I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3222 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource 
study of sites associated with the 1657 signing of the Flushing Remon-
strance in Queens, New York, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 
Ms. MENG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
special resource study of sites associated with the 1657 
signing of the Flushing Remonstrance in Queens, New 
York, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flushing Remon-
strance Study Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Dutch involvement in North America start-
ed with Henry Hudson’s 1609 voyage on the ship, 
Half Moon, employed by the Dutch East India Com-
pany. 
(2) After 1640, New Netherland gradually 
began to transform from a chain of trading posts 
into a settlement colony. 
(3) As Dutch and English settlers moved closer 
to one another, they began to assimilate in what 
would later become Queens County. 
(4) The Dutch and English settlements had not 
been without conflict. Although the Dutch Republic 
was well known for its toleration of other faiths, Di-
rector General Peter Stuyvesant and his council 
thought that liberty of worship should not be grant-
ed to Quakers. 
(5) When Quakers began to arrive in Flushing, 
the colonial government issued an ordinance that 
formally banned the practice of all religions outside 
of the Dutch Reformed Church. 
(6) On December 27, 1657, 30 Flushing resi-
dents signed what was later called the Flushing Re-
monstrance, objecting to this order. None of the 
remonstrance’s authors were Quakers. 
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(7) Dutch colonial authorities proceeded to ar-
rest the signers of the Flushing Remonstrance. In 
1662, John Bowne defied the ban and allowed 
Quakers to hold services in his house. Bowne was 
fined and banished to the Dutch Republic for show-
ing contempt for secular authority. 
(8) Bowne was later exonerated after appealing 
to the guarantees of religious liberty before the 
Dutch West India Company and returned to Flush-
ing in 1664. The colony later fell to British control 
on September 24, 1664. 
(9) The Flushing Remonstrance is now consid-
ered by many to be instrumental in the development 
of religious liberty in the United States and a pre-
cursor to the First Amendment to the United States 
Constitution. 
(10) In 1957, the United States Postal Service 
released a 3-cent postage stamp commemorating the 
300th Anniversary of the signing of the Flushing 
Remonstrance which read, ‘‘Religious Freedom in 
America’’. 
(11) Queens remained rural and agricultural 
through the 18th and 19th Centuries. Although its 
Dutch identity diminished, the tolerance of diversity 
that has harbored Quakers and other religious sects 
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in the Dutch Colonial period continues to this day. 
Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban area in 
the world, with a population of over 2,200,000 rep-
resenting over 100 different nations and speaking 
over 138 different languages. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this Act: 
(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(2) STUDY
AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ 
means the John Bowne House located at 3701 
Bowne Street, Queens, New York, the Friends Meet-
ing House located at 137–17 Northern Boulevard, 
Queens, New York, and other resources in the vicin-
ity of Flushing related to the history of religious 
freedom during the era of the signing of the Flush-
ing Remonstrance. 
SEC. 4. SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY. 
(a) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a special 
resource study of the study area. 
(b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall— 
(1) evaluate the national significance of the 
study area’s resources based on their relationship to 
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the history of religious freedom associated with the 
signing of the Flushing Remonstrance; 
(2) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
designating resources within the study area as a unit 
of the National Park System; 
(3) consider other alternatives for preservation, 
protection, and interpretation of the study area by 
Federal, State, or local governmental entities, or pri-
vate and nonprofit organizations; 
(4) identify properties related to the John 
Bowne House that could potentially meet criteria for 
designation as a National Historic Landmark; 
(5) consult with interested Federal, State, or 
local governmental entities, private and nonprofit or-
ganizations, or any other interested individuals; 
(6) evaluate the impact of the proposed action 
on the flow of commerce and commercial activity, 
job opportunities, and any adverse economic effects 
that could not be avoided if the proposal is imple-
mented; and 
(7) identify cost estimates for any Federal ac-
quisition, development, interpretation, operation, and 
maintenance associated with the alternatives. 
(c) APPLICABLE LAW.—The study required under 
subsection (a) shall be conducted in accordance with sec-
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