[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2511-S2512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Mr. Santorum):
  S. 582. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter 
into an agreement for the construction and operation of the Gateway 
Visitor Center at Independence National Historical Park; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


            gateway visitor center authorization act of 1999

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition today to 
reintroduce legislation to authorize the operation of the Gateway 
Visitor Center in Independence National Historical Park in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Similar legislation has already been 
introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Robert 
Borski, Curt Weldon, and Robert Brady.
  As many of my colleagues are aware, Independence National Historical 
Park is one of the National Park Service's crown jewels, home to the 
Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and the birthplace of the 
Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. In the Spring of 
1997, the Final General Management Plan for Independence Park was 
released, which spells out the vision for the Park for the next fifteen 
years. The first block of Independence Mall will contain a new home for 
the Liberty Bell, the second block the Gateway Visitor Center, and the 
third block the National Constitution Center. The revitalization of 
Independence Mall is well underway, but legislation is needed to fully 
implement the General Management Plan with regards to the Gateway 
Visitor Center.
  The National Park Service is aware that this type of site-specific 
legislation is necessary for the Gateway Visitor Center. I have worked 
closely with the National Park Service and the Gateway Visitor Center 
Corporation in

[[Page S2512]]

developing this legislation, and the National Park Service expressed 
its full support for this legislation during hearings held in the 105th 
Congress.
  I would note that the $24 million needed to construct the Gateway 
Visitor Center has already been committed, with the City of 
Philadelphia contributing $5 million, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
$10 million, and various Foundations $15 million, of which $6 million 
will fund an endowment. The legislation I am introducing today merely 
provides the authorization for the operation of the Center. The Gateway 
Visitor Center will be financially self-sustaining, with only a modest 
contribution coming from the National Park Service for operations and 
maintenance.
  While the Gateway Visitor Center will provide the traditional 
services to visitors to the Park, the Center will also provide some 
services which are somewhat beyond the scope of existing National Park 
Service legislation. In addition to its role as the Park's primary 
visitor center, providing visitor orientation to the Park, the city, 
and the region as a whole, the Gateway Visitor Center will be permitted 
to charge fees, conduct events, and sell merchandise, tickets, and food 
to visitors to the Center. These activities will allow the Gateway 
Visitor Center to meet its parkwide, citywide and regional missions 
while defraying the operating and management expenses of the Center.
  The current visitor center in Independence National Historical Park 
is poorly located, making it underutilized and inconvenient to the 
millions of people who visit the Park each year. The Gateway Visitor 
Center will serve far more people than ever possible with the current 
facility by providing information, interpretation, facilities, and 
services to visitors to the Park, its surrounding historic areas, the 
City of Philadelphia, and the region in order to assist visitors in 
their enjoyment of the historical, cultural, educational, and 
recreational resources of the area. The Gateway Visitor Center will be 
a major asset for the Park and critical to the central management goal 
addressed in the General Management Plan of creating an outstanding 
visitor experience. The Gateway Visitor Center holds enormous potential 
for Independence National Historical Park and the greater Philadelphia 
region as a whole, and I therefore urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
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