IIB 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3222 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
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, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:54 Sep 17, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3222.RFS
H3222
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
HR 3222 RFS 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flushing Remon-
strance Study Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(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. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:54 Sep 17, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3222.RFS
H3222
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
HR 3222 RFS 
(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. 
(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’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:54 Sep 17, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3222.RFS
H3222
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
HR 3222 RFS 
(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 
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. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:54 Sep 17, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3222.RFS
H3222
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
HR 3222 RFS 
(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 
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; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:54 Sep 17, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3222.RFS
H3222
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
HR 3222 RFS 
(7) identify cost estimates for any Federal ac-
quisition, development, interpretation, operation, and 
maintenance associated with the alternatives; 
(8) analyze the effect of the designation of the 
study area as a unit of the National Park System 
on— 
(A) existing recreational activities, and on 
the 
authorization, 
construction, 
operation, 
maintenance, or improvement of energy produc-
tion and transmission infrastructure; and 
(B) the authority of State and local gov-
ernments to manage those activities; and 
(9) identify any authorities, including con-
demnation, that will compel or permit the Secretary 
to influence or participate in local land use decisions 
(such as zoning) or place restrictions on non-Federal 
lands if the study area is designated a unit of the 
National Park System. 
(c) NOTIFICATION
OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWN-
ERS.—Upon the commencement of the study, owners of 
private property in or adjacent to the study area shall be 
notified of the study’s commencement and scope. 
(d) APPLICABLE LAW.—The study required under 
subsection (a) shall be conducted in accordance with sec-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:54 Sep 17, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3222.RFS
H3222
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
HR 3222 RFS 
tion 8(c)) of the National Park System General Authori-
ties Act (16 U.S.C. 1a–5(c)). 
(e) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 
on which funds are first made available for the study 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate a report containing the results 
of the study and any conclusions and recommendations of 
the Secretary. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 15, 
2014. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:54 Sep 17, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3222.RFS
H3222
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS