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by Jack Torry, Blade National Bureau
The Blade (Toledo, OH)
10-21-99
WASHINGTON -- In a sign that lawmakers plan to approve a key bill to clear the way toward converting an empty field in Maumee into the Fallen Timbers memorial battlefield, a House subcommittee has scheduled a hearing early next month.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), would authorize the Fallen Timbers battlefield and nearby Fort Miamis to become affiliated units of the National Park Service. A similar bill sponsored by Sen. Mike DeWine (R., O.) won Senate approval this month.
If the House approves the measure before Congress adjourns next month, it could lead to the federal government contributing $3.1 million to buy the battlefield site from the city of Toledo, which owns the 185-acre parcel of land. The state of Ohio has pledged as much as $2 million and the city of Maumee will provide $500,000 toward the $7.5 million purchase price.
Promoters of the project want to buy the field at I-475 and U.S. 24 and convert it into a protected site commemorating the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers, when American troops commanded by Gen. Anthony Wayne defeated an alliance of native American tribes.
The authorization bill is not controversial, which means that it could be moved swiftly to the floor and passed before Congress' expected adjournment at the end of November. Both Miss Kaptur and Mr. DeWine, a former House member, have asked House members to give it quick approval "Things are moving in the right direction," Miss Kaptur said yesterday.
The hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4 before the House subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands, chaired by Rep. James Hansen (R., Utah).
Both Mr. DeWine and Miss Kaptur will testify before the subcommittee on the significance of preserving the battlefield.
The bill, if approved by the subcommittee, would need approval by the full House Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Rep. Don Young (R., Alaska). Mr. DeWine has urged Mr. Young to move quickly.
If passed by the committee, the bill could be placed on the House floor as a so-called suspension, a routine measure used for noncontroversial bills. A suspension bill may be debated for only 40 minutes but needs to be approved by two-thirds of the House. The House sets aside time for suspensions every week.
In addition, the House this week is scheduled to consider a second bill, a $14 billion spending bill for the U.S. Department of Interior, which could expedite the Fallen Timbers project.
Although the spending bill does not directly appropriate the Fallen Timbers money, it urges the Park Service to provide the necessary money once the authorizing bill sponsored by Miss Kaptur and Mr. DeWine is passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton.
Mr. Clinton has threatened to veto the Interior spending bill. Even if he does, Mr. DeWine has said that the Fallen Timbers language likely would survive if Congress and the White House, as now expected, agree later this year on a compromise spending package.
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