CT) as reported by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.  The Department supports this title, which prohibits placing the memorial in the Reserve.  
• Title XXVII, Section 2842 authorizes a 7,238-acre boundary expansion at Petersburg National Battlefield to include additional core battlefield land in the park.  It also authorizes an exchange of 1.17 acres of land between Petersburg NB and Fort Lee Military Reservation to accommodate a security fence at the Army facility.  The Department supports this section, which consists of the text of S. 713 (Webb, D-VA).

On December 5th, the House passed by voice vote an amended version of H.R. 2838 (LoBiondo, R-NJ-2), the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012.  Section 705 of the bill exempts Ranger III, the ship that transports oil to Isle Royale NP, from the double-hull requirement for certain vessels while it is owned and operated by the National Park Service. 

Committee Activity

On December 5th, the House Committee on Natural Resources (Hastings) reported by unanimous consent H.R. 6364 (Poe, R-TX-2), to establish a commission to ensure a suitable observance of the centennial of World War I, to provide for the designation of memorials to the service of members of the United States Armed Forces in World War I, and for other purposes.  As amended, the bill allows a memorial for that purpose to be built in the Reserve, but prohibits placing it where it would infringe on the District of Columbia War Memorial on the National Mall, and requires compliance with other provisions of the Commemorative Works Act. The Department has concerns about the bill as reported.

New Bills Introduced     

Nothing to report.

Upcoming Committee Activity

Nothing to report.

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For additional information, please visit the Legislative and Congressional Affairs Office website at http://www.nps.gov/legal/

Contact Information
Name: Melissa Kuckro