Alexander: Shiloh National Park expansion approved by Senate

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Thursday said the Senate’s passage of his bill to expand the Shiloh National Military Park in Hardin County will help attract more visitors to Tennessee, boost local economies, and protect the site for future generations.

“We talk a lot about the importance of science and math, but, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, most high school seniors in America score the worst in history. I can think of no better way to encourage the study of U.S. history than to protect and preserve sites like the Shiloh National Military Park so future generations can learn about our past and help us become better Americans in the future,” Alexander said. “Expanding the park will also provide an opportunity to attract more visitors to Tennessee and boost local economies.”

Lamar Alexander

Alexander (R-Tenn.) introduced the Senate version of the bill – the Shiloh National Military Park Boundary Adjustment and Parker’s Crossroads Battlefield Designation Act – on Jan. 11, 2017.

The legislation would expand the boundary of Shiloh National Military Park to include three Civil War battlefields in Tennessee and Mississippi and designate Parker’s Crossroads as an affiliated area of the National Park System.

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced the same legislation in the House of Representatives, which passed the House on Feb. 27, 2017. The Senate approved the House version of the bill in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on March 30, 2017.

The House version of the legislation was amended in the Senate and so the bill will now go back to the House of Representatives for consideration.