This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed six Natural Resources Committee bills with significant bipartisan support. Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:

"As we celebrate and honor our veterans this week, we passed important legislation to expand the support for the protection of America's historic battlefields and forts, and locate the National Medal of Honor monument on the National Mall. The House also passed legislation to place a new monument to women's suffrage on the National Mall and update land management for tribes in Oregon. As Congress continues to deliver results for American families, I'm proud to see these six bills move from the House Committee on Natural Resources and across the House floor. I encourage the Senate to act quickly to pass these bipartisan bills so they may be signed into law."

Background

H.R. 359, the Fort San Geronimo Preservation Act,  introduced by U.S. Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico), establishes Fort San Gerónimo del Boquerón in Puerto Rico as an affiliated area of the National Park System.

H.R. 1607, introduced by U.S. Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), extends the existing Bureau of Reclamation withdrawal on the Salt River in Arizona in order to clarify jurisdiction and facilitate the development of pumped storage hydropower. The land being withdrawn is for developing pumped storage hydropower.

H.R. 2717, the Hershel Woody Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), authorizes the location of the National Medal of Honor Memorial within the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients.

H.R. 3448, the American Battlefield Protection Program Enhancement Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), makes several improvements to the American Battlefield Protection Program, such as the inclusion of educational institutions and nonprofit organizations to receive grants directly and adding tribes as eligible entities for these grants, to ensure the continued protection of our nation’s battlefields a crucial element of American history.

H.R. 1318, the Women's Suffrage National Monument Location Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), authorizes the location of a monument on the National Mall to commemorate and honor the women’s suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

H.R. 1722, the Grand Ronde Reservation Act Amendment of 2023, introduced by U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), amends the Grand Ronde Reservation Act to reflect that the Grand Ronde tribe’s extinguishment of land claims against the United States only applies to an 84-acre parcel of land, known as the Thompson Strip. The bill would also add a gaming prohibition on any future land or any money used to purchase land awarded as part of a land claims settlement.