[DOCID: f:sr388.110]
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Calendar No. 820
110th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 110-388
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ACT COMMEMORATING THE LITE, OR LIFETIME INNOVATIONS OF THOMAS EDISON
_______
June 16, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2627]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 2627) 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, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommends that the Act, as amended, do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof 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 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 ``Thomas Edison National Historical Park'',
numbered 403/80,000, and dated April 2008.
(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
The purpose of H.R. 2627 is to redesignate the Edison
National Historic Site in the State of New Jersey as the Thomas
Edison National Historical Park.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Thomas Alva Edison was a prodigious inventor who
revolutionized how the Nation communicated, harnessed and
distributed power, and translated pure technology into
commercial products. The Edison National Historic Site, located
in West Orange, New Jersey, was Thomas Edison's second research
and development facility. After closing his first operation in
Menlo Park, Edison established the West Orange laboratory in
1887.
The laboratory was the hub of Edison's manufacturing
operations until his death in 1931, and the most productive of
all his laboratories in terms of the sheer quantity of
inventions. More than half of Edison's 1,093 U.S. patents were
developed at this location, including his improved phonograph,
the nickel-iron-alkaline battery, and a fluoroscope used in the
first x-ray operation in America. It was here, too, that Edison
established his motion picture studio, the ``Black Maria'' in
1893.
Located nearby, previously known as the Edison Home
National Historic Site, is the home Edison purchased in 1886.
Known as Glenmont, it is a 29-room mansion built of wood,
brick, and stone, and typifies the eclectic Queen Anne style
popular in the 1880s and 1890s. Both Edison and his second wife
are buried behind Glenmont.
In 1962, Congress designated the Edison Laboratory National
Monument and the Edison Home National Historic Site as the
Edison National Historic Site. The Edison National Historic
Site preserves Edison's research and development laboratories,
library, papers, and artifacts, as well as his home. The site
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.
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 it unimpaired for the enjoyment of future
generations.
H.R. 2627 would re-designate the Edison National Historic
Site as the Thomas Edison National Historical Park.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 2627 was introduced by Representative Payne (D-NJ) on
June 7, 2007. On November 13, 2007, the House of
Representatives passed the bill by voice vote. A companion
measure, S. 2329, was introduced by Senator Menendez on
November 8, 2007. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a
hearing on H.R. 2627 on April 9, 2008. The Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources ordered it favorably reported on May 7,
2008.
During the 109th Congress, a similar bill, H.R. 1096, was
reported by the House Resources Committee (H. Rpt. 109-286) and
passed the House, although no further action was taken in the
Senate.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on May 7, 2008, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 2627, if amended
as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of H.R. 2627, the Committee
adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The
amendment strikes the findings, changes the map title and date
so that the bill references an updated map, and strikes an
unnecessary and redundant provision.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 contains the short title.
Section 2 sets forth the purposes of the bill.
Section 3(a) establishes the Thomas Edison National
Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System.
Subsection (b) describes the boundaries of the Thomas
Edison National Historical Park and contains a map reference.
Subsection (c) requires that the map of the Historical Park
be on file and available for public inspection in the
appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
Section 4(a) requires the Secretary of the Interior to
administer the Historical Park in accordance with this Act and
with the provisions of law generally applicable to units of the
National Park System.
Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to 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. This subsection also
authorizes the Secretary to acquire personal property
appropriate for interpretation at the Historical Park.
Subsection (c) authorizes the Secretary to enter into
cooperative agreements with interested entities and individuals
to provide for the preservation and use of the Historical Park.
Subsection (d) repeals a superseded law.
Subsection (e) states that 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''.
Section 5 authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 2627--Act Commemorating the LITE, or Lifetime Innovations of
Thomas Edison
H.R. 2627 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 legislation
would have no significant effect on the federal budget.
The proposed historical park would have the same boundaries
as the existing historic site, and the agency's authorities to
acquire land and execute cooperative agreements with local
entities and operate the unit 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. Any such
costs would be subject to the availability of appropriated
funds. Enacting H.R. 2627 would not affect revenues or direct
spending.
The legislation 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.
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out H.R. 2627. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals
and businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of H.R. 2627, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
H.R. 2627, as reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The views of the Administration were included in testimony
received by the Committee at a hearing on H.R. 2627 on April 9,
2008.
Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Acting Assistant Director,
Business Services, National Park Service, Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for
the opportunity to appear before you to present the views of
the Department of the Interior on S. 2329 and H.R. 2627, bills
to establish the Thomas Edison National Historical Park as the
successor to the Edison National Historic Site.
The Department supports enactment of these bills.
Thomas Alva Edison was a prodigious inventor who
revolutionized how the Nation communicated, harnessed and
distributed power, and translated pure technology into
commercial products. Edison National Historic Site, located in
West Orange, New Jersey, was Thomas Edison's second research
and development facility. After closing his first operation in
Menlo Park, Edison established the West Orange laboratory in
1887. The hub of Edison's manufacturing operations until his
death in 1931, the laboratory was the most productive of all in
terms of sheer quantity of inventions. In fact, more than half
of Edison's 1,093 U.S. patents were developed at this location
including his improved phonograph, the nickel-iron-alkaline
battery, and a fluoroscope used in the first x-ray operation in
America. It was here, too, that Edison established his motion
picture studio, the ``Black Maria'', in 1893.
In 1962, Congress designated the Edison Laboratory National
Monument and Edison Home National Historic Site as the Edison
National Historic Site. Glenmont, the home Edison purchased in
1886, and lived in with his second wife, Mina Miller Edison, is
located in nearby Llewellyn Park. The 29-room mansion is built
of wood, brick and stone and typifies the eclectic Queen Anne
style popular in the 1880s and 1890s. Both Edison and his
second wife are buried behind Glenmont.
S. 2329 and H.R. 2627 would redesignate the Edison National
Historic Site as the Thomas Edison National Historical Park. We
believe this redesignation to be appropriate for two main
reasons. First, the term ``National Historical Park'' generally
applies to parks that extend beyond single properties or
buildings. This unit of the National Park System includes both
the laboratory in West Orange and the separate home established
by Edison in nearby Llewellyn Park, one mile away. They are two
distinct units with different interpretive themes, resource
management issues, and operational challenges.
Second, with completion of the current rehabilitation
project at the laboratory complex, the unit's complexity will
increase and the term ``National Historic Site'' no longer
adequately reflects the nature of the various themes that will
be interpreted to serve the expected increase in visitation.
Educational and interpretive programs linking the laboratory
and the Edison home will become more sophisticated and are
better represented by the term ``National Historical Park'' to
reflect these non-contiguous parcels with a shared link to
Thomas Edison.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement and I will be
happy to answer any questions that you or members of the
Committee may have.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill, H.R. 2627, as
ordered reported.
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