Today, the House passed H.R. 5956 (Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah), H.R. 2991 (Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Penn.), H.R. 5655 (Rep. Andy Barr, R-KY), H.R. 801 (Rep. Darin LaHood, R- IL), H.R. 3997 (Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Penn.), H.R. 5005 (Rep. Al Lawson, D-FL), and H.R. 1026 (Rep. Rick Nolan, D-Minn.). Chairman Bishop issued the following statement:

“Management decisions over federal lands should reflect local needs. These decisions should be publicly debated and ultimately set by the elected officials most accountable to the people. Decisions on designations including national monuments, should be approved by Congress. Today, the House acted again to fulfill this responsibility. These bills restore the proper role of local perspectives in public lands policy and have had sufficient input to the local communities directly affected. Unlike the previous administration, I am pleased the Trump administration is working with Congress on a transparent process for land designations and conservation.”

H.R. 5956, the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018, incentivizes the hiring of United States workers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

H.R. 2991, the Susquehanna National Heritage Area Act, establishes the Susquehanna National Heritage Area in the State of Pennsylvania.

H.R. 5655, the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument Act, establishes the Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the National Park System. Camp Nelson provided the Union Army with over 10,000 African American soldiers, making it the third largest recruiting and training depot for African American soldiers in the country. This site was one of the recommended places to be designated as a national monument under Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s monument review.

H.R. 801, the bipartisan Route 66 National Historic Trail Designation Act, designates the 2,400-mile length of Route 66 from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California as the Route 66 National Historic Trail. Route 66 was commissioned in 1926 as part of the first federal highway system and holds significant historical value to the eight states and communities through which it passes.

H.R. 3997, the bipartisan Free Veterans from Fees Act, waives the application fee for any special-use permit for veterans’ demonstrations or special events at war memorials on federal land.

H.R. 5005, directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of t establishing the birthplace of James Weldon Johnson in Jacksonville, Florida, as a unit of the National Park System.

H.R. 1026, the North Country National Scenic Trail Route Adjustment, amends the National Trails System Act to revise the authorized route of the North Country National Scenic Trail to extend it to the Appalachian Trail in Vermont and to modify the route in northeastern Minnesota.