1.
(a)Congress
finds the following:
(1)Thomas Phillip
(Tip) O’Neill, Jr., was born on December 9, 1912, in the Irish middle-class
area of North Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Thomas Phillip O’Neill, Sr., and
Rose Ann (Tolan) O’Neill.
(2)Nicknamed
Tip
during his childhood, O’Neill was educated in Roman Catholic
schools, graduating from St. John’s High School in 1931, where he was captain
of the basketball team.
(3)Tip O’Neill then
attended Boston College, where he ran for a Cambridge City Council seat during
his senior year—his first attempt at running for office and only electoral
defeat.
(4)Following his
graduation from Boston College in 1936, Tip O’Neill was elected to the
Massachusetts House of Representatives that same year as a New Deal Democrat
whose political philosophy was shaped by his experience growing up in
working-class Boston and his strong Catholic faith, which led him to view
government as a means for helping the disadvantaged in society.
(5)In 1949, Tip
O’Neill became the first Democratic Speaker in the history of the Massachusetts
State Legislature, serving as Speaker until 1952, when he ran successfully for
the United States House of Representatives to fill the seat vacated by
Senator-elect John F. Kennedy.
(6)In 1958, inspired
by the establishment of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, a seashore park in
North Carolina, Representative Tip O’Neill, along with his close friend and
colleague Representative Edward Boland, introduced legislation to protect lands
on Cape Cod as a national seashore.
(7)In describing this
area on Cape Cod, Henry David Thoreau had written that A man may stand
there and put all America behind him
, as the pristine sandy beach,
marshes, ponds, and uplands supporting diverse species represent a unique,
cherished jewel of nature.
(8)The legislation
established a 40-mile national park along Cape Cod’s outer beach, from Chatham
through Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown that includes
lighthouses, cultural landscapes, and wild cranberry bogs that offer a glimpse
of Cape Cod’s past and continuing ways of life.
(9)After introduction
of the legislation during the 85th Congress, Tip O’Neill continued to advocate
strongly for establishment of the Cape Cod National Seashore, co-sponsoring
bills in the 86th and 87th Congresses, testifying at hearings and working to
advance the legislation through Congress.
(10)The legislation
was intended to preserve one of the great natural marvels of the United States,
with its unbroken beach and moors, marshes, forests, and freshwater ponds that
are home to many species of birds, fish, animals, and plants.
(11)On August 7,
1961, President Kennedy signed into law the legislation authorizing the Cape
Cod National Seashore as Public Law 87–126.
(12)In 1966, the Cape Cod National Seashore was
formally established, and Representative O’Neill attended the May 30, 1966,
ceremony inaugurating the Salt Pond Visitor Center.
(13)The Cape Cod
National Seashore has become a national treasure, with millions of Americans
and visitors from around the world enjoying its beauty and remarkable
biodiversity.
(14)Tip O’Neill and
his family maintained a home on Cape Cod in Harwich Port, and he was a frequent
visitor to the National Seashore during his service in Congress and in his
retirement years.
(15)While in
Congress, Tip O’Neill rose quickly through the leadership ranks due to his
extraordinary political skills, mastery of the legislative process and sharp
wit, serving first as Majority Whip in the House beginning in 1971 and then in
1973 as House Majority Leader.
(16)One of O’Neill’s greatest accomplishments
as Speaker was the crafting of a peace accord between warring factions in
Northern Ireland, during which he worked with fellow Irish-American politicians
including Senator Edward M. Kennedy to develop the St. Patrick’s Day
declaration
denouncing violence in Northern Ireland and culminating
with the Irish aid package upon the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in
1985.
(17)On January 3,
1987, Tip O’Neill retired from Congress, having served in public life for 50
years, including 34 years as a Member of Congress and 10 years as Speaker of
the House, the longest continuous term of any Speaker since the first Congress
met in 1789.
(18)Tip O’Neill’s
extraordinary record of public service and tremendous accomplishments for the
nation and unmatched attention to the needs of his constituents led President
George H.W. Bush in 1991 to present Tip O’Neill with the Presidential Medal of
Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.
(19)It is also
altogether fitting to recognize Tip O’Neill’s support for the protection of the
natural, historic, and cultural resources of the national parks of
Massachusetts.
(b)The
Salt Pond Visitor Center at Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham,
Massachusetts, is designated as the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Salt Pond
Visitor Center.
(c)Any reference to the Salt Pond Visitor
Center at Cape Cod National Seashore in any law, regulation, map, document,
record, or other paper of the United States shall be considered to be a
reference to the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Salt Pond Visitor
Center.
(d)The
Secretary of the Interior may post an interpretive sign at the visitor center
that—
(1)includes
information on Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr., and his contributions as a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives;
(2)includes an image of Thomas P. O’Neill,
Jr.; and
(3)refers to his
efforts to aid in the preservation of the national seashore and other national
parks in Massachusetts.
July 17, 2012
Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed