Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 116 Part 4.djvu/588

This page needs to be proofread.

116 STAT. 3016 PUBLIC LAW 107-359—DEC. 17, 2002 Public Law 107-359 107th Congress An Act Dec. 17, 2002 To amend the American Battlefield Protection Act of 1996 to authorize the Secretary [H.R. 5125] °^ ^^^ Interior to establish a battlefield acquisition grant program. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Civil War the United States of America in Congress assembled, Battlefield Preservation Act SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 16 USC 469k This Act may be cited as the "Civil War Battlefield Preservation note. Act of 2002". 16 USC 469k SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. (a) FINDINGS. —Congress finds the following: (1) Civil War battlefields provide a means for the people of the United States to understand a tragic period in the history of the United States. (2) According to the Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields, prepared by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, and dated July 1993, of the 384 principal Civil War battlefields— (A) almost 20 percent are lost or fragmented; (B) 17 percent are in poor condition; and (C) 60 percent have been lost or are in imminent danger of being fragmented by development and lost as coherent historic sites. (b) PURPOSES. —The purposes of this Act are— (1) to act quickly and proactively to preserve and protect nationally significant Civil War battlefields through conservation easements and fee-simple purchases of those battlefields from willing sellers; and (2) to create partnerships among State and local governments, regional entities, and the private sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance nationally significant Civil War battlefields. SEC. 3. BATTLEFIELD ACQUISITION GRANT PROGRAM. The American Battlefield Protection Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 469k) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as paragraph (3) of subsection (c), and indenting appropriately; (2) in paragraph (3) of subsection (c) (as redesignated by paragraph (1))— (A) by striking "APPROPRIATIONS" and inserting "APPRO- PRIATIONS"; and (B) by striking "section" and inserting "subsection"; (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: