[Senate Report 111-141]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 291
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-141
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LONGFELLOW HOUSE--WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
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March 2, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1405]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1405) to redesignate the Longfellow
National Historic Site, Massachusetts, as the ``Longfellow
House--Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site'',
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 1405 is to redesignate the Longfellow
National Historic Site in Massachusetts as the Longfellow
House--Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Longfellow National Historic Site located in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, preserves and tells the story of famed American
poet and writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow and his
wife Frances Appleton were given the home as a wedding gift and
Longfellow lived there from 1843 until his death in 1882. The
structure serves as an outstanding example of New England
colonial architecture and it, the grounds, and the furnishings
are all well preserved.
The historical site also served as George Washington's
headquarters during the siege of Boston in 1775 and 1776. The
house had been abandoned in the early stages of the war by the
owner who sympathized with the British. It was later chosen by
George Washington as his first headquarters during the
Revolutionary War. Washington and his officers moved in soon
after he assumed command of the Continental Army in July, 1775.
The house was occupied by Washington until April.
S. 1405 redesignates the national historic site as the
Longfellow House--Washington's Headquarters National Historic
Site, which will more accurately describe a significant
component of the site's history.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1405 was introduced on July 7, 2009, by Senators Kennedy
and Kerry. Senator Kirk is a cosponsor. The Subcommittee on
National Parks held a hearing on the bill on November 4, 2009.
At its business meeting on December 16, 2009, the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1405 favorably reported
without amendment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on December 16, 2009, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1405.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 contains the short title for the bill, the
``Longfellow House--Washington's Headquarters National Historic
Site Designation Act.''
Section 2 redesignates the Longfellow National Historic
Site in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the Longfellow House--
Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, and provides
that any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper,
or other record of the United States to the Longfellow National
Historic Site shall be considered to be a reference to the
Longfellow House--Washington's Headquarters National Historic
Site.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 1405--Longfellow House--Washington's Headquarters National Historic
Site Designation Act
S. 1405 would rename the Longfellow National Historic Site,
located in Massachusetts, the Longfellow House--Washington's
Headquarters National Historic Site. CBO estimates that
implementing the name change would have no significant effect
on the federal budget. Enacting S. 1405 would not affect direct
spending or revenues.
The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 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 S. 1405.
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 S. 1405, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 1405, 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 testimony provided by the National Park Service at the
November 4, 2009, Subcommittee hearing on S. 1405 follows:
Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Assistant Director, Business
Services, National Park Service, Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to provide the
Department of the Interior's views on S. 1405 to redesignate
the Longfellow National Historic Site in Massachusetts as the
Longfellow House-Washington Headquarters National Historic
Site.
The Department supports enactment of this legislation.
On June 16, 1775, George Washington accepted the
appointment of the Continental Congress as commander of the
yet-to-be-formed Continental Army. He immediately journeyed
north to take command of New England militia troops on July 3,
1775, and conduct a siege of British-held Boston,
Massachusetts. A house, abandoned by Loyalist John Vassall, on
Brattle Street in Cambridge became his headquarters for nine
months during the conflict. Vassall had been forced to flee the
house shortly after the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Washington's wife Martha, along with other family members and
servants from Virginia, joined him there for four of those
months.
From a ground floor office in the house, Washington
struggled with the numerous problems of his new command. Among
these were defending the region against the well-trained
British troops occupying Boston, bringing discipline to the
untrained militia, and supplying his army with arms and the
accoutrements of war. It was here, too, that he gave command to
Benedict Arnold of a small force to attack Quebec over the
mountains of Maine and confronted Dr. Benjamin Church, a
patriot leader, with evidence that he was a British spy. From
Cambridge, Washington provided for the development of a network
of spies in Boston to report on British plans and movements. He
also approved the arming and use of vessels to confront British
supply ships.
The siege proved to be successful and the British withdrew
from Boston without the destruction of lives and property that
a major battle would have caused. For his efforts, Washington
received a medal from Congress and an honorary degree from
Harvard.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his wife Fanny received the
house on Brattle Street as a wedding gift from his wife's
father in 1843. Both expressed pride in owning the house that
had been Washington's headquarters. Fanny Longfellow wrote:
``. . . we are full of plans and projects with no
desire, however, to change a feature of the old
countenance which Washington has rendered sacred.''
Longfellow relished conducting tours of the house when
tourists would inquire about the period when it was
Washington's headquarters. The Longfellows also collected
Washington memorabilia, which are prominent among the
furnishings they left and which are preserved today at the
national historic site.
Public Law 92-475, which authorized the establishment of
the national historic site in 1972, recognized the role that
the house played as the headquarters of General George
Washington during the siege of Boston between 1775 and 1776.
Redesignation of the national historic site will better enable
visitors to identify the importance of the full history of the
resource and appreciate Longfellow's veneration of George
Washington.
The appropriateness of redesignating the name of the
national historic site was perhaps best expressed by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, himself, from the same ground floor
office used by Washington. In 1845, in his poem entitled ``To a
Child'', he wrote this passage:
Once, ah, once, within these walls,
One whom memory oft recalls,
The Father of his Country, dwelt.
And yonder meadows broad and damp
The fires of the besieging camp
Encircled with a burning belt.
Up and down these echoing stairs,
Heavy with the weight of cares,
Sounded his majestic tread;
Yes, within this very room
Sat he in those hours of gloom,
Weary both in heart and head.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my testimony. I would be
pleased to answer any questions you or members of the committee
may have regarding the proposed redesignation.
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 S. 1405, as
ordered reported.