[Pages H3862-H3864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

AMACHE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE ACT

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2497) to establish the Amache National Historic Site in the
State of Colorado as a unit of the National Park System, and for other
purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 2497

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Amache National Historic
Site Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map entitled ``Amache
National Historical Site Proposed Boundary'', numbered 100/
175348 and dated July 2021.
(2) National historic site.--The term ``National Historic
Site'' means the Amache National Historic Site established by
section 3(a).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.

SEC. 3. AMACHE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.

(a) Establishment.--Subject to subsection (c), there is
established the Amache National Historic Site in the State of
Colorado as a unit of the National Park System.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the National Historic Site is
to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of
present and future generations resources associated with--
(1) the incarceration of civilians of Japanese ancestry
during World War II at Amache, also known as the Granada
Relocation Center, and the military service of center
incarcerees;
(2) public reaction in the State of Colorado to the
incarceration of Japanese Americans, including the position
of Governor Ralph Carr and the local community; and
(3) the transition of the incarcerees and their descendants
following the closure of the center

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and resettlement in the State of Colorado and other States.
(c) Determination by the Secretary.--The National Historic
Site shall not be established until the date on which the
Secretary determines that a sufficient quantity of land or
interests in land has been acquired to constitute a
manageable park unit.
(d) Notice.--Not later than 30 days after the Secretary
makes a determination under subsection (c), the Secretary
shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the
establishment of the National Historic Site.
(e) Boundary; Map.--
(1) Boundary.--The boundary of the National Historic Site
shall be as generally depicted on the Map.
(2) Availability of map.--The Map shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of
the National Park Service.
(f) Land Acquisition Authority.--The Secretary may acquire
any land or interests in land located within the boundary of
the Camp Amache National Historic Landmark, as generally
depicted on the Map, by--
(1) donation;
(2) purchase from a willing seller with donated or
appropriated Funds; or
(3) exchange.
(g) Addition to Boundary.--Any lands or interests in land
acquired under paragraph (1) shall be included within the
boundary of the National Historic Site.
(h) Administration.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall administer the
National Historic Site in accordance with--
(A) this Act; and
(B) the laws generally applicable to units of the National
Park System.
(2) Management plan.--
(A) Deadline for completion.--Not later than 3 years after
the date on which funds are first made available to the
Secretary for this purpose, the Secretary shall prepare a
general management plan for the National Historic Site in
accordance with section 100502 of title 54, United States
Code.
(B) Submission to congress.--On completion of the general
management plan under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the
House of Representatives the general management plan prepared
under that subparagraph.
(i) Administrative Facilities.--For the purposes of
ensuring the preservation, protection, and proper management
of the site and associated resources, the Secretary may
establish facilities for administration, visitor services,
and curation of personal property, outside the boundary of,
and in the vicinity of, the National Historic Site.
(j) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may enter into
agreements with--
(1) the public or private entities for the purpose of
establishing and operating facilities outside of the boundary
of the National Historic Site for administration, visitor
services and curation of personal property; and
(2) other public or private entities for the purposes of
carrying out this Act.
(k) Effect on Water Rights.--Except as provided for in
subsection (l), nothing in this Act shall affect--
(1) the use, allocation, ownership, or control, in
existence on the date of the enactment of any water, water
right, or any other valid existing right;
(2) any vested absolute or decreed conditional water right
in existence on the date of the enactment;
(3) any interstate water compact in existence on the date
of the enactment; or
(4) State jurisdiction over any water law.
(l) Operation and Maintenance of Water Infrastructure and
Appurtenances.--
(1) The town of Granada, Colorado, shall maintain
responsibility for the operation and maintenance of all water
infrastructure, systems and appurtenances located within the
boundary of the National Historic Site in existence on the
date of enactment of this Act, including but not limited to
wells, pumps, tanks, water lines, valves, and water treatment
facilities.
(2) The Secretary shall provide the town of Granada,
Colorado, with access to those areas of the National Historic
Site determined as necessary for the operation and
maintenance of water infrastructure and appurtenances.
(3) The Secretary may permit the city of Granada, Colorado,
to construct or install new water infrastructure, systems and
appurtenances consistent with applicable laws, limited only
to those areas determined in subsection (i)(2), and in a
manner that ensures the preservation, protection, and proper
management of the National Historic Site.
(4) At such time that all water infrastructure, systems and
appurtenances located within the boundary of the National
Historic Site are no longer utilized by the city of Granada,
Colorado, associated improvements and associated water rights
may be acquired through donation to and made part of the
National Historic Site in a condition satisfactory to the
Secretary.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Michigan (Mrs. Dingell) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan.

general leave

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2497, the Amache
National Historic Site Act, introduced by the chair of the Subcommittee
on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, my colleague from
Colorado, Representative Joe Neguse.
H.R. 2497 would establish the Amache imprisonment site in southeast
Colorado as a national historic site to ensure permanent protections
and provide for the interpretation of the Amache site of Japanese-
American incarceration.
Following the United States' entry into World War II, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order forcibly removing more
than 120,000 people, primarily of Japanese descent, to 10 remote
military-style prisons across the Nation.
The Granada Relocation Center, commonly known as Amache, was one of
those 10 centers and was the only one located in the State of Colorado.
Although Amache was the smallest of the relocation centers, it became
the tenth largest city in Colorado with more than 10,000 people passing
through the camp between 1942 and 1945, nearly two-thirds of whom were
American citizens.
Most had never been to Japan and most were given a week or less to
leave their homes and dispose of everything they owned, everything they
had worked hard to build up for themselves. This unjustifiable,
horrific, and unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese Americans is,
without doubt, one of the darkest chapters in our country's history.
And while these incarceration sites no longer hold prisoners, many of
the wrongfully imprisoned are still with us today, even as anti-Asian
rhetoric continues to permeate our country. As we continue to reckon
with our Nation's painful legacy of systemic racism, it is critical
that we honor and share the stories of those who came before us. It is
vital that we remember and learn from their fights against injustice
and for equity.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2497, and join me in
working to ensure that we remember this dark time in our Nation's
history so we may honor those who lived it, share their stories, and
continue to heal as a country. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2497, offered by my friend, Representative Neguse
from Colorado, would establish the Amache National Historic Site in
Colorado as a unit of the National Park System.
In 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an executive
order, later enforced by law, to forcibly remove tens of thousands of
Japanese Americans, including nearly 70,000 American citizens, from the
West Coast to internment centers further inland during World War II.
The smallest internment camp was located a mile from Granada, Colorado,
and was officially known as Amache. Over 7,000 residents of Japanese
ancestry, most of them American citizens, were imprisoned at Amache
from 1942 to 1945. The Amache site was added to the National Register
of Historic Places in 1994 and designated a National Historic Landmark
in 2005.
Amache is currently owned by the town of Granada, Colorado, and
maintained by a group of student volunteers who, led by their high
school social studies teacher, are known as the Amache Preservation
Society.
During a hearing on the bill in the Natural Resources Committee
earlier this year, we heard testimony from an Amache survivor, Mr. Bob
Fuchigami. Mr. Fuchigami was just 11 when his family was forcibly
relocated to Amache and during his powerful testimony, he said the
following about the bill: ``Designating Amache a national park site
would shine a light on our forgotten history and help tell a more
complete story of America. Amache is our collective story. It is an
American story.''
Adding the Amache site to the National Park System will help educate
Americans about this dark chapter in

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our Nation's history and help us not to repeat the mistakes of our
past. Sites like Amache help to remind us of the challenges our Nation
has faced and the mistakes we have made as we have endeavored to form a
more perfect Union.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill so that in Mr.
Fuchigami's own words we can ``help shine a light on this forgotten
history.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2497, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
are postponed.

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