[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[October 27, 1992]
[Page 2028]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 2028]]


Memorandum of Disapproval for Legislation To Include Revere Beach, 
Massachusetts, in the National Park System
October 27, 1992

    I am withholding my approval of H.R. 2109, which would require the 
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of Revere Beach, 
Massachusetts, and provide alternatives on the appropriate Federal role 
in preserving and interpreting this site.
    The National Park Service (NPS) studies many sites to determine if 
they are nationally significant and therefore suitable for inclusion in 
the National Park System. A site is nationally significant if it is an 
outstanding example of a unique natural, historic, or cultural resource 
with demonstrated importance to the entire Nation.
    In many instances, the Congress has used the findings of a 
congressionally mandated NPS study, regardless of the study's 
conclusion, to justify authorization of a new unit of the National Park 
System. To restore credibility and a national focus to its study 
process, the NPS reestablished in 1991 a program to evaluate sites and 
prioritize candidates for future study. The most promising candidates 
identified by the NPS experts would be proposed for formal study.
    For my fiscal year 1993 Budget request, NPS professionals rated and 
ranked 41 candidates from criteria established by the Department of the 
Interior. The fiscal year 1993 Budget proposed $1.2 million to study the 
seven highest-rated candidates from the list of 41 originally reviewed. 
The Congress appropriated $848,000 to conduct four of the studies 
proposed by the NPS.
    The NPS experts have not identified the Revere Beach study as a high 
priority. The effect of this legislation would be to place completion of 
this study before the completion of other studies that the experts agree 
are much more important to the Nation.
    H.R. 2109 would ignore professional analysis and budget constraints. 
It would also undermine the critical objective of identifying and 
evaluating the Nation's most promising natural, historic, and cultural 
assets for protection as units of the National Park System. I am 
therefore withholding my approval of H.R. 2109.

                                                             George Bush

The White House,
October 27, 1992.