{"id":24910,"date":"2024-11-19T13:27:17","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T18:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=24910"},"modified":"2025-03-31T13:38:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T17:38:51","slug":"news-sens-ossoff-rev-warnock-reps-scott-bishops-ocmulgee-mounds-park-and-preserve-establishment-act-passes-senate-committee","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/news-sens-ossoff-rev-warnock-reps-scott-bishops-ocmulgee-mounds-park-and-preserve-establishment-act-passes-senate-committee\/","title":{"rendered":"NEWS: Sens. Ossoff & Rev. Warnock, Reps. Scott & Bishop\u2019s Ocmulgee\u00a0Mounds Park and Preserve Establishment Act\u00a0Passes Senate Committee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bipartisan, bicameral bill would establish Georgia\u2019s first U.S. National Park & Preserve<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill introduction follows years of advocacy by Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Middle Georgia leaders<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bipartisan bill will now be reported to the full U.S. Senate for consideration<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C. <\/strong>\u2014 The bipartisan Ocmulgee<\/em> Mounds Park and Preserve Establishment Act <\/em>today passed a key U.S. Senate Committee \u2014 a key step toward establishing Georgia\u2019s first-ever National Park and Preserve in Middle Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources voted to advance thebipartisan, bicameral Ocmulgee Mounds Park and Preserve Establishment Act<\/em> to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May, U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock, alongside Congressmen Austin Scott (GA-08) and Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), introduced<\/a> the bipartisan, bicameral bill, which would establish Ocmulgee Mounds and surrounding areas in Middle Georgia as a National Park and Preserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after introduction, in May, the U.S. Senate National Parks Subcommittee held a hearing<\/a> to receive testimony from the National Park Service on the bipartisan, bicameral legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is historic and unprecedented progress toward establishing Georgia\u2019s first National Park, but more work remains ahead,\u201d Sen. Ossoff said.<\/strong> \u201cI’m grateful to Congressman Scott, Congressman Bishop, and Senator Warnock for their partnership, as well the extraordinary efforts of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Macon-Bibb County Mayor Pro Tem Seth Clark, and local leaders for their years of hard work, advocacy, and leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOcmulgee Mounds is a living testament to our intertwined histories and a source of economic and cultural vitality; I\u2019m proud to see this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to establish Ocmulgee Mounds as Georgia\u2019s first National Park and Preserve taking one more step toward becoming law,\u201d said Senator Reverend Warnock.<\/strong> \u201cI want to thank Congressmen Scott and Bishop for their yearslong efforts on this in the U.S. House, as well as Senator Ossoff for his leadership. Working together, we are proving what is possible when we put politics aside and center the people of Georgia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also today, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on the House version of the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Establishment Act, where the House Subcommittee heard testimony from Seth Clark, Executive Director of Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve Initiative, among others. Both Reps. Scott and Bishop offered testimony during the hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis hearing was further progress in making history by establishing Georgia’s first National Park and Preserve,\u201d Rep. Scott said<\/strong>. \u201cI appreciate the Federal Lands Subcommittee listening to Middle Georgians about this greatly supported effort to preserve the Ocmulgee Mounds and surrounding areas for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is another step forward towards realizing a longstanding dream that has broad, bipartisan support \u2013 not only in Middle Georgia, but throughout the state,\u201d said Rep. Bishop<\/strong>. \u201cNot only will this historically create Georgia\u2019s first National Park and Preserve, but it will also raise the profile of Ocmulgee Mounds, bolster the local economy, and welcome more Georgians and Americans to enjoy its rich cultural and natural beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middle Georgia leaders today celebrated progress of the bipartisan, bicameral bill in the Senate and House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe impact of this bipartisan and bicameral bill to create Georgia\u2019s first national park and preserve will allow our ancestral Muscogee descendants to help tell the story of our homelands,\u201d said Muscogee (Creek) Principal Chief David Hill.<\/strong> \u201cWe know the importance of these cultural lands and are excited to partner with Middle Georgians to help reconcile our lands and our stories. I am always humbled to be back in the lands of our people and know that we are still here today carrying on our Muscogee ways.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCongress\u2019s actions today reiterate what we\u2019ve always known: that the cultural and ecological gems of middle Georgia are some of the most nationally significant sites in the United States of America and are worthy of the designation we\u2019ve sought for 90 years. We\u2019re grateful for continued bipartisanship the Georgia delegation has shown throughout the legislative process and stand ready to work with the multitude of stakeholders to shepherd in Georgia\u2019s first National Park and Preserve,\u201d said Seth Clark and Tracie Revis of the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to see Congress making progress on protecting the encroachment zone of Robins Air Force Base by moving the bipartisan and bicameral Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Act forward,\u201d said Ret. Brigadier General John C. Kubinec, CEO of the 21st Century Partnership and former Commander, Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex at Robins Air Force Base.<\/strong> \u201cIt is the right step forward for middle Georgia and I look forward to Congress sending this legislation to the President\u2019s desk before the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a>\u00a0to read S.4216, the\u00a0Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Establishment Act<\/em>, as amended and passed by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # #<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bipartisan, bicameral bill would establish Georgia\u2019s first U.S. National Park & Preserve Bill introduction follows years of advocacy by Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Middle Georgia leaders Bipartisan bill will now be reported to the full U.S. Senate for consideration Washington, D.C. \u2014 The bipartisan Ocmulgee Mounds Park and Preserve Establishment Act today passed a key U.S. Senate Committee \u2014 a […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24910","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/24910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/24910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27224,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/24910\/revisions\/27224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}