[House Report 109-286]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 109-286
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COMMEMORATING THE LITE, OR LIFETIME INNOVATIONS OF THOMAS EDISON
_______
November 10, 2005.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1096]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 1096) to establish the Thomas Edison National Historical
Park in the State of New Jersey as the successor to the Edison
National Historic Site, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Act Commemorating the LITE, or
Lifetime Innovations of Thomas Edison''.
SEC. 2. 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.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1096 is to establish the Thomas Edison
National Historical Park in the State of New Jersey as the
successor to the Edison National Historic Site.
Background and Need for Legislation
In 1955 the Edison Laboratory National Monument was
established after 1.5 acres and 12 buildings were donated to
the federal government by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. An additional
16 acres and Edison's home were donated in 1959, and became the
Edison Home National Historic Site. The two sites, which are
approximately one mile apart, were redesignated as the Edison
National Historic Site in 1962. Typically, a historic site is
considered by the National Park Service to contain a single
historical feature, while generally a national historic park
extends beyond single properties or buildings. Based on this
definition, proponents of H.R. 1096 believe the Edison Historic
Site would be more appropriately designated as a national
historic park. Supporters of H.R. 1096 anticipate that this
redesignation will bring more attention, visitation, and
revenue to the Edison Historic Site.
H.R. 1096 will redesignate the Edison National Historic
Site as the Thomas Edison National Historic Park. The Park will
encompass all lands currently contained in the Historic Site
and property designated for inclusion by the Secretary of the
Interior prior to passage of this Act.
Committee Action
H.R. 1096 was introduced on March 3, 2005, by Congressman
Scott Garrett (R-NJ). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
National Parks. On June 9, 2005, the Subcommittee held a
hearing on the bill. On October 19, 2005, the full Committee on
Resources met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was
discharged from further consideration of the bill by unanimous
consent. Congressman Stevan Pearce (R-NM) offered an amendment
in the nature of a substitute which struck the findings in
Section 2 of the legislation. The Pearce amendment was adopted
by unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, was then ordered
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous
consent.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8, and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority
to enact this bill.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office,
enactment of this bill would increase offsetting receipts and
direct spending, but ``any net change in direct spending would
be negligible.''
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the general performance goal or objective of
this bill is to establish the Thomas Edison National Historical
Park in the State of New Jersey as the successor to the Edison
National Historic Site.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
H.R. 1096--Act Commemorating the LITE, or Lifetime Innovations of
Thomas Edison
H.R. 1096 would redesignate the Edison National Historic
site in New Jersey as the Thomas Edison National Historical
Park. Based on information provided by the National Park
Service (NPS), CBO estimates that implementing this bill would
have no significant effect on the federal budget. Under the
bill, the unit's boundaries, the agency's authority to acquire
land and execute cooperative agreements with local entities,
and annual operating costs would be similar or identical to
those under existing law. We expect that one-time costs to
revise NPS brochures, maps, and signs would be minimal because
most such revisions would take place in conjunction with
scheduled reprinting and other routine maintenance. Finally,
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1096 would not affect revenues
or direct spending.
H.R. 1096 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets and
existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
ACT OF SEPTEMBER 5, 1962
(Public Law 87-628)
AN ACT to change the names of the Edison Home National Historic Site
and the Edison Laboratory National Monument, to authorize the
acceptance of donations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, [That the
Edison Home National Historic Site and the Edison Laboratory
National Monument, together with adjacent parcels aggregating
approximately seventy-one one-hundredths of an acre which have
been donated to the United States for addition to the monument,
are designated the Edison National Historic Site.
[Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Interior may accept the
donation of such lands and interests in lands, for addition to
the site, as he determines will further the preservation of the
Edison National Historic Site and its enjoyment by the public.
[Sec. 3. The Edison National Historic Site shall be
administered by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the
Act 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, 2, 3), as amended and supplemented.]