[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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