[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 175 (Tuesday, November 13, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H13525-H13527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ACT COMMEMORATING THE LITE, OR LIFETIME INNOVATIONS OF THOMAS EDISON
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2627) to establish the Thomas Edison National Historic Park
in the State of New Jersey as the successor to the Edison National
Historic Site.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2627
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 ``Act Commemorating the LITE,
or Lifetime Innovations of Thomas Edison''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Edison National Historic Site, located in West
Orange, New Jersey, is a vital part of America's national
system of parks which preserves Thomas Alva Edison's research
and development laboratories, library, papers, and artifacts,
as well as his home.
(2) The Site is a national historic treasure and contains
the world's largest collection of materials related to Thomas
Edison, encompassing an estimated 5,000,000 pages of
documents, over 400,000 artifacts, approximately 35,000 sound
recordings, and 10,000 books from Edison's personal library.
(3) Thomas Edison is one of America's greatest inventors,
whose inexhaustible energy and genius produced 1,093 patents
in his lifetime, more than any other American, including
patents for the incandescent light bulb, the motion picture
camera, and the phonograph.
(4) In 1928, Thomas Edison was awarded the Congressional
Gold Medal for the ``development and application of
inventions that have revolutionized civilization in the last
century.''
[[Page H13526]]
(5) In 1998, Congress again honored Thomas Edison by
directing the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a
commemorative coin celebrating the 125th anniversary of
Edison's invention of the light bulb, celebrated in 2004.
(6) The Edison National Historic Site is one of America's
most endangered historic places. The National Park Service,
in its General Management Plan and Development Concept Plan,
identified the need for numerous actions to preserve,
protect, restore, and enhance the Site and determined that
sufficient government funds are not likely to be appropriated
to complete these necessary actions in the foreseeable
future.
(7) On November 6, 1997, the National Park Service signed
an agreement with the Thomas Alva Edison Preservation
Foundation (now the Edison Preservation Foundation),
establishing a public-private partnership to jointly raise
money to fund identified improvements at the Edison National
Historic Site so as to leave the Site unimpaired for the
enjoyment of future generations.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to recognize and pay tribute to Thomas Alva Edison and
his innovations; and
(2) to preserve, protect, restore, and enhance the Edison
National Historic Site to ensure public use and enjoyment of
the Site as an educational, scientific, and cultural center.
SEC. 3. THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Thomas Edison
National Historical Park as a unit of the National Park
System (hereafter the ``Historical Park'').
(b) Boundaries.--The Historical Park shall be comprised
of--
(1) all property owned by the United States in the Edison
National Historic Site as well as all property authorized to
be acquired by the Secretary of the Interior for inclusion in
the Edison National Historic Site before the date of the
enactment of this Act, as generally depicted on the map
entitled the ``Edison National Historic Site'', numbered
20003B, and dated April 1977; and
(2) all property authorized to be acquired for inclusion in
the Historical Park by this Act or other law enacted after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Map.--The map of the Historical Park shall be on file
and available for public inspection in the appropriate
offices of the National Park Service.
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the
Historical Park in accordance with this Act and with the
provisions of law generally applicable to units of the
National Park System, including the Acts entitled ``An Act to
establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes,''
approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.)
and ``An Act to provide for the preservation of historic
American sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of
national significance, and for other purposes,'' approved
August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).
(b) Acquisition of Property.--
(1) Real property.--The Secretary may acquire land or
interests in land within the boundaries of the Historical
Park, from willing sellers only, by donation, purchase with
donated or appropriated funds, or exchange.
(2) Personal property.--The Secretary may acquire personal
property associated with, and appropriate for, interpretation
of the Historical Park.
(c) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may consult and
enter into cooperative agreements with interested entities
and individuals to provide for the preservation, development,
interpretation, and use of the Historical Park.
(d) Repeal of Superseded Law.--Public Law 87-628 (76 Stat.
428), regarding the establishment and administration of the
Edison National Historic Site, is repealed.
(e) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
``Edison National Historic Site'' shall be deemed to be a
reference to the ``Thomas Edison National Historical Park''.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Guam.
General Leave
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in 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
gentlewoman from Guam?
There was no objection.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, Thomas Edison is a towering figure in
American history, a man whose genius continues to impact our world more
than 75 years after his death.
Thanks to Mr. Edison's generosity, both his laboratory and his home
in West Orange, New Jersey, are included within the National Park
System and open to the public.
H.R. 2627 simply changes the name of this unit from the Edison
National Historic Site to the Thomas Edison National Historic Park. The
new name is more appropriate for a unit that includes multiple
properties. Nearly identical legislation passed the House by a vote of
399-1 in February 2006, but, Mr. Speaker, it was never considered by
the Senate.
The sponsor of H.R. 2627, the Representative from New Jersey (Mr.
Payne), is to be commended for his outstanding work on this
legislation, along with other cosponsors from the New Jersey
delegation.
I urge all our colleagues to support H.R. 2627.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2627,
which designates the Edison National Historic Site as the Thomas Edison
National Historic Park. Supporters of the park anticipate this
redesignation will improve the visitation revenue to the Edison
historic site.
I would like also to recognize the critical contributions to this
legislation made by Congressman Scott Garrett. Last year, Mr. Garrett
successfully moved this bill through the Resources Committee in the
House. I urge my colleagues to support this effort, and hopefully it
will go all the way through both Houses at this time.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague from New Jersey
(Mr. Holt) for such time as he may consume.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Lifetime Innovations
of Thomas Edison Act, originally sponsored by my colleague Mr. Payne
from New Jersey, with others of us from New Jersey joining him. The
legislation before us would reclassify the Edison home and laboratory
as a National Historic Park.
First dedicated as the Edison National Historic site by the National
Park Service in 1962, the site is badly in need of restoration.
Dedicating this site as a National Historic Park and authorizing
funding for the preservation of the Edison home and laboratory will
preserve a national treasure. As you have heard from my colleague, the
collection there, as well as the buildings themselves, are of great
historical national importance.
Thomas Edison was one of America's most prominent inventors. From
starting one of the first industrial laboratories, something that is
often forgotten, to inventing the first incandescent light bulb, the
motion picture, the phonograph, et cetera, Edison played an integral
role in the technological advances that helped spur America's
industrial revolution.
Mr. Edison held over 1,000 patents in the United States and other
countries, was named by Life magazine as the man of the millennium, and
awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the Congress in 1928 for his
development and application of inventions that have revolutionized
civilization. Thomas Edison certainly deserves to be remembered and his
collection deserves to be preserved.
The 13.5 acre site will make an outstanding national historic park.
It will draw people from all across the country to see the important
collection there, as well as the site of the first really major
scientific industrial laboratory in the United States.
Despite being designated a national historic site, it has fallen into
disrepair, and in 1992 the National Trust for Historic Preservation
listed this as one of the Nation's most endangered historic places.
This redesignation is of great importance. Mr. Speaker, we are not only
recognizing Thomas Edison's numerous contributions to American society,
but we will, with this, be preserving the Edison National Historic Site
as a leading educational, scientific, and cultural center.
I thank the gentlelady.
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleagues to join me
today in recognizing one of New Jersey's own--Thomas Alva Edison. H.R.
2627, the Lifetime Innovations of Thomas Edison, LITE, Act, is a
testament to Edison, whose impact is still being felt today. Congress,
in 1928, honored Edison with the Congressional Gold Medal for the
``development and application of inventions that have
[[Page H13527]]
revolutionized civilization in the last century.'' In 1997, Life
magazine named Edison ``Man of the Millennium'' in recognition of his
inventions that have transformed modern society, including the
incandescent light bulb, the motion picture camera, and the phonograph.
The LITE Act will preserve the intellectual and physical
accomplishments of Thomas Edison by commemorating his lifetime
achievements; re-designating the Edison National Historic Site, located
in West Orange, NJ, my congressional district, as a national historic
park; and authorizing appropriations to support the site.
The Edison site is actually comprised of two separate sites--Edison's
home of 45 years, known as Glenmont, and his laboratory complex. The
Edison site houses over 5 million pages of documents, over 400,000
artifacts, approximately 35,000 sound recordings, and over 10,000 books
from Edison's personal library. Like this priceless collection of
documents and artifacts, Edison's laboratory complex and home are also
historical treasures. With buildings dating back to 1887, the
laboratory complex was one of America's first research and development
facilities, and is where Edison earned over half of his 1,093 patents.
Moreover, Mr. Edison's gravesite is located on the grounds of his
beloved Glenmont, a 29-room home built in 1880 that contains original
furnishings and other family items.
H.R. 2627 is critical to efforts to protect the Thomas Edison
National Historic Site. The Edison site has enormous historical
significance for America and for the world, and is badly in need of
restoration. The need for major infrastructure improvements at the
Edison site has been documented as early as 1972. Additionally, the
site was listed, in 1992, by the National Trust for Historic
Preservation as one of the Nation's most ``endangered historic
places.'' The laboratory complex is currently closed to the public
because of an extensive restoration effort. It is estimated that the
first phase of the restoration effort will be completed next year and
that the laboratory complex will re-open to the public some time
between June and September of 2008. Renovations at Glenmont have been
completed and the site is open to the public and fully functioning.
Plans also exist for a second phase of the restoration project.
Currently, National Park Service, NPS, staff are housed in historic
buildings under less than ideal circumstances. The second phase will
focus on getting NPS staff out of the historic buildings and into
office space that better supports their critical mission of preserving
Edison's historical legacy.
When the Edison site was fully operational, approximately 95,000
people visited the site each year. It is estimated that the number of
visitors will nearly triple when the first phase of the restoration
project is completed next year. H.R. 2627 would ensure this commitment
by re-designating the Edison site as a ``national historical park''--
consistent with National Park Service guidelines--and authorizing
appropriations for restoration work. These measures will preserve
Thomas Edison's historical legacy, enhance the educational experience
of visitors to the site, and hopefully, encourage more private funding
for restoration projects.
Although private benefactors--most notably the Edison Preservation
Foundation--have generously donated significant resources to restore
the site, the Federal Government's long-term commitment to the site is
critical to its longevity and educational mission. This legislation
recognizes Thomas Edison's numerous contributions to American society
and preserves the Edison National Historic Site as a leading
educational, scientific and cultural center.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation is non-controversial. Similar
legislation in the 109th Congress was supported by the National Park
Service and approved by the House by a vote of 399-1. I respectfully
urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2627.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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