[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 123 (Monday, October 4, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7951-H7952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TAUNTON, MASSACHUSETTS SPECIAL RESOURCES STUDY ACT

  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2129) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
special resources study regarding the suitability and feasibility of 
designating certain historic buildings and areas in Taunton, 
Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park System, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2129

       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 ``Taunton, Massachusetts 
     Special Resources Study Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The city of Taunton, Massachusetts, is home to 9 
     distinct historic districts, with more than 600 properties on 
     the National Register of Historic Places. Included among 
     these districts are the Church Green Historic District, the 
     Courthouse Historic District, the Taunton Green Historic 
     District, and the Reed and Barton Historic District.
       (2) All of these districts include buildings and building 
     facades of great historical, cultural, and architectural 
     value.
       (3) Taunton Green is the site where the Sons of Liberty 
     first raised the Liberty and Union Flag in 1774, an event 
     that helped to spark a popular movement, culminating in the 
     American Revolution, and Taunton citizens have been among the 
     first to volunteer for America's subsequent wars.
       (4) Robert Treat Paine, a citizen of Taunton, and the first 
     Attorney General of Massachusetts, was a signer of the 
     Declaration of Independence.
       (5) Taunton was a leading community in the Industrial 
     Revolution, and its industrial area has been the site of many 
     innovations in such industries as silver manufacture, paper 
     manufacture, and ship building.
       (6) The landscaping of the Courthouse Green was designed by 
     Frederick Law Olmsted, who also left landscaping ideas and 
     plans for other areas in the city which have great value and 
     interest as historical archives and objects of future study.
       (7) Main Street, which connects many of the historic 
     districts, is home to the Taunton City Hall and the Leonard 
     Block building, 2 outstanding examples of early 19th Century 
     American architecture, as well as many other historically and 
     architecturally significant structures.
       (8) The city and people of Taunton have preserved many 
     artifacts, gravesites, and important documents dating back to 
     1638 when Taunton was founded.
       (9) Taunton was and continues to be an important 
     destination for immigrants from Europe and other parts of the 
     world who have helped to give Southeastern Massachusetts its 
     unique ethnic character.

     SEC. 3. STUDY.

       The Secretary, in consultation with the appropriate State 
     historic preservation officers, State historical societies, 
     the city of Taunton, and other appropriate organizations, 
     shall conduct a special resources study regarding the 
     suitability and feasibility of designating certain historic 
     buildings and areas in Taunton, Massachusetts, as a unit of 
     the National Park System. The study shall be conducted and 
     completed in accordance with section 8(c) of Public Law 91-
     383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)) and shall include analysis, 
     documentation, and determinations regarding whether the 
     historic areas in Taunton--
       (1) can be managed, curated, interpreted, restored, 
     preserved, and presented as an organic whole under management 
     by the National Park Service or under an alternative 
     management structure;
       (2) have an assemblage of natural, historic, and cultural 
     resources that together represent distinctive aspects of 
     American heritage worthy of recognition, conservation, 
     interpretation, and continuing use;
       (3) reflect traditions, customs, beliefs, and historical 
     events that are valuable parts of the national story;
       (4) provide outstanding opportunities to conserve natural, 
     historic, cultural, architectural, or scenic features;
       (5) provide outstanding recreational and educational 
     opportunities; and
       (6) can be managed by the National Park Service in 
     partnership with residents, business interests, nonprofit 
     organizations, and State and local governments to develop a 
     unit of the National Park System consistent with State and 
     local economic activity.

     SEC. 4. REPORT.

       Not later than 3 fiscal years after the date on which funds 
     are first made available for this Act, the Secretary shall 
     submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources of the Senate a report on the findings, 
     conclusions, and recommendations of the study required under 
     section 3.

     SEC. 5. PRIVATE PROPERTY.

       The recommendations in the report submitted pursuant to 
     section 4 shall discuss and consider the concerns expressed 
     by private landowners with respect to designating the certain 
     structures referred to in this Act as a unit of the National 
     Park System.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
     necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. 
Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).


                             General Leave

  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nevada?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2129, introduced by the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), would direct the Secretary of the Interior 
to conduct a special resources study regarding the suitability and 
feasibility of designating certain historic buildings and areas in 
Taunton, Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park System, and for 
other purposes. The city of Taunton, Massachusetts, is home to nine 
distinct historic districts, with more than 600 properties on the 
National Register of Historic Places. Included among these districts is 
the Taunton Green Historic District, the site where the Sons of Liberty 
first raised the Liberty and Union Flag in 1774, an event that helped 
to spark a popular movement culminating in the American Revolution. 
Taunton was also a leading community in the industrial revolution, and 
its industrial area has been the site of many innovations in silver 
manufacture, paper manufacture, and shipbuilding. Main Street, which 
connects many of the historic districts, is the home of the Taunton 
City Hall and the Leonard Block building, two outstanding examples of 
early 19th century American architecture, as well as many other 
historical and architecturally significant structures.
  The city has historically been and continues to be an important 
destination for immigrants migrating from Europe, as well as other 
parts of the world, and contributes greatly to the unique ethnic 
character of southeastern Massachusetts.
  H.R. 2129, as amended, is supported by the majority and minority of 
the Committee on Resources. I would urge adoption of this bill, Mr. 
Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
her remarks.)
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, Taunton, Massachusetts, is a city rich

[[Page H7952]]

in its significant cultural and historical resources. As a result, we 
support authorizing the National Park Service to study this area to 
determine how these resources might best be conserved and interpreted 
for generations to come. I join the gentleman from West Virginia 
(Ranking Member Rahall) in congratulating the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for his hard work on behalf of this 
legislation and this community, and we look forward to working with him 
on legislation to implement any recommendations which come out of this 
study that we are authorizing today. So we urge the passage of H.R. 
2129.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman 
from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), the sponsor of the legislation.

                              {time}  1415

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me 
time.
  I thank the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) for his courtesy; and 
I am grateful to the leadership of the committee, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Pombo) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. 
Rahall), for bringing this forward.
  Massachusetts is rich in history, but this is a particularly 
significant piece of Massachusetts from an historic standpoint. As the 
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) pointed out, the Liberty and Union 
Flag was raised there in 1774. This is the place here in Taunton where 
the revolution was fueled. Robert Treat Paine, a resident of Taunton, 
signed the Declaration, and it continues to be important.
  The courthouse green, a lovely area, was designed by Frederick Law 
Olmsted, the greatest landscape architect in our history and, probably, 
the history of the world. I am privileged to have an office right in 
the midst of this. So I guess I should say I would be a beneficiary of 
this. But it is for the city, and it will be passed on.
  I also should say that I became the Representative of Taunton in the 
last redistricting. And for the prior couple of decades it was 
extraordinarily well-represented by one of our great former colleagues, 
the gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. Moakley, who was sadly taken from 
us a few years ago. So as we put this bill forward, I am delighted to 
do it, but I also want people to understand that I do this in tribute, 
in part, to the legacy of Joe Moakley, one of the great leaders in this 
House, widely respected and even loved by both sides.
  This is a genuinely important historical operation. It played a 
historic role in the Revolution. We had Frederick Law Olmsted there. It 
was also very important in the Industrial Revolution. It continues 
today to be a very important community.
  So I am grateful to the committee for bringing this forward and I 
look forward to the passage of this bill and subsequent action by the 
Park Service.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill. I have no 
additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons ) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2129, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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