[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 204 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 204

  Designating August 7, 2013, as ``National Lighthouse and Lighthouse 
                          Preservation Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 30, 2013

    Mr. King (for himself and Ms. Collins) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Designating August 7, 2013, as ``National Lighthouse and Lighthouse 
                          Preservation Day''.

Whereas August 7, 2013, marks the 224th anniversary of the signing by President 
        George Washington of the Act entitled ``An Act for the establishment and 
        support of lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and public piers'', approved 
        August 7, 1789 (commonly known as the ``Lighthouse Act of 1789'') (1 
        Stat. 53, chapter 9);
Whereas that Act, the ninth act of the 1st Congress, established a Federal role 
        in the support, maintenance, and repair of all lighthouses, beacon 
        buoys, and public piers necessary for safe navigation, commissioned the 
        first Federal lighthouse, and represents the first public works act in 
        the young United States;
Whereas the establishment of the United States system of navigational aids set 
        the United States on a path to the forefront of international maritime 
        prominence and established lighthouses that played an integral role in 
        the rich maritime history of the United States, as that history spread 
        from the Atlantic coast, through the Great Lakes and the Gulf coast, to 
        the Pacific States;
Whereas those iconic structures, standing at land's end through 2 centuries, 
        have symbolized safety, security, heroism, duty, and faithfulness;
Whereas architects, designers, engineers, builders, and keepers devoted, and in 
        some cases jeopardized, their lives for the safety of others during 
        centuries of light tending by the United States Lighthouse Service and 
        the United States Coast Guard;
Whereas the automation of the light system exposed the historic lighthouse 
        towers to the ravages of time and vandalism and yet, at the same time, 
        opened an opportunity for citizen involvement in efforts to save and 
        restore those beacons that mark the evolving maritime history of the 
        United States and its coastal communities;
Whereas the national lighthouse preservation movement has gained momentum over 
        the past half century and is making major contributions to the 
        preservation of maritime history and heritage and, through the 
        development and enhancement of cultural tourism, to the economies of 
        coastal communities in the United States;
Whereas the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 (Public Law 
        106-355; 114 Stat. 1385), enacted on October 24, 2000, and with the aid 
        of the lighthouse preservation community, provides an effective process 
        administered by the General Services Administration and the National 
        Park Service for transferring lighthouses to the best possible 
        stewardship groups;
Whereas, for the past several decades, regional and national groups have formed 
        within the lighthouse preservation community to promote lighthouse 
        heritage through research, education, tourism, and publications;
Whereas the earliest and largest regional preservation group, the Great Lakes 
        Lighthouse Keepers Association, headquartered in Michigan, marks its 
        30th anniversary in 2013, and the largest and oldest national group, the 
        United States Lighthouse Society, which relocated from San Francisco, 
        California, to the State of Washington in 2008, marks its 30th 
        anniversary in 2014;
Whereas other groups have also been formed to promote lighthouse preservation 
        and history, many with regional chapters, including--

    (1) a national leadership council and forum named the American 
Lighthouse Council (formerly the American Lighthouse Coordinating 
Committee), currently headquartered in Illinois;

    (2) the American Lighthouse Foundation in Maine;

    (3) the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance and Michigan Lighthouse 
Conservancy;

    (4) the Maine Lights Program;

    (5) the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society in North Carolina;

    (6) the New Jersey Lighthouse Society;

    (7) the Florida Lighthouse Association; and

    (8) the Lighthouse Preservation Society in Massachusetts;

Whereas major lighthouse publications, including the United States Lighthouse 
        Society's Keeper's Log and the Lighthouse Digest, contribute greatly to 
        the promotion of lighthouse heritage and preservation;
Whereas single-lighthouse preservation efforts by individuals or organizations, 
        including historical societies and governments, have even longer 
        histories, including preservation efforts in--

    (1) Grosse Point, Illinois, established in 1935;

    (2) Buffalo, New York, established in 1962;

    (3) Navesink Twin Lights, New Jersey, established in 1962;

    (4) Point Fermin, California, established in 1970;

    (5) Charlotte-Genesse near Rochester, New York, established in 1965;

    (6) Key West, Florida, established in 1969;

    (7) Split Rock Lighthouse, Minnesota, established in 1971;

    (8) Ponce de Leon Inlet, Florida, established in 1972;

    (9) St. Augustine, Florida, established in 1981; and

    (10) Fire Island, New York, established in 1982;

Whereas, despite progress, many lighthouses in the United States remain 
        threatened by erosion, neglect, vandalism, and deterioration by the 
        elements;
Whereas Congress passed, and President Ronald Reagan signed, a Joint Resolution 
        entitled ``Joint Resolution designating the day of August 7, 1989, as 
        `National Lighthouse Day''', approved November 5, 1988 (Public Law 100-
        622; 102 Stat. 3201), in honor of the bicentennial of the United States 
        Lighthouse Service; and
Whereas the many completed, ongoing, or planned private and public efforts to 
        preserve lighthouses demonstrate the public support for those historic 
        structures: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates August 7, 2013, as ``National Lighthouse and 
        Lighthouse Preservation Day'';
            (2) encourages lighthouse grounds to be made open to the 
        general public to the extent feasible; and
            (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
        National Lighthouse and Lighthouse Preservation Day with 
        appropriate ceremonies and activities.
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