[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 160 (Monday, October 22, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H11781-H11785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PATERSON GREAT FALLS NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK ACT OF 2007
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 189) to establish the Paterson Great Falls National Park in
the State of New Jersey, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 189
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 ``Paterson Great Falls
National Historical Park Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Great Falls Historic District in Paterson, New
Jersey, is the site that Alexander Hamilton selected to
implement his vision of American economic independence and
transform a rural agrarian society based on slavery into a
global economy based on freedom.
(2) The Great Falls Historic District was designated as a
National Historic Landmark in 1976 and President Gerald Ford
declared it ``a symbol of the industrial might which helps to
make America the most powerful nation in the world''.
(3) Section 510 of Public Law 104-333 established the Great
Falls Historic District to recognize the contribution to our
national heritage of certain historical, cultural, and
natural resources of the historic district.
(4) Exceptional natural and cultural resources make the
Great Falls Historic District America's only National
Historic District that contains both a National Historic
Landmark and a National Natural Landmark.
(5) Pierre L'Enfant's water power system at the Great Falls
and the buildings erected around it over two centuries
constitute the finest and most extensive remaining example of
engineering, planning and architectural works that span the
entire period of America's growth into an industrial power.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to establish a unit of the National Park System in
Paterson, New Jersey, consisting of the Great Falls Historic
District; and
(2) to foster activities among Federal, State, and local
governments, non-profit organizations, and private donors to
preserve, enhance, interpret, and promote the cultural sites,
historic structures, and natural beauty of the Great Falls
Historic District for the benefit of present and future
generations.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions
apply:
(1) Park.--The term ``park'' means the Paterson Great Falls
National Historical Park established in section 4.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Paterson
Great Falls National Historical Park Commission established
in section 7.
SEC. 4. PATERSON GREAT FALLS NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.
(a) Establishment.--In order to preserve and interpret for
the benefit of present and future generations certain
historical, cultural, and natural resources associated with
the Great Falls National Historic District, there is
established in the city of Paterson in the county of Passaic
in the State of New Jersey the Paterson Great Falls National
Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System.
(b) Boundaries.--The park shall consist of approximately
109 acres as generally depicted on the map titled ``Paterson
Great Falls National Historical Park--Proposed Boundary'',
numbered T03/80,000, and dated June 2007. The map shall be on
file and available for public inspection in the appropriate
offices of the National Park Service and the city of
Paterson.
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.
(a) In General.--The park shall be administered by the
Secretary in accordance with this Act and the provisions of
law generally applicable to units of the National Park
System, including the Act of August 25, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 1-4)
and the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461-467).
(b) State and Local Jurisdiction.--Nothing in this section
shall be construed to diminish, enlarge, or modify any right
of the State of New Jersey or any political subdivision
thereof, to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction or to
carry out State laws, rules, and regulations within the park.
(c) Cooperative Agreements.--
(1) In general.--In furtherance of the purposes of this
Act, the Secretary is authorized, after consultation with the
Commission, to enter into cooperative agreements with the
owners of properties of natural, historical, or cultural
significance within the park, pursuant to which agreements
the Secretary may mark, interpret, restore, and provide
technical assistance for the preservation of such properties
and pursuant to which the Secretary may provide assistance,
including management services and program implementation.
(2) Right of access.--Each cooperative agreement shall
provide that the Secretary, through the National Park
Service, shall have the right of access at all reasonable
times to all public portions of the property covered by the
agreement for the purpose of conducting visitors through such
properties and interpreting them to the public.
(3) Alteration of properties.--Each cooperative agreement
shall provide that no changes or alterations shall be made in
the property covered by the agreement except by mutual
agreement between the Secretary and the other party to the
agreement.
(d) Use of Federal Funds.--
(1) Conversion, use, or disposal of projects.--Any payment
made by the Secretary pursuant to a cooperative agreement
under this section shall be subject to an agreement that
conversion, use, or disposal of a project so assisted for
purposes contrary to the purposes of this Act, as determined
by the Secretary, shall result in the right of the United
States to reimbursement of all funds made available to the
project or the portion of the increased value of the project
attributable to such funds as determined at the time of such
conversion, use, or disposal, whichever is greater.
(2) Matching funds.--As a condition of expending any funds
appropriated to the Secretary for the purposes of cooperative
agreements under this section, the Secretary shall require
that such expenditure must be matched by expenditure of an
equal amount of funds provided by non-Federal sources.
(3) Donations.--With the approval of the Secretary, any
donation of property, goods, or services from a non-Federal
source may be considered as a contribution of funds from a
non-federal source for purposes of this section.
SEC. 6. GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.
Not later than 3 complete fiscal years after the date
funds are made available for this purpose, the Secretary
shall prepare, in consultation
[[Page H11782]]
with the Commission, and transmit to the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a general
management plan for the park in accordance with the
provisions of section 12(b) of the Act of August 18, 1970 (16
U.S.C. 1a-7(b)), popularly known as the National Park System
General Authorities Act, and other applicable law.
SEC. 7. PATERSON GREAT FALLS NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment.--There is hereby established the
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park Commission
whose purpose shall be to assist and advise the Secretary in
the development and implementation of the general management
plan for the park.
(b) Membership.--
(1) Appointments.--The Commission shall be composed of 9
members appointed by the Secretary, of whom--
(A) 4 members shall be from nominees submitted by the
Governor of the State of New Jersey;
(B) 2 members shall be from nominees submitted by the City
Council of Paterson;
(C) 1 member shall be from nominees submitted by the Board
of Chosen Freeholders of Passaic County, New Jersey; and
(D) 2 members shall be qualified to serve on the Commission
because of their familiarity with national parks and historic
preservation.
(2) Chairperson; vice chairperson.--The Commission shall
elect one of its members as Chairperson and one as Vice
Chairperson. The Vice Chairperson shall serve as chairperson
in the absence of the Chairperson.
(3) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled
in the same manner in which the original appointment was
made.
(4) Terms.--Terms of service are as follows:
(A) The term of office of the Chairperson and Vice
Chairperson shall be one year.
(B) Members of the Commission shall serve for terms of 3
years and may be reappointed not more than once.
(C) A member may serve after the expiration of his or her
term until a successor has been appointed.
(5) Timeline for appointments.--The Secretary shall appoint
the first members of the Commission not later than 30 days
after the date on which the Secretary has received all of the
recommendations for appointment pursuant to paragraph (1).
(c) Compensation.--Members of the Commission shall serve
without pay, but while away from their homes or regular
places of business in the performance of services for the
Commission, members shall be allowed travel expenses,
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner
as persons employed intermittently in the Government service
are allowed expenses under section 5703 of title 5, United
States Code.
(d) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the
Chairperson or a majority of its members.
(e) Quorum.--A majority of the Commission shall constitute
a quorum.
(f) Staff.--The Secretary shall provide the Commission with
such staff and technical assistance as the Secretary, after
consultation with the Commission, considers appropriate to
enable the Commission to carry out its duties. The Secretary
may accept the services of personnel detailed from the State
of New Jersey, any political subdivision of the State or any
entity represented on the Commission.
(g) Exemption.--Section 14(b) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the
Commission.
(h) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate 10 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. ACQUISITION OF LAND.
(a) General Authority.--The Secretary may acquire land or
interests in land within the boundaries of the park from
willing sellers only by donation, purchase with donated or
appropriated funds, or exchange.
(b) State Property.--Land or interests in land owned by the
State of New Jersey or any political subdivision of the State
may be acquired only by donation.
SEC. 9. HINCHLIFFE STADIUM.
Not later than three years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a study regarding
the preservation and interpretation of Hinchliffe Stadium as
listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The study
shall include an assessment of the potential for listing as a
National Historic Landmark as well as options for maintaining
the historic integrity of the stadium.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.
General Leave
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days 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 Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, soon after the Revolutionary War,
Alexander Hamilton selected the area around the Great Falls of the
Passaic River as a site for the first planned industrial center in
America. Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, invited Pierre
L'Enfant to design the city in 1791. The result was the City of
Paterson, New Jersey, which became one of the most important
manufacturing centers in America during the Industrial Revolution.
President Gerald Ford designated the Great Falls Historic District as a
national historic landmark in 1976. The 104th Congress established an
historic district and authorized the restoration, preservation, and
interpretive program for the area.
H.R. 189, sponsored by our colleague, Representative Bill Pascrell,
the former mayor of Paterson, designates the historic district as a
National Historic Park and a unit of the National Park System. This
bill contains standard management language for NPS units.
This is a unique area and will make an excellent addition to our
National Park System. Representative Pascrell is to be commended for
his tireless efforts on behalf of the legislation and the city and the
people of Paterson. We urge the adoption of this bill by the House
today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, while H.R. 189 went through both a hearing and a full
committee, but not subcommittee, markup, several issues have gone
unresolved. The National Park Service conducted a study as requested by
this body to determine whether the Great Falls Historic District in
Paterson, New Jersey, should become a national park. The study
concluded that the area did not meet the criteria for inclusion in the
National Park System.
Now, if we entrust the National Park Service with the management of
our own crown jewels, then why are we ignoring their expert judgment
that this should not be a national park? I remind my colleagues that we
requested the park service to tell us what should be done here.
I recognize also it is our responsibility and our right as the
legislative branch to decide what will become a national park
regardless of what the park service tells us. There are times when it
is necessary to disagree with them. However, in this case, we do not
even know what the costs are. We don't know, nor does the park service
have any idea, how it would manage the area. That is what we asked them
to tell us and they are not in a position to do that at this time.
Now, the park service has already got a full plate and a billion
dollar maintenance backlog. They are not even keeping up with and
taking care of the parks that have been entrusted to them. So is this
really the time to add another park that doesn't meet the criteria to
add to this burden with this designation?
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1415
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentlemen from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), the sponsor of
the legislation.
Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in strong support
of the passage of the Paterson Great Falls National Park Act, H.R. 189.
I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the Speaker, Chairman Rahall
and Chairman Grijalva for their tireless work in bringing this worthy
legislation to the floor. I want to thank all the members of the New
Jersey delegation, Democrats and Republicans. All of them endorsed this
legislation.
As a lifelong Paterson resident, as the city's former mayor, I fought
for many years to bring recognition to this site that has played such a
seminal role in American history. The National Historic Park is the
only way to properly showcase the significant cultural and historic
landmarks and natural beauty that the Great Falls Historic Park
District has to offer. This legislation ensures that it will get the
recognition and support that it richly deserves.
Mr. Speaker, 15 miles west of New York City, the Great Falls was the
second largest waterfall in Colonial America. At the Great Falls,
Alexander
[[Page H11783]]
Hamilton conceived a plan to harness the force of water to power the
new industries that would secure our economic independence. He told the
Congress of the United States and the American people that at the Great
Falls he would begin to implement his ambitious strategy to transform
an agricultural society, dependent upon slavery, into a modern economy
based on freedom.
How dare anyone imply that this is not significant. It was the power
of the Great Falls. True to Hamilton's vision, Paterson became a great
manufacturing city. It produced the Colt Revolver; the first submarine,
John Holland, 1878; the aircraft engine for the first transatlantic
flight; more locomotives than any city in the United States; more silk
than any city in the world. This is not significant, Mr. Speaker?
Cotton sails for the U.S. Navy early in the 19th century.
Mr. Speaker, scholars have concluded that Pierre L'Enfant's
innovative water power system in Paterson and many factories built
later constitute the finest remaining collection of engineering and
architectural structures representing each stage of America's progress
from a weak agrarian society to the leader in the global economy.
The Great Falls Historic District is the only national historic
district that includes both a national natural resource and a national
landmark, the only one in the entire Nation.
In a special bicentennial speech in Paterson, with the spectacular
national beauty of the falls behind it, the President of the United
States, the late Gerald Ford, in 1976, and I had the honor as a
Democrat to introduce him that day, Mr. Speaker, said this: ``We can
see the Great Falls as a symbol of the industrial might which helps to
make America the most powerful Nation in the world.'' Now, so many
years later, we are that much closer to making the dream of a national
park in Paterson a reality.
I do not see facts and figures here, Mr. Speaker. I see the faces of
hardworking people from all over the world, who came to Paterson, came
to the falls and worked in those factories. We are talking about human
beings. We are talking about people who came here and made this country
the greatest country in the world, who asked nothing, who didn't get a
real living wage until years later. I am talking about those people who
are not faceless, who do have names, who worked hard to give their
children a better opportunity, a better place.
That was Alexander Hamilton's dream, to bring economic superiority to
the United States, so that we would not pretend to be an agrarian
society for the rest of our history. He introduced the Industrial
Revolution; and then, secondly, to give equal opportunity to each
person regardless of where he came from, what he looked like, how he
cooked his food, how he spoke.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation enjoys bipartisan and widespread
support. It is cosponsored by every member of the New Jersey
congressional delegation. National conservation and historic
organizations, our Nation's most renowned Hamiltonian scholars and
distinguished professors throughout America have documented that this
historic district is worthy of National Historic Park designation. When
the park service says it is not worthy because we have other places,
they were even against Lowell, Massachusetts. They didn't support
Lowell, Massachusetts either.
This has to do with urban parks. This has to do with how we became
the country we are today. Editorial boards, Federal, State, local
officials and community groups have also endorsed the campaign to
create a National Park Service unit. Today, on page 3, U.S. News, a
full page on the Paterson Falls and two other places in the United
States, where that historic district, where the park service was able
to in partnership with the locality, with the State, to bring economic
opportunity.
It is important to note, Mr. Speaker, that this park will be run as a
partnership between the State of New Jersey and the Federal Government,
as they already have a State park designated at the site. The National
Park Service has a long history of Federal and State cooperation, from
the Lowell National Historic Park to the Redwood National State Parks
in California. It is park service policy to foster State and Federal
partnerships to fund and manage parks. Great Falls will be no
different.
Mr. Speaker, if the Great Falls District were added to the park
system, Federal resources could be leveraged to revitalize the falls,
the entire city, the entire area. Through this Federal partnership, the
Great Falls will be transformed into an attraction for visitors and
Patersonians alike that can lead to the economic revitalization of this
entire area, be a living reminder of our Nation's rich industrial
history with so many of our star places where we put purple ropes
around them, ``don't touch.'' That is not what we are talking about
here. We are talking about living history.
Congress must act now to pass this vital piece of legislation, so
that we may fully recognize these cultural and historic landmarks that
have played such a decisive role in America's history. Today, Mr.
Speaker, we have that opportunity. I hope we will all come together and
support that opportunity.
Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I do need to address the question, and it
may have been rhetorical, how dare anyone imply that this area is not
significant? I haven't heard anybody imply such a thing. It is truly
significant. That is not the issue. The issue is priorities.
We have been hearing for the last week how important it is for poor
children to have health care insurance. There are so many priorities;
yet there are thousands and thousands of wonderfully historic
significant pieces of property. No one, I would hope, would dare say
that this area was not significant. It is quite significant.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my friend from
Georgia (Mr. Price).
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank my friend from Texas for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the passion of the gentleman from New
Jersey. I share his passion for national parks, and I am sure that this
area is a beautiful and a wonderful area. As such, it has already been
designated as a National Historic District, which makes it eligible for
about $3 million in funding.
I would point out, as my friend from Texas said, that it is the
National Park Service that said it didn't meet the criteria, not us. I
am pleased, though, to hear from my friend from New Jersey that, in
fact, the partnership with the State will be ongoing. I had understood
that the State of New Jersey had not agreed to provide matching funds.
I wonder if the gentleman might be able to clarify that.
Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.
Mr. PASCRELL. Yes, the State of New Jersey has designated this as a
State park. It has committed $10 million to the project in true
partnership. The municipality has also done the same thing.
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Reclaiming my time, I appreciate that. That is
information I had not had. My concern is kind of rising to the 30,000-
or 40,000-foot view for the National Park Service.
Mr. Speaker, I represent the Sixth District of Georgia, which is on
the northern side of the City of Atlanta, and through my district runs
the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, a 48-mile long linear
park, the longest linear park in our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, we have been trying to get accurate communication from
the National Park Service about how they determine how much of their
resources, their finite resources that they have, come to the various
national parks across this Nation.
We asked that because, as my friend from Texas mentioned, the
National Park Service appears to be at least $1 billion, if not more,
in arrears on their maintenance and operations budget. So the
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area has trails that are, in
fact, a danger to those that visit this beautiful park. It is unable to
patrol the park, again, a 48-mile linear park. It doesn't have the
number of full-time equivalent employees that ought be there for this
size park. When we look at other parks around the Nation, we see that
parks of equivalent visitation, the same number of folks visiting each
year, get a significantly greater budget. So as we try to drill down
and find
[[Page H11784]]
out why that is, it appears that that is all political. For example,
there is a park that a former Speaker of the House of Representatives
had in his district, and that park gets four or five times the amount
of funding that parks with the same visitation across this Nation get.
So we asked the National Park Service, what is your formula? How do
you determine how much of your budget goes to various national parks
and national recreation areas. Of course, we haven't been able to get
that answer. It hasn't been just a week or two, Mr. Speaker; it has
been years, years, that we have been trying to get that answer.
So I rise with great concern about the political nature of the
relationship of the National Park Service and the priorities that they
set. And as my friend from Texas raised, there may be some concerns
about this bill that we have on the floor today about that matter as
well.
So I raise a greater concern, a concern that I believe would be
appropriate, to pull back this resolution and find out from the
National Park Service the answer to those pivotal questions that
Americans want to know, and that is is there any rationale to how you
are spending your money. Where is the accountability in how you spend
your money.
I appreciate the gentleman from New Jersey and his passion for this
area. I am sure it is a beautiful and wonderful area, and I look
forward to visiting it at some point in the future. But I believe we
have got challenges and problems within the National Park Service. I
hope we address those first.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentleman from Georgia,
if I am not mistaken, the original designation for the Chattahoochee
National Recreation Area was also not supported by National Park
Service, and I know that the people of Georgia are glad that this
Congress used its legislative prerogative to create that designation.
With that, let me yield such additional time as he may consume to the
sponsor of the legislation, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Pascrell).
Mr. PASCRELL. I want to address some of the cogent points that have
been presented by the other side.
We are not talking about hundreds of square miles here. We are
talking about 110 acres of land. We are talking about in the middle of
that property the second largest falls in the East. We are talking
about what Alexander Hamilton said in 1774, before the establishment of
the Society of Useful Manufacturers, before America decided that it was
going to go that industrial route so that we would have a multifaceted
economy, he discerned that at that falls that water power would bring
tremendous job growth and tremendous facilitation to economic growth
and industrial growth.
He was right. He was absolutely right. No other industrial city, no
other city that brought the technology and science from England and
from other parts of Europe had the success that Paterson had. There
were seven or eight major areas, and I pointed them out and I am not
going to do it again. I am going to tell you, there is no other area,
and all powered by the falls.
Today, when we talk about alternative energy sources, and both sides
of the aisle have been talking about it, and talking and talking and
talking and talking, it was really at the falls that we had the
beginnings of hydroelectric power.
{time} 1430
I think the significance is not to be simply caught up in how
beautiful the place is. We are not talking about aesthetics; we are
talking about what the meaning of this place is, where all races and
all creeds and all nationalities worked during what we call the
Industrial Revolution.
This is a national landmark and a national natural landmark, and
there is no other place in the United States that meets that criteria.
Isn't that interesting. So while the park system opposed Lowell and
opposed a lot of things, it is the Congress that will determine in the
Constitution, the Congress will determine what is a park system and
what is not. That is our authority; that is our responsibility. And
today I hope, with your good sense, we will have bipartisan support of
this legislation.
Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, but I
understand, and I have not had the privilege of visiting the Great
Falls area, it is supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas and I
am greatly appreciative of that. As I understand, this area is expected
to include a microbrewery, a climbing wall, and an apartment complex is
what was brought to my attention. And these of course raise other
issues of liability. When we look around the country at all of the
parks that are struggling right now to take care of their needs because
the park service is a billion dollars in arrears as far as taking care
of their current obligations, it should cause us to look carefully and
go slowly in absorbing other land until we have the wherewithal to do
so and the park service is able to work with Congress to come up with a
solid plan to care for the park.
There are also other issues when you bring in these other things like
a microbrewery, a climbing wall, and an apartment complex regarding
liabilities that may arise. There are so many questions still out there
yet to be resolved.
I have to say with regard to the Resources Committee, I am well
pleased there are so many things that are completely bipartisan, and we
have a number of them today. But because of the issues involved here,
we will be asking our colleagues to vote ``no'' until we have a better
plan.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, let me just in closing say this
legislation, H.R. 189, this designation goes beyond a simple
designation. It speaks to the strengthening of our independence as this
Nation develops. It speaks to a beautiful natural resource that needs
to be protected and designated, and it speaks to an historic legacy
about people and industrial advancement that needs to be preserved and
enhanced and designated for the whole Nation to appreciate. I want to
thank the sponsor of the legislation and urge my colleagues to exercise
the wisdom of Congress and approve H.R. 189.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for
H.R. 189, the Paterson Great Falls National Park Act of 2007. I am
proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation along with the New Jersey
Congressional delegation. I also want to thank my colleague, Mr.
Pascrell, a Paterson native and former mayor, for his hard work in
drafting this bill and bringing it to the floor.
H.R. 189 will establish a National Park in Paterson, NJ, encompassing
118 acres of the Great Falls National Historic District and the
adjacent Hinchliffe Stadium. These sites are of great historical
significance to New Jersey and to the Nation at large.
In 1791, Alexander Hamilton created the Society for the Establishment
of Useful Manufactures, a public-private corporation, to fulfill his
vision of transforming the United States from an agrarian society into
an industrial power. The society, in turn, established Paterson 1 year
later as America's first planned industrial city.
Located 15 miles west of New York City, the centerpiece of Hamilton's
industrial city is the Great Falls, a 77-foot waterfall on the Passaic
River. After implementing engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant's water
power system, dozens of mills and manufacturing buildings were built on
the banks of the Passaic, harnessing the hydropower made available by
the Great Falls.
Paterson was the heart of the industrial revolution in the United
States, with dozens of mills producing paper, cotton, and enough silk
for Paterson to earn the nickname ``Silk City.'' As one of the earliest
centers of manufacturing in the United States, Paterson was also home
to historic inventions such as Samuel Colt's first repeating revolver
and inventor John Holland's early submarine prototypes.
Paterson's Great Falls is also the site of historic Hinchliffe
Stadium, which served as the homefield for the New York Black Yankees
of the Negro Leagues during America's Jim Crow era. Placed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 2004, Hinchliffe Stadium is one
of a handful of remaining stadiums used by Negro League baseball teams.
Hinchliffe stadium hosted baseball legends such as Satchel Paige, Josh
Gibson, and Larry Doby, who became the first African American to
integrate the American League. The stadium is a poignant reminder of a
bygone era of our country's national pastime.
With the passage of this bill, Members of the House will create a
unique national park that protects a striking natural resource along
with cultural and historical sites that tell the stories of our
Founding Fathers, America's
[[Page H11785]]
economic rise and of the African American experience. I urge my
colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 189, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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