[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 30, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S6079]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 204--DESIGNATING AUGUST 7, 2013, AS ``NATIONAL 
              LIGHTHOUSE AND LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION DAY''

  Mr. KING (for himself and Ms. Collins) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 204

       Whereas August 7, 2013, marks the 224th anniversary of the 
     signing by President George Washington of the Act entitled 
     ``An Act for the establishment and support of lighthouses, 
     beacons, buoys, and public piers'', approved August 7, 1789 
     (commonly known as the ``Lighthouse Act of 1789'') (1 Stat. 
     53, chapter 9);
       Whereas that Act, the ninth act of the 1st Congress, 
     established a Federal role in the support, maintenance, and 
     repair of all lighthouses, beacon buoys, and public piers 
     necessary for safe navigation, commissioned the first Federal 
     lighthouse, and represents the first public works act in the 
     young United States;
       Whereas the establishment of the United States system of 
     navigational aids set the United States on a path to the 
     forefront of international maritime prominence and 
     established lighthouses that played an integral role in the 
     rich maritime history of the United States, as that history 
     spread from the Atlantic coast, through the Great Lakes and 
     the Gulf coast, to the Pacific States;
       Whereas those iconic structures, standing at land's end 
     through 2 centuries, have symbolized safety, security, 
     heroism, duty, and faithfulness;
       Whereas architects, designers, engineers, builders, and 
     keepers devoted, and in some cases jeopardized, their lives 
     for the safety of others during centuries of light tending by 
     the United States Lighthouse Service and the United States 
     Coast Guard;
       Whereas the automation of the light system exposed the 
     historic lighthouse towers to the ravages of time and 
     vandalism and yet, at the same time, opened an opportunity 
     for citizen involvement in efforts to save and restore those 
     beacons that mark the evolving maritime history of the United 
     States and its coastal communities;
       Whereas the national lighthouse preservation movement has 
     gained momentum over the past half century and is making 
     major contributions to the preservation of maritime history 
     and heritage and, through the development and enhancement of 
     cultural tourism, to the economies of coastal communities in 
     the United States;
       Whereas the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act 
     of 2000 (Public Law 106-355; 114 Stat. 1385), enacted on 
     October 24, 2000, and with the aid of the lighthouse 
     preservation community, provides an effective process 
     administered by the General Services Administration and the 
     National Park Service for transferring lighthouses to the 
     best possible stewardship groups;
       Whereas, for the past several decades, regional and 
     national groups have formed within the lighthouse 
     preservation community to promote lighthouse heritage through 
     research, education, tourism, and publications;
       Whereas the earliest and largest regional preservation 
     group, the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, 
     headquartered in Michigan, marks its 30th anniversary in 
     2013, and the largest and oldest national group, the United 
     States Lighthouse Society, which relocated from San 
     Francisco, California, to the State of Washington in 2008, 
     marks its 30th anniversary in 2014;
       Whereas other groups have also been formed to promote 
     lighthouse preservation and history, many with regional 
     chapters, including--
       (1) a national leadership council and forum named the 
     American Lighthouse Council (formerly the American Lighthouse 
     Coordinating Committee), currently headquartered in Illinois;
       (2) the American Lighthouse Foundation in Maine;
       (3) the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance and Michigan 
     Lighthouse Conservancy;
       (4) the Maine Lights Program;
       (5) the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society in North Carolina;
       (6) the New Jersey Lighthouse Society;
       (7) the Florida Lighthouse Association; and
       (8) the Lighthouse Preservation Society in Massachusetts;
       Whereas major lighthouse publications, including the United 
     States Lighthouse Society's Keeper's Log and the Lighthouse 
     Digest, contribute greatly to the promotion of lighthouse 
     heritage and preservation;
       Whereas single-lighthouse preservation efforts by 
     individuals or organizations, including historical societies 
     and governments, have even longer histories, including 
     preservation efforts in--
       (1) Grosse Point, Illinois, established in 1935;
       (2) Buffalo, New York, established in 1962;
       (3) Navesink Twin Lights, New Jersey, established in 1962;
       (4) Point Fermin, California, established in 1970;
       (5) Charlotte-Genesse near Rochester, New York, established 
     in 1965;
       (6) Key West, Florida, established in 1969;
       (7) Split Rock Lighthouse, Minnesota, established in 1971;
       (8) Ponce de Leon Inlet, Florida, established in 1972;
       (9) St. Augustine, Florida, established in 1981; and
       (10) Fire Island, New York, established in 1982;
       Whereas, despite progress, many lighthouses in the United 
     States remain threatened by erosion, neglect, vandalism, and 
     deterioration by the elements;
       Whereas Congress passed, and President Ronald Reagan 
     signed, a Joint Resolution entitled ``Joint Resolution 
     designating the day of August 7, 1989, as `National 
     Lighthouse Day' '', approved November 5, 1988 (Public Law 
     100-622; 102 Stat. 3201), in honor of the bicentennial of the 
     United States Lighthouse Service; and
       Whereas the many completed, ongoing, or planned private and 
     public efforts to preserve lighthouses demonstrate the public 
     support for those historic structures: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates August 7, 2013, as ``National Lighthouse and 
     Lighthouse Preservation Day'';
       (2) encourages lighthouse grounds to be made open to the 
     general public to the extent feasible; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     National Lighthouse and Lighthouse Preservation Day with 
     appropriate ceremonies and activities.

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