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Legislation extending the Gettysburg National Military Park's boundaries to include the Lincoln Train Station passed the U.S. House of Representatives Monday night.
House Resolution 1513, introduced in April 2013 by Congressman Scott Perry, R-York County, passed by a 396-0 vote. The resolution now heads to the Senate.
Gettysburg Borough Council sold the Carlisle Street train station for $500,000 in November to the Gettysburg Foundation, the National Park Service's nonprofit partner. The foundation will donate the train station to the park service once the bill is signed by President Barack Obama.
The train station, where President Abraham Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg in November 1863, will be used as a downtown information and orientation center by the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, said Katie Lawhon, park service spokesperson. It is also known as Gettysburg Railroad Station.
Perry was grateful to move the legislation along, but said a timetable for it receiving Obama's signature is unknown at this point. He said he feels confident the legislation will not be hindered in the Senate, where Senators Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., have proposed a similar bill, S. 782.
The Senate will either take up Perry's bill, make amendments to it or the House could take up the Senate's bill, Perry said.
“These are certainly positive steps and we are gratified by the leadership's willingness and the committee's willingness to run this bill,” Perry said Monday over the phone. “We need to do our part to get it completely across the finish line so the final transaction can take place and it can be preserved in posterity without taxpayers paying the burden.”
Perry's legislation also expands the boundaries of the park to include 45 acres of donated land along Plum Run in Cumberland Township. The tract abuts land already owned by the park service.
While both properties involve willing transactions, Perry's legislation forbids the use of eminent domain for acquisition of either property and will not use any federal funds.
Despite its non-controversial nature, the train station legislation has been caught up in the legislative process for years. Former Rep. Todd Platts, who preceded Perry in office, was unable to complete his efforts to pass similar legislation.
Since the transaction involves a donation, Perry said some lawmakers see his bill as potentially setting a new standard for how the park service acquires lands. But he assured the exclusivity of the legislation is to accommodate the uniqueness of the Gettysburg park.
“Gettysburg is specific in the world of parks,” Perry said. “It's not like a Grand Canyon where it's a naturally occurring geographical feature. Gettysburg is historical because of what happened there. This legislation is written particularly for this transaction and only for this transaction.”
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Lincoln Train Station was built in 1859. It also served as a hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Original post: Legislation to preserve Gettysburg's Lincoln Train Station passed the U.S. House of Representatives tonight by a vote of 396-0, according to a release from Rep. Scott Perry, R-York County.
The bill would expand Gettysburg National Military Park to include the Lincoln Train Station and the southern end of the battlefield.
Updates will be posted.
House Resolution 1513, introduced in April 2013 by Congressman Scott Perry, R-York County, passed by a 396-0 vote. The resolution now heads to the Senate.
Gettysburg Borough Council sold the Carlisle Street train station for $500,000 in November to the Gettysburg Foundation, the National Park Service's nonprofit partner. The foundation will donate the train station to the park service once the bill is signed by President Barack Obama.
The train station, where President Abraham Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg in November 1863, will be used as a downtown information and orientation center by the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, said Katie Lawhon, park service spokesperson. It is also known as Gettysburg Railroad Station.
Perry was grateful to move the legislation along, but said a timetable for it receiving Obama's signature is unknown at this point. He said he feels confident the legislation will not be hindered in the Senate, where Senators Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., have proposed a similar bill, S. 782.
The Senate will either take up Perry's bill, make amendments to it or the House could take up the Senate's bill, Perry said.
“These are certainly positive steps and we are gratified by the leadership's willingness and the committee's willingness to run this bill,” Perry said Monday over the phone. “We need to do our part to get it completely across the finish line so the final transaction can take place and it can be preserved in posterity without taxpayers paying the burden.”
Perry's legislation also expands the boundaries of the park to include 45 acres of donated land along Plum Run in Cumberland Township. The tract abuts land already owned by the park service.
While both properties involve willing transactions, Perry's legislation forbids the use of eminent domain for acquisition of either property and will not use any federal funds.
Despite its non-controversial nature, the train station legislation has been caught up in the legislative process for years. Former Rep. Todd Platts, who preceded Perry in office, was unable to complete his efforts to pass similar legislation.
Since the transaction involves a donation, Perry said some lawmakers see his bill as potentially setting a new standard for how the park service acquires lands. But he assured the exclusivity of the legislation is to accommodate the uniqueness of the Gettysburg park.
“Gettysburg is specific in the world of parks,” Perry said. “It's not like a Grand Canyon where it's a naturally occurring geographical feature. Gettysburg is historical because of what happened there. This legislation is written particularly for this transaction and only for this transaction.”
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Lincoln Train Station was built in 1859. It also served as a hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Original post: Legislation to preserve Gettysburg's Lincoln Train Station passed the U.S. House of Representatives tonight by a vote of 396-0, according to a release from Rep. Scott Perry, R-York County.
The bill would expand Gettysburg National Military Park to include the Lincoln Train Station and the southern end of the battlefield.
Updates will be posted.