[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4376 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4376

  To authorize the National Park Service to enter into a cooperative 
     agreement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on behalf of 
    Springfield Technical Community College, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2005

  Mr. Neal of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize the National Park Service to enter into a cooperative 
     agreement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on behalf of 
    Springfield Technical Community College, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Springfield Armory National Historic 
Site, Massachusetts Act of 2005.''

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Site commemorates the role of the Springfield 
        Armory in the Nation's military history, a role that the Armory 
        served for almost 200 years.
            (2) The role of the Springfield Armory began in 1777, when 
        the site was selected as the location for a magazine and 
        laboratory for the development, production and storage of guns 
        and powder during the American Revolution.
            (3) Following the American Revolutionary War, in 1794 
        Congress officially established the Springfield Armory and for 
        much of the 19th century the Springfield Armory developed and 
        supplied most of the military small arms manufactured by the 
        United States for the United States Armed Services.
            (4) In addition to its historical role in the development 
        and manufacturing of small arms, the Springfield Armory was 
        also the site of Shay's Rebellion.
            (5) In 1968 the Armory was deactivated as a military 
        installation and in 1974 Congress established the Springfield 
        Armory National Historic Site. A portion of the Site is 
        administered by the National Park Service. The remainder of the 
        Springfield Armory National Historic Site, known as the 
        ``Preservation Control Area'', is owned and administered by the 
        Commonwealth of Massachusetts on behalf of Springfield 
        Technical Community College.
            (6) The Preservation Control Area contains several historic 
        buildings that are in a state of disrepair. The deteriorating 
        condition of these historic buildings threatens to undermine 
        the character and integrity of the Springfield Armory National 
        Historic Site and their repair, renovation, maintenance and 
        rehabilitation is essential to the continued preservation of 
        the Site and its museum and collections.

SEC. 3. PRESERVATION CONTROL AREA DEFINED.

    For purposes of this Act, the term ``Preservation Control Area'' 
means that portion of the Site that is owned by the Commonwealth, as 
defined in the Memorandum of Understanding Between the United States 
and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dated August 21, 1999.

SEC. 4. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE PRESERVATION CONTROL 
              AREA.

    Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park 
Service, shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts on behalf of Springfield Technical Community College 
to provide financial assistance to that college for the purpose of 
maintaining, preserving, renovating, and rehabilitating any historic 
structures within the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, 
including historic structures located within the Preservation Control 
Area.
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