[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 27506]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND 
                SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

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                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 17, 2005

  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing legislation 
today authorizing the National Park Service to enter into a cooperative 
agreement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on behalf of 
Springfield Technical Community College. Over 30 years ago, in 1974, my 
predecessor, Congressman Edward Boland, and Senator Edward Kennedy were 
successful in creating the Springfield Armory National Historic Site. 
This legislation set in motion three decades of cooperation between the 
National Park Service, which manages the Armory Museum, and Springfield 
Technical Community College. The Park Service and the college are 
neighbors that together occupy the National Historic Site.
  Let me tell you a little bit about this site. The Springfield Armory 
was the first national armory in the United States. In fact, the armory 
was founded in 1777, when the site was selected as the location for 
laboratory specializing in the development, production and storage of 
guns and powder during the American Revolution.
  Following the American Revolutionary War, in 1794, Congress 
officially established the Springfield Armory. George Washington 
visited the site, which was also the site of Shay's Rebellion. 
Physically, the Armory abuts Springfield's historic State Street, the 
city's main east-west thoroughfare, which was Ben Franklin's famed mail 
route. For much of the 19th century, the Springfield Armory developed, 
manufactured and supplied most of the small arms used by the United 
States armed services. The Springfield Armory National Historic Site 
has a rich heritage that is an integral part of our nation's history.
  In 1968, the Armory was deactivated as a military installation and in 
1974, Congress established the National Historic Site. The National 
Park Service has operated the Armory Museum on these grounds, and it 
houses the most outstanding and historically significant arms 
collection in the country.
  The future and fate of both the Armory Museum and Springfield 
Technical Community College are inextricably linked. Many of the 
historic buildings on the site are actually located on the college's 
property, not on National Park Service land, although a visitor to the 
campus would not be able to tell where NPS property ends and college 
property begins. This land outside the portion of the site administered 
by NPS is known as the ``Preservation Control Area.'' These college-
owned buildings are subject to strict architectural and preservation 
rules. Many of these historic buildings owned by the college must be 
preserved and maintained pursuant to standards defined by the Secretary 
of the Interior. But these historic buildings are in a state of great 
disrepair and the college cannot easily move to maintain and preserve 
them absent the full participation of the Park Service. Not only does 
this deterioration of the facilities hurt the college, but also 
undermines the attrac-
tiveness of the National Park Service area, including the Armory 
Museum.
  My legislation seeks to recognize and update the partnership that has 
existed over these many years between the Park Service and the college 
by authorizing the Park Service to enter into a cooperative agreement 
with the Commonwealth. It allows for the National Park Service to 
provide financial assistance to the College for the purpose of 
maintaining, preserving, renovating and rehabilitating the many 
historic structures within the Springfield Armory National Historic 
Site. The Park Service frequently enters into such cooperative 
agreements where the object of the agreement is of direct benefit to 
the Park Service and its mission, or for other public purposes. If 
these great historic buildings on the site can be renovated with the 
assistance of the Park Service, it will bring forward a more vibrant 
and attractive Historic Site and Museum. The Park Service and the 
college will be able to partner on many joint educational ventures that 
utilize these revitalized historic facilities.
  The Springfield Armory National Historic Site is a treasure to the 
city of Springfield, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and to the 
Nation. The site is in desperate need of renovation, and enactment of 
this legislation is the first step towards ensuring the preservation of 
a site, which has played so vital a role in America's history.

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