On Wednesday, February 24, 2016, the House will consider H.R. 3004, to amend the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act to extend the authorization for the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, under suspension of the rules. H.R. 3004 was introduced on July 9, 2015 by Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), and was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, which ordered the bill reported by unanimous consent on February 3, 2016.
H.R. 3004 amends the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act to extend the authorization for the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission through October 12, 2021.
Congress designated the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, an area of land stretching from North Carolina to Florida, on October 12, 2006 (Public Law 109-338). It is home to one of America’s most unique cultures, a tradition first shaped by captive Africans brought to the southern United States from West Africa and continued in later generations by their descendants.[1] As a National Heritage Area, the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor is not part of the National Park System; however, the act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide technical and financial assistance for the development and implementation of a management plan.[2]
The Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act authorized the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission to implement the corridor’s management plan. Although the Heritage Corridor was authorized through October 12, 2021, the Commission was only authorized through October 12, 2016.[3] Without legislative action, the Corridor will have to be managed by a different, yet un-constituted entity.
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[1] See http://www.nps.gov/guge/index.htm
[2] See Natural Resources Committee Hearing Memo on H.R. 3004
[3] Id.
A Congressional Budget Office estimate is not available at this time.
For questions or further information please contact Robert Goad with the House Republican Policy Committee by email or at 6-1831.
