[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2627 Reported in Senate (RS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 820
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 2627

                          [Report No. 110-388]


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2007

   Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

                             June 16, 2008

              Reported by Mr. Bingaman, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To establish the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in the State of 
   New Jersey as the successor to the Edison National Historic Site.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Act Commemorating the LITE, 
or Lifetime Innovations of Thomas Edison''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) The Edison National Historic Site, located in 
        West Orange, New Jersey, is a vital part of America's national 
        system of parks which preserves Thomas Alva Edison's research 
        and development laboratories, library, papers, and artifacts, 
        as well as his home.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) The Site is a national historic treasure and 
        contains the world's largest collection of materials related to 
        Thomas Edison, encompassing an estimated 5,000,000 pages of 
        documents, over 400,000 artifacts, approximately 35,000 sound 
        recordings, and 10,000 books from Edison's personal 
        library.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Thomas Edison is one of America's greatest 
        inventors, whose inexhaustible energy and genius produced 1,093 
        patents in his lifetime, more than any other American, 
        including patents for the incandescent light bulb, the motion 
        picture camera, and the phonograph.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) In 1928, Thomas Edison was awarded the 
        Congressional Gold Medal for the ``development and application 
        of inventions that have revolutionized civilization in the last 
        century.''</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) In 1998, Congress again honored Thomas Edison 
        by directing the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a 
        commemorative coin celebrating the 125th anniversary of 
        Edison's invention of the light bulb, celebrated in 
        2004.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) The Edison National Historic Site is one of 
        America's most endangered historic places. The National Park 
        Service, in its General Management Plan and Development Concept 
        Plan, identified the need for numerous actions to preserve, 
        protect, restore, and enhance the Site and determined that 
        sufficient government funds are not likely to be appropriated 
        to complete these necessary actions in the foreseeable 
        future.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) On November 6, 1997, the National Park Service 
        signed an agreement with the Thomas Alva Edison Preservation 
        Foundation (now the Edison Preservation Foundation), 
        establishing a public-private partnership to jointly raise 
        money to fund identified improvements at the Edison National 
        Historic Site so as to leave the Site unimpaired for the 
        enjoyment of future generations.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to recognize and pay tribute to Thomas Alva 
        Edison and his innovations; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to preserve, protect, restore, and enhance the 
        Edison National Historic Site to ensure public use and 
        enjoyment of the Site as an educational, scientific, and 
        cultural center.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Thomas Edison 
National Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System 
(hereafter the ``Historical Park'').</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Boundaries.--The Historical Park shall be comprised 
of--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) all property owned by the United States in the 
        Edison National Historic Site as well as all property 
        authorized to be acquired by the Secretary of the Interior for 
        inclusion in the Edison National Historic Site before the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, as generally depicted on the map 
        entitled the ``Edison National Historic Site'', numbered 
        20003B, and dated April 1977; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) all property authorized to be acquired for 
        inclusion in the Historical Park by this Act or other law 
        enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Map.--The map of the Historical Park shall be on file 
and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the 
National Park Service.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the 
Historical Park in accordance with this Act and with the provisions of 
law generally applicable to units of the National Park System, 
including the Acts entitled ``An Act to establish a National Park 
Service, and for other purposes,'' approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 
535; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) and ``An Act to provide for the preservation 
of historic American sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of 
national significance, and for other purposes,'' approved August 21, 
1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Acquisition of Property.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Real property.--The Secretary may acquire land 
        or interests in land within the boundaries of the Historical 
        Park, from willing sellers only, by donation, purchase with 
        donated or appropriated funds, or exchange.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Personal property.--The Secretary may acquire 
        personal property associated with, and appropriate for, 
        interpretation of the Historical Park.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may consult and 
enter into cooperative agreements with interested entities and 
individuals to provide for the preservation, development, 
interpretation, and use of the Historical Park.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Repeal of Superseded Law.--Public Law 87-628 (76 Stat. 
428), regarding the establishment and administration of the Edison 
National Historic Site, is repealed.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the ``Edison 
National Historic Site'' shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
``Thomas Edison National Historical Park''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Act Commemorating the LITE, or 
Lifetime Innovations of Thomas Edison''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to recognize and pay tribute to Thomas Alva Edison and 
        his innovations; and
            (2) to preserve, protect, restore, and enhance the Edison 
        National Historic Site to ensure public use and enjoyment of 
        the Site as an educational, scientific, and cultural center.

SEC. 3. THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Thomas Edison National 
Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System (hereafter the 
``Historical Park'').
    (b) Boundaries.--The Historical Park shall be comprised of all 
property owned by the United States in the Edison National Historic 
Site as well as all property authorized to be acquired by the Secretary 
of the Interior for inclusion in the Edison National Historic Site 
before the date of the enactment of this Act, as generally depicted on 
the map entitled the ``Thomas Edison National Historical Park'', 
numbered 403/80,000, and dated April 2008.
    (c) Map.--The map of the Historical Park shall be on file and 
available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the 
National Park Service.

SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the Historical Park 
in accordance with this Act and with the provisions of law generally 
applicable to units of the National Park System, including the Acts 
entitled ``An Act to establish a National Park Service, and for other 
purposes,'' approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1 et 
seq.) and ``An Act to provide for the preservation of historic American 
sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of national significance, 
and for other purposes,'' approved August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et 
seq.).
    (b) Acquisition of Property.--
            (1) Real property.--The Secretary may acquire land or 
        interests in land within the boundaries of the Historical Park, 
        from willing sellers only, by donation, purchase with donated 
        or appropriated funds, or exchange.
            (2) Personal property.--The Secretary may acquire personal 
        property associated with, and appropriate for, interpretation 
        of the Historical Park.
    (c) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may consult and enter 
into cooperative agreements with interested entities and individuals to 
provide for the preservation, development, interpretation, and use of 
the Historical Park.
    (d) Repeal of Superseded Law.--Public Law 87-628 (76 Stat. 428), 
regarding the establishment and administration of the Edison National 
Historic Site, is repealed.
    (e) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, 
paper, or other record of the United States to the ``Edison National 
Historic Site'' shall be deemed to be a reference to the ``Thomas 
Edison National Historical Park''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.
                                                       Calendar No. 820

110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 2627

                          [Report No. 110-388]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To establish the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in the State of 
   New Jersey as the successor to the Edison National Historic Site.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             June 16, 2008

                       Reported with an amendment