I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4400 

To designate the Salt Pond Visitor Center at Cape Cod National Seashore 

as the ‘‘Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Salt Pond Visitor Center’’, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 19, 2012 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. NEAL, Mr. 

OLVER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. 

TSONGAS, Mr. KEATING, and Ms. PELOSI) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate the Salt Pond Visitor Center at Cape Cod 

National Seashore as the ‘‘Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Salt 

Pond Visitor Center’’, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. DESIGNATION. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Thomas Phillip (Tip) O’Neill, Jr., was born 

6 on December 9, 1912, in the Irish middle-class area 

7 of North Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Thomas 

8 Phillip O’Neill, Sr., and Rose Ann (Tolan) O’Neill. 


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1 (2) Nicknamed ‘‘Tip’’ during his childhood, 

2 O’Neill was educated in Roman Catholic schools, 

3 graduating from St. John’s High School in 1931, 

4 where he was captain of the basketball team. 

5 (3) Tip O’Neill then attended Boston College, 

6 where he ran for a Cambridge City Council seat dur7 ing his senior year—his first attempt at running for 

8 office and only electoral defeat. 

9 (4) Following his graduation from Boston Col10 lege in 1936, Tip O’Neill was elected to the Massa11 chusetts House of Representatives that same year as 

12 a New Deal Democrat whose political philosophy 

13 was shaped by his experience growing up in working14 class Boston and his strong Catholic faith, which led 

15 him to view government as a means for helping the 

16 disadvantaged in society. 

17 (5) In 1949, Tip O’Neill became the first 

18 Democratic Speaker in the history of the Massachu19 setts State Legislature, serving as Speaker until 

20 1952, when he ran successfully for the United States 

21 House of Representatives to fill the seat vacated by 

22 Senator-elect John F. Kennedy. 

23 (6) In 1958, inspired by the establishment of 

24 the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, a seashore 

25 park in North Carolina, Representative Tip O’Neill, 


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1 along with his close friend and colleague Representa2 tive Edward Boland, introduced legislation to protect 

3 lands on Cape Cod as a national seashore. 

4 (7) In describing this area on Cape Cod, Henry 

5 David Thoreau had written that ‘‘A man may stand 

6 there and put all America behind him’’, as the pris7 tine sandy beach, marshes, ponds, and uplands sup8 porting diverse species represent a unique, cherished 

9 jewel of nature. 

10 (8) The legislation established a 40-mile na11 tional park along Cape Cod’s outer beach, from 

12 Chatham through Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, 

13 Truro, and Provincetown that includes lighthouses, 

14 cultural landscapes, and wild cranberry bogs that 

15 offer a glimpse of Cape Cod’s past and continuing 

16 ways of life. 

17 (9) After introduction of the legislation during 

18 the 85th Congress, Tip O’Neill continued to advo19 cate strongly for establishment of the Cape Cod Na20 tional Seashore, co-sponsoring bills in the 86th and 

21 87th Congresses, testifying at hearings and working 

22 to advance the legislation through Congress. 

23 (10) The legislation was intended to preserve 

24 one of the great natural marvels of the United 

25 States, with its unbroken beach and moors, marshes, 


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1 forests, and freshwater ponds that are home to 

2 many species of birds, fish, animals, and plants. 

3 (11) On August 7, 1961, President Kennedy 

4 signed into law the legislation authorizing the Cape 

5 Cod National Seashore as Public Law 87–126. 

6 (12) In 1966, the Cape Cod National Seashore 

7 was formally established, and Representative O’Neill 

8 attended the May 30, 1966, ceremony inaugurating 

9 the Salt Pond Visitor Center. 

10 (13) The Cape Cod National Seashore has be11 come a national treasure, with millions of Americans 

12 and visitors from around the world enjoying its 

13 beauty and remarkable biodiversity. 

14 (14) Tip O’Neill and his family maintained a 

15 home on Cape Cod in Harwich Port, and he was a 

16 frequent visitor to the National Seashore during his 

17 service in Congress and in his retirement years. 

18 (15) While in Congress, Tip O’Neill rose quick19 ly through the leadership ranks due to his extraor20 dinary political skills, mastery of the legislative proc21 ess and sharp wit, serving first as Majority Whip in 

22 the House beginning in 1971 and then in 1973 as 

23 House Majority Leader. 

24 (16) One of O’Neill’s greatest accomplishments 

25 as Speaker was the crafting of a peace accord beVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:21 Apr 23, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4400.IH H4400

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1 tween warring factions in Northern Ireland, during 

2 which he worked with fellow Irish-American politi3 cians including Senator Edward M. Kennedy to de4 velop the ‘‘St. Patrick’s Day declaration’’ denounc5 ing violence in Northern Ireland and culminating 

6 with the Irish aid package upon the signing of the 

7 Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985. 

8 (17) On January 3, 1987, Tip O’Neill retired 

9 from Congress, having served in public life for 50 

10 years, including 34 years as a Member of Congress 

11 and 10 years as Speaker of the House, the longest 

12 continuous term of any Speaker since the first Con13 gress met in 1789. 

14 (18) Tip O’Neill’s extraordinary record of pub15 lic service and tremendous accomplishments for the 

16 nation and unmatched attention to the needs of his 

17 constituents led President George H.W. Bush in 

18 1991 to present Tip O’Neill with the Presidential 

19 Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the 

20 United States. 

21 (19) It is also altogether fitting to recognize 

22 Tip O’Neill’s support for the protection of the nat23 ural, historic, and cultural resources of the national 

24 parks of Massachusetts. 


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1 (b) DESIGNATION.—The Salt Pond Visitor Center at 

2 Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham, Massachusetts, 

3 is designated as the ‘‘Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Salt Pond 

4 Visitor Center’’. 

5 (c) REFERENCES.—Any reference to the Salt Pond 

6 Visitor Center at Cape Cod National Seashore in any law, 

7 regulation, map, document, record, or other paper of the 

8 United States shall be considered to be a reference to the 

9 ‘‘Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Salt Pond Visitor Center’’. 

10 (d) SIGNAGE.—The Secretary of the Interior may 

11 post an interpretive sign at the visitor center that— 

12 (1) includes information on Thomas P. O’Neill, 

13 Jr., and his contributions as a member of the U.S. 

14 House of Representatives; 

15 (2) includes an image of Thomas P. O’Neill, 

16 Jr.; and 

17 (3) refers to his efforts to aid in the preserva18 tion of the national seashore and other national 

19 parks in Massachusetts. 

Æ 


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