Pending Legislation Hearing Committee on Energy And
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S. HRG. 115–535 PENDING LEGISLATION HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON S. 2395 S. 3533 H.R. 3607 S. 2895/H.R. 5613 S. 3534 H.R. 3961 S. 3291 S. 3571/H.R. 5420 H.R. 5005 S. 3439/H.R. 5532 S. 3646 H.R. 5706 S. 3468 S. 3609/H.R. 801 H.R. 6077 S. 3505 S. 3659 H.R. 6599 S. 3527/H.R. 5585 H.R. 1220 H.R. 6687 DECEMBER 12, 2018 ( Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 33–662 WASHINGTON : 2019 COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska, Chairman JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho RON WYDEN, Oregon MIKE LEE, Utah BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont JEFF FLAKE, Arizona DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan STEVE DAINES, Montana JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia CORY GARDNER, Colorado MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota ANGUS S. KING, JR., Maine BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois ROB PORTMAN, Ohio CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia TINA SMITH, Minnesota SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS STEVE DAINES, Chairman JOHN BARRASSO ANGUS S. KING, JR. MIKE LEE BERNARD SANDERS CORY GARDNER DEBBIE STABENOW LAMAR ALEXANDER MARTIN HEINRICH JOHN HOEVEN MAZIE K. HIRONO ROB PORTMAN TAMMY DUCKWORTH BRIAN HUGHES, Staff Director KELLIE DONNELLY, Chief Counsel MICHELLE LANE, Professional Staff Member MARY LOUISE WAGNER, Democratic Staff Director SAM E. FOWLER, Democratic Chief Counsel REBECCA BONNER, Democratic Professional Staff Member (II) C O N T E N T S OPENING STATEMENTS Page Daines, Hon. Steve, Subcommittee Chairman and a U.S. Senator from Mon- tana ....................................................................................................................... 1 King, Jr., Hon. Angus S., Subcommittee Ranking Member and a U.S. Senator from Maine ........................................................................................................... 5 Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, a U.S. Senator from West Virginia ........................ 5 WITNESS Smith, Mr. P. Daniel, Deputy Director, National Park Service, U.S. Depart- ment of the Interior ............................................................................................. 42 ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED Agenda ...................................................................................................................... 3 Akers, Randy L.: Letter for the Record ........................................................................................ 94 Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore: Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 5 City of Hinton (WV): Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 7 City of Summersville (WV): Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 9 Coda, James: Letter for the Record ........................................................................................ 95 Daines, Hon. Steve: Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 1 Hearing Announcement and Agenda .............................................................. 3 Fayette County (WV) Chamber of Commerce: Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 11 Fayette County (WV) Commission: Letter and Resolution for the Record .............................................................. 13 Giles County (VA) Board of Supervisors: Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 15 Graham, Hon. Lindsey O.: Statement for the Record ................................................................................. 101 Article by Gregory P. Downs and Kate Masur published in The New York Times dated November 16, 2018, entitled ‘‘How to Remember Reconstruction’’ ............................................................................................. 104 Keyserling, Hon. Billy, et al.: Letter for the Record ........................................................................................ 108 King, Jr., Hon. Angus S.: Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 5 Markey, Hon. Edward J.: Letter for the Record ........................................................................................ 115 Mercer County (WV) Commission: Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 18 National Parks Conservation Association: Letter for the Record ........................................................................................ 20 New River Gorge Convention & Visitors Bureau: Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 24 New River Gorge Regional Development Authority: Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 26 (III) IV Page New River Travel Council d/b/a Visit Southern West Virginia: Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 28 Raleigh County (WV) Commission: Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 30 River Expeditions: Letter for the Record ........................................................................................ 34 Roberts, Hon. Pat: Statement for the Record ................................................................................. 116 Smith, P. Daniel: Opening Statement ........................................................................................... 42 Written Testimony ............................................................................................ 45 Responses to Questions for the Record ........................................................... 92 Summers County (WV) Commission: Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 35 West Virginia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus: Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 38 West Virginia Hospitality & Travel Association: Resolution for the Record ................................................................................. 40 Yoder, Hon. Kevin: Statement for the Record ................................................................................. 117 The text for each of the bills which were addressed in this hearing can be found on the committee’s website at: https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2018/12/subcommittee- on-national-parks-legislative-hearing PENDING LEGISLATION WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2018 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m. in Room SD–366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Steve Daines, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE DAINES, U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA Senator DAINES [presiding]. The Subcommittee will come to order. This morning the National Parks Subcommittee is meeting to discuss 26 bills that cover a wide range of priorities for members, both on and off the Committee, all of which pertain to lands or pro- grams administered by the National Park Service. As we move closer to the end of the year, I would like to note that we have re- ported out well over 100 bills through the full Committee with a large number of those coming from this Subcommittee. We do a lot of great work in the Subcommittee with items that, at times, may be impactful to the entire nation, like Senate bill 3172, the Restore Our Parks Act. Senate bill 3172, which I was a co-sponsor on, would work to resolve the deferred maintenance backlog in our Na- tional Parks. As the Ranking Member here has so well said, ‘‘de- ferred maintenance is debt.’’ I attribute that quote to the Senator from Maine. Other bills are more parochial in nature and may deal with ei- ther adjusting a park unit boundary, redesignating a park unit or simply authorizing a study. No matter how big or small, all of these pieces of legislation are important, and I am happy we can continue to build upon that body of work here today. There are a number of interesting pieces of legislation on the agenda today, including one that would designate the Route 66 Na- tional Historic Trail. Now Route 66 does not go through my home State of Montana, but the road symbolizes a shared American ex- perience and, in many ways, the spirit of adventure and the thrill of the road trip that is so unique to us as Americans. We will also be looking at H.R. 3607, a bill that would allow the National Park Service to retain the fees it collects from medical services provided in park units. Given the remote nature of many parks, like Glacier or Yellowstone in my home State of Montana, a number of these parks provide regular medical services to visi- (1) 2 tors. When visitors or their insurers reimburse the park for serv- ices incurred by park staff, those monies are deposited in the gen- eral treasury and are