H.R. 8735

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8735 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8735

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource 
study of Lower Presidio Historic Park in Monterey, California.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 12, 2026

Mr. Panetta introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource 
study of Lower Presidio Historic Park in Monterey, California.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``American Sovereignty and Monterey 
Historic Military Site Study Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) Lower Presidio Historic Park was a center of indigenous 
culture and a hub for trading throughout the Americas for 
thousands of years prior to European and American exploration.
(2) The Esselen were the first peoples of the land, 
followed by the Rumsen, who collectively stewarded the land for 
over 12,000 years.
(3) Middens from the indigenous Esselen and Rumsen peoples 
represent the earliest fisheries of abalone, collected and 
traded across the continent for food, decoration, clothing, and 
cultural identity.
(4) The Lower Presidio Historic Park hill was a Tribal 
Village and present Monterey was the Tribal Area of Achasta.
(5) The site served as burial grounds for the Esselen and 
Rumsen people who continue to celebrate and host cultural 
gatherings at the park today.
(6) Lower Presidio Historic Park was originally explored in 
1542 by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and the Monterey Bay was named 
as Bay of Pines and claimed for New Spain.
(7) The site was explored by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602 and 
renamed Monterey Bay after Gaspar de Zuniga Acevedo y Fonseca, 
the Viceroy of New Spain and Count of Monterrey.
(8) Lower Presidio Historic Park was the site of the first 
Catholic Mass by Father Junipero Serra and Don Gaspar de 
Portola y Rovira on June 3, 1770, marking the founding of the 
Presidio of Monterey and the beginning of the Spanish 
occupation of Alta California.
(9) From 1777 to 1849, Monterey served as the capital of 
Alta California, with the Royal Presidio of Monterey serving as 
the seat of government.
(10) Beginning in 1792, the Spanish fort ``El Castillo de 
Monterey'' was built at Lower Presidio Historic Park to prevent 
intrusion from European, Russian, British, and Indigenous 
forces.
(11) The site was the location of the only land and sea 
battle on the west coast when Argentinian Privateer Hippolyte 
Bouchard, sailing for Argentina, landed in 1818 and raided 
Monterey.
(12) El Castillo de Monterey assisted in the 1836 overthrow 
of Mexican Governor Nicolas Rodriguez by American Isaac Graham 
and Californio Juan Bautista Alvarado, which led to the 
``Graham Affair'' of 1840.
(13) The site was the location of the attempted 1842 
seizure of Alta California for the United States by Commodore 
Thomas ap Catesby Jones, the Commander of the United States 
Navy Pacific Squadron, aboard USS United States, USS Cyane, USS 
Yorktown, USS Dale, and USS Shark.
(14) On July 7, 1846, Commodore John Drake Sloat of the 
United States Navy, along with 165 sailors and 85 marines, 
seized Alta California for the United States from USS Savannah, 
USS Cyane, and USS Levant. The brave soldiers, sailors, and 
marines who raised the American flag at Monterey opened 
California to American settlement, enterprise, and prosperity.
(15) The site was home to the first major United States 
Army fort on the west coast, initially called the Monterey 
Redoubt, then Fort Stockton, and later Fort Mervine. The fort 
was built by the United States Army, and among those involved 
in its construction were future Civil War generals Edward Otho 
Cresap Ord, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Henry Wager Halleck.
(16) The site was later designated as the Monterey Military 
Reservation and selected as the location for an expanded 
military base following the annexation of the Philippine 
Islands in 1901. The site was renamed Ord Barracks in 1903.
(17) The segregated 9th Calvary Regiment, better known as 
the Buffalo Soldiers, served at Ord Barracks between 1902 and 
1904. The Buffalo Soldiers arrived after service in Cuba and 
the Philippines and departed Monterey in 1904 to become the 
first park rangers at Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, 
marking the site as a starting point along the historic 
California Buffalo Soldiers Trail.
(18) In 1904, War Department General Order 142 redesignated 
Ord Barracks, including Lower Presidio Historic Park, as the 
Presidio of Monterey to preserve the memory of the original 
Spanish Royal Presidio of Monterey.
(19) In 1910, veterans of the Mexican-American War unveiled 
the Sloat Monument at Lower Presidio Historic Park to recognize 
their contributions.
(20) In 1924, the United States Army assisted to fight the 
Associated Oil fire that threatened to burn down fisheries 
industries at Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf. Private 
Eustace Watkins of Battery E., 76th Field Artillery Regiment 
and Private John Bolio of Headquarter Troop, 11th Cavalry 
Regiment from the Presidio lost their lives putting out the 
fire.
(21) In 1946, the Military Intelligence Service Language 
School was established at the Presidio. It was renamed the 
Defense Language Institute in 1963. The Defense Language 
Institute trains American military personnel in critical 
foreign languages, directly supporting United States national 
security, military superiority, and the protection of American 
interests worldwide.
(22) In 1992, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary 
was established and protects nationally significant cultural, 
archeological, and historic resources. Hundreds of shipwrecks 
have occurred in the sanctuary and were a result of the 
significant maritime exploration and commerce that historically 
occurred in the region, including at Lower Presidio Historic 
Park.
(23) Lower Presidio Historic Park is located within the 
U.S. Army Garrison Presidio of Monterey, which has operated as 
an active United States military installation since 1846, and 
has been open to the public under a lease agreement with the 
City of Monterey since 1996.
(24) This site deserves to be designated as a unit of the 
National Park System as a National Historic Park due to its 
unparalleled significance in recognizing the contributions of 
Indigenous cultures, establishing American sovereignty on the 
west coast, demonstrating American military strength, and 
preserving the legacy of the brave American patriots who 
secured California for the United States of America.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
of the Interior.
(2) Study area.--The term ``study area'' means Lower 
Presidio Historic Park in Monterey, California.

SEC. 4. LOWER PRESIDIO HISTORIC PARK SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.

(a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct a special resource 
study of the study area.
(b) Contents.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall--
(1) evaluate the national significance of the study area;
(2) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
designating the study area as a unit of the National Park 
System;
(3) consider other alternatives for preservation, 
protection, and interpretation of the study area by the Federal 
Government, State or local government entities, Tribes, or 
private and nonprofit organizations;
(4) consult with interested Federal agencies, State or 
local governmental entities, Tribes, private and nonprofit 
organizations, or any other interested individuals; and
(5) identify cost estimates for any Federal acquisition, 
development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance 
associated with the alternatives described in paragraphs (2) 
and (3).
(c) Applicable Law.--The study required under subsection (a) shall 
be conducted in accordance with section 100507 of title 54, United 
States Code.
(d) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds 
are first made available to carry out the study under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate a report that describes--
(1) the results of the study; and
(2) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.
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