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Union Calendar No. 512 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 307 

[Report No. 116–627] 

To provide for partnerships among State and local governments, regional 

entities, and the private sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the 

visitor experience at nationally significant battlefields of the American 

Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2019 

Mr. HICE of Georgia (for himself, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. 

CARTER of Georgia, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. COLE, Mr. COOK, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. 

HUNTER, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIND, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LONG, Mr. 

LOUDERMILK, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SIRES, Ms. 

STEFANIK, Mr. TONKO, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. KATKO, and Mr. COLLINS of 

New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 8, 2020 

Additional sponsors: Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. HARDER of 

California, Mr. RIGGLEMAN, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mr. POSEY, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. 

LAMBORN, Mr. TIPTON, Ms. MENG, Mr. CLAY, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. BACON, Mr. CASE, Mr. VAN DREW, Mrs. 

LURIA, Mr. CLINE, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. PETERS, 

Mr. STIVERS, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. GRIFFITH, 

Mrs. MILLER, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. SPANO, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Ms. 

WEXTON, Mr. TRONE, Mr. TURNER, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. GUEST, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. 

WATKINS, Mr. BEYER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. GRAVES

of Georgia, Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. CISNEROS, 

Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. SMITH of Missouri, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. 

FLEISCHMANN, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. BUDD, Mr. COSTA, Mr. GUTHRIE, 


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•HR 307 RH

Mr. HURD of Texas, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. SOTO, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Ms. DEGETTE, 

Mr. COOPER, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of 

Oklahoma, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. WOODALL, Mr. COLLINS

of Georgia, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, and Mr. DELGADO

DECEMBER 8, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be 

printed 

A BILL 

To provide for partnerships among State and local governments, regional entities, and the private sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the visitor experience at 

nationally significant battlefields of the American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preserving America’s 

5 Battlefields Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD PRESERVATION ACT OF 

7 2002. 

8 Section 2 of the Civil War Battlefield Preservation 

9 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–359) is amended to read 

10 as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

12 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) Battlefields of the American Revolution, 

14 War of 1812 and the Civil War— 

15 ‘‘(A) provide a means for the people of the 

16 United States to understand our Nation’s tur17 bulent first century; 

18 ‘‘(B) serve as living memorials to those 

19 who fought and sacrificed in these conflicts to 

20 establish and maintain our freedom and liberty; 

21 ‘‘(C) serve as training grounds for our Na22 tion’s Armed Forces; and 

23 ‘‘(D) serve as heritage tourism destina24 tions, generating revenue for local economies. 


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1 ‘‘(2) According to the Report on the Nation’s 

2 Civil War Battlefields, prepared by the National 

3 Park Service and updated in 2010, of the 383 Civil 

4 War battlefields identified as national preservation 

5 priorities— 

6 ‘‘(A) only at 31 battlefields is more than 

7 half of the surviving landscape permanently 

8 protected; 

9 ‘‘(B) at 227 battlefields, less than half of 

10 the surviving landscape is permanently pro11 tected; 

12 ‘‘(C) 65 battlefields have no protection at 

13 all; and 

14 ‘‘(D) 113 battlefields have been severely 

15 hampered by development since the Civil War 

16 or are on the verge of being overwhelmed. 

17 ‘‘(3) According to the 2007 Report to Congress 

18 on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War 

19 and War of 1812 Sites in the United States, pre20 pared by the National Park Service, of the 243 prin21 cipal Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battle22 fields identified as national preservation priorities— 

23 ‘‘(A) almost 70 percent lie within urban 

24 areas as denoted in the 2000 U.S. Census; 


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1 ‘‘(B) 141 are lost or extremely fragmented, 

2 with residential and commercial development 

3 being the chief threats; 

4 ‘‘(C) 100 other battlefields retain signifi5 cant features and lands from the period of bat6 tle, although on average these battlefields retain 

7 only 37 percent of the original historic scene; 

8 ‘‘(D) of these 100 surviving but diminished 

9 battle landscapes, 82 are partially owned and 

10 protected by public and nonprofit stewards, al11 though the extent of that protection varies from 

12 site to site; 

13 ‘‘(E) 18 are without any legal protection; 

14 ‘‘(F) the condition of two battlefields is un15 known, with additional research and survey 

16 being required to determine their exact location 

17 and condition; and 

18 ‘‘(G) the paucity of existing battlefield 

19 landscapes necessitates preservation and main20 tenance of what precious little remains today. 

21 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

22 ‘‘(1) to act quickly and proactively to preserve 

23 and protect nationally significant battlefields of the 

24 American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War 


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1 through conservation easements and fee-simple pur2 chases of those battlefields from willing sellers; and 

3 ‘‘(2) to create partnerships among State and 

4 local governments, regional entities, and the private 

5 sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the visitor 

6 experience at nationally significant battlefields of the 

7 American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE. 

9 Section 308103(f) of title 54, United States Code, is 

10 amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to pro13 vide grants under this section $20,000,000 for each fiscal 

14 year through 2028, of which not more than 10 percent 

15 may be used each fiscal year as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) Not more than $1,000,000 for projects 

17 and programs that modernize battlefield interpretive 

18 and educational assets through the deployment of 

19 technology, disbursed through the competitive grant 

20 process to non-profit organizations. 

21 ‘‘(2) Not more than $1,000,000 for grants to 

22 organizations described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 

24 taxation under section 501(a) of such Code to be 

25 used for projects that restore day-of-battle condiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H307.RH H307

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1 tions on land preserved through Battlefield Land 

2 Acquisition Grant Program funds.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 512 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 307 

[Report No. 116–627] 

A BILL 

To provide for partnerships among State and local 

and Civil War, and for other purposes. fields of the American Revolution, War of 1812, itor experience at nationally significant battlesector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the visgovernments, regional entities, and the private 

DECEMBER 8, 2020 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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