,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cbbb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #cj1      
#bjac,ms4 ,meng introduced the following
 bill2 which was referred to the        
,committee on ,natural ,resources  ,a   
,,bill  ,to authorize the ,secretary of 
the ,interior to conduct a special      
resource study of sites associated with 
the #afeg signing of the ,flushing      
,remonstrance in ,queens1 ,new ,york1   
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,flushing ,remonstrance ,study ,act4    
#b4 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3 7#a7 ,dutch involvement in   
,north ,america started with ,henry     
,hudson's #afji voyage on the ship1     
,half ,moon1 employed by the ,dutch     
,east ,india ,company4  7#b7 ,after     
#afdj1 ,new ,netherland gradually began 
to transform from a chain of trading    
posts into a settlement colony4  7#c7   
,as ,dutch and ,english settlers moved  
closer to one another1 they began to    

assimilate in what would later become   
,queens ,county4  7#d7 ,the ,dutch and  
,english settlements had not been       
without conflict4 ,although the ,dutch  
,republic was well known for its        
toleration of other faiths1 ,director   
,general ,peter ,stuyvesant and his     
council thought that liberty of worship 
should not be granted to ,quakers4  7#e7
 ,when ,quakers began to arrive in      
,flushing1 the colonial government      
issued an ordinance that formally banned
 the practice of all religions outside  
of the ,dutch ,reformed ,church4  7#f7  
,on ,december #bg1 #afeg1 #cj ,flushing 
residents signed what was later called  
the ,flushing ,remonstrance1 objecting  
to this order4 ,none of the             
remonstrance's authors were ,quakers4   
7#g7 ,dutch colonial authorities        
proceeded to arrest the signers of the  
,flushing ,remonstrance4 ,in #affb1     
,john ,bowne defied the ban and allowed 
,quakers to hold services in his house4 
,bowne was fined and banished to the    

,dutch ,republic for showing contempt   
for secular authority4  7#h7 ,bowne was 
later exonerated after appealing to the 
guarantees of religious liberty before  
the ,dutch ,west ,india ,company and    
returned to ,flushing in #affd4 ,the    
colony later fell to ,british control on
 ,september #bd1 #affd4  7#i7 ,the      
,flushing ,remonstrance is now          
considered by many to be instrumental in
 the development of religious liberty in
 the ,united ,states and a precursor to 
the ,first ,amendment to the ,united    
,states ,constitution4  7#aj7 ,in #aieg1
 the ,united ,states ,postal ,service   
released a #c-;cent postage stamp       
commemorating the #cjjth ,anniversary of
 the signing of the ,flushing           
,remonstrance which read1 ,religious    
,freedom in ,america4  7#aa7 ,queens    
remained rural and agricultural through 
the #ahth and #aith ,centuries4         
,although its ,dutch identity           
diminished1 the tolerance of diversity  
that has harbored ,quakers and other    

religious sects in the ,dutch ,colonial 
period continues to this day4 ,queens is
 the most ethnically diverse urban area 
in the world1 with a population of over 
#b1bjj1jjj representing over #ajj       
different nations and speaking over #ach
 different languages4  #c4 ,definitions 
,as used in this ,act3 7#a7 ,secretary  
,the term ,secretary means the          
,secretary of the ,interior4  7#b7      
,study area ,the term study area means  
the ,john ,bowne ,house located at #cgja
 ,bowne ,street1 ,queens1 ,new ,york1   
the ,friends ,meeting ,house located at 
#acg-ag ,northern ,boulevard1 ,queens1  
,new ,york1 and other resources in the  
vicinity of ,flushing related to the    
history of religious freedom during the 
era of the signing of the ,flushing     
,remonstrance4  #d4 ,special resource   
study  7a7 ,study ,the ,secretary shall 
conduct a special resource study of the 
study area4  7b7 ,contents ,in          
conducting the study under subsection   
7a71 the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7        

evaluate the national significance of   
the study area's resources based on     
their relationship to the history of    
religious freedom associated with the   
signing of the ,flushing ,remonstrance2 
7#b7 determine the suitability and      
feasibility of designating resources    
within the study area as a unit of the  
,national ,park ,system2  7#c7 consider 
other alternatives for preservation1    
protection1 and interpretation of the   
study area by ,federal1 ,state1 or local
 governmental entities1 or private and  
nonprofit organizations2  7#d7 identify 
properties related to the ,john ,bowne  
,house that could potentially meet      
criteria for designation as a ,national 
,historic ,landmark2  7#e7 consult with 
interested ,federal1 ,state1 or local   
governmental entities1 private and      
nonprofit organizations1 or any other   
interested individuals2  7#f7 evaluate  
the impact of the proposed action on the
 flow of commerce and commercial        
activity1 job opportunities1 and any    

adverse economic effects that could not 
be avoided if the proposal is           
implemented2 and  7#g7 identify cost    
estimates for any ,federal acquisition1 
development1 interpretation1 operation1 
and maintenance associated with the     
alternatives4  7c7 ,applicable law ,the 
study required under subsection 7a7     
shall be conducted in accordance with   
section #h of ,national ,park ,service  
,general ,authorities ,act 7#af         
,u4,s4,c4 #a;a-#e74  7d7 ,report ,not   
later than #c years after the date on   
which funds are first made available for
 the study under subsection 7a71 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      
containing the results of the study and 
any conclusions and recommendations of  
the ,secretary4