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SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, told his colleagues on the House floor Monday that May 10, 2019, will be a party for the ages in Utah and one that will go down in history.
"It will be a party you won't forget," he said, offering an invitation for them to attend.
Already, there is an extreme amount of planning and coordination going into the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the meeting of the rails — when the nation's transcontinental railroad was completed in a remote location in Utah called Promontory on May 10, 1869.
"This is a prominent symbol of the most significant achievement of the 19th Century. And it is, for transportation, as significant as landing a man on the moon would be for the 20th Century," Bishop said. "The ability of having the rail system there meant that some of my ancestors that had to walk every step across the plains taking months to get to Utah could now do it in seven days.”
The House passed Bishop's Golden Spike 150th Anniversary Act, which elevates the Golden Spike National Historic Site to the Golden Spike National Historical Park. It also establishes the Transcontinental Railroad Network, which will include sites related to its construction and legacy.
Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Maryland, praised the measure.
"The Atlantic and Pacific coasts were linked for the first time in our nation's history when the 1,912-mile system of hand-built tracks was completed in Promontory, Utah," he said. "This national historic park designation is a fitting tribute that acknowledges the significance of this event."
Reps. Chris Stewart, Mia Love, and John Curtis, all R-Utah, are all original co-sponsors of the bill.
The House also passed Stewart's Advancing Conservation and Education Act.
This piece of legislation provides a more streamlined process involving school trust lands exchanges with the federal government, according to Stewart.
School trust lands in Utah are often captured with wilderness areas, national parks, national monuments or other areas set aside for conservation purposes.
"Exchanging state lands trapped inside of federally protected areas will allow states to generate more revenue and help support rural economies. I’m happy that the Natural Resources Committee is moving this bipartisan piece of legislation forward. The ACE Act proves we can come together to solve complex public land issues,” Stewart said.
