Harpers Ferry National Historical Parl Boundary Revision Act of 2004
HARPERS FERRY NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK BOUNDARY REVISION ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - September 13, 2004)
Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1576) to revise the boundary of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and for other purposes.
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Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1576, the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Boundary Revision Act of 2004. Harpers Ferry is at the eastern-most portion of my congressional district and borders on Virginia and Maryland and has a very historic significance in our Nation's history.
This legislation represents cooperative efforts among local civic groups and the National Park Service to preserve an additional 1,240 acres of West Virginia's historic and pristine wilderness from development.
In addition, expanding the park will help make a significant investment in the local tourist economy by attracting an estimated 25,000 additional visitors to the eastern panhandle of West Virginia each year. New visitors mean more revenues for area businesses, and that keeps the local economy moving forward.
Expanding the park represents a reasonable and necessary investment in the future of this national treasure. This portion of West Virginia is undergoing tremendous growth; and placing these additional 1,200 acres under the governance of the National Park Service will preserve this area of West Virginia from further economic development, but more historic development.
Last summer I walked the Murphy Farm, an area in the proposed expansion. I was able to see a part of America rich in Civil War and civil rights history as well as breathtaking beauty. The passage of this legislation will allow the local community, the National Park Service, and various nonprofit organizations to work together in partnership to preserve a historic part of our country's heritage, a section of America which is now West Virginia that Thomas Jefferson once remarked was "worth a trip across the Atlantic."
Madam Speaker, I can assure all of my colleagues that this legislation is worth their support, and I urge them to make a trip across Maryland to Harpers Ferry where they can visit a beautiful parcel of West Virginia, Harpers Ferry National Park.