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H.R. 1208, TO ESTABLISH THE 

MANHATTAN PROJECT NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK IN 

OAK RIDGE, TN, LOS ALAMOS, 

NM, AND HANFORD, WA

LEGISLATIVE HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS

AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

Friday, April 12, 2013

Serial No. 113–10

Printed for the use of the Committee on Natural Resources

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov 

or 

Committee address: http://naturalresources.house.gov 

(II)

COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES

DOC HASTINGS, WA, Chairman 

EDWARD J. MARKEY, MA, Ranking Democratic Member

Don Young, AK 

Louie Gohmert, TX 

Rob Bishop, UT 

Doug Lamborn, CO 

Robert J. Wittman, VA 

Paul C. Broun, GA 

John Fleming, LA 

Tom McClintock, CA 

Glenn Thompson, PA 

Cynthia M. Lummis, WY 

Dan Benishek, MI 

Jeff Duncan, SC 

Scott R. Tipton, CO 

Paul A. Gosar, AZ 

Rau ́l R. Labrador, ID 

Steve Southerland, II, FL 

Bill Flores, TX 

Jon Runyan, NJ 

Mark E. Amodei, NV 

Markwayne Mullin, OK 

Chris Stewart, UT 

Steve Daines, MT 

Kevin Cramer, ND 

Doug LaMalfa, CA 

Vacancy 

Peter A. DeFazio, OR 

Eni F. H. Faleomavaega, AS 

Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ 

Grace F. Napolitano, CA 

Rush Holt, NJ 

Rau ́l M. Grijalva, AZ 

Madeleine Z. Bordallo, GU 

Jim Costa, CA 

Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, CNMI 

Niki Tsongas, MA 

Pedro R. Pierluisi, PR 

Colleen W. Hanabusa, HI 

Tony Ca ́ rdenas, CA 

Steven A. Horsford, NV 

Jared Huffman, CA 

Raul Ruiz, CA 

Carol Shea-Porter, NH 

Alan S. Lowenthal, CA 

Joe Garcia, FL 

Matt Cartwright, PA

Todd Young, Chief of Staff 

Lisa Pittman, Chief Legislative Counsel 

Jeffrey Duncan, Democratic Staff Director 

David Watkins, Democratic Chief Counsel 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION 

ROB BISHOP, UT, Chairman 

RAU ́ L M. GRIJALVA, AZ, Ranking Democratic Member

Don Young, AK 

Louie Gohmert, TX 

Doug Lamborn, CO 

Paul C. Broun, GA 

Tom McClintock, CA 

Cynthia M. Lummis, WY 

Scott R. Tipton, CO 

Rau ́l Labrador, ID 

Mark E. Amodei, NV 

Chris Stewart, UT 

Steve Daines, MT 

Kevin Cramer, ND 

Doug LaMalfa, CA 

Doc Hastings, WA, ex officio 

Peter A. DeFazio, OR 

Niki Tsongas, MA 

Rush Holt, NJ 

Madeleine Z. Bordallo, GU 

Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, CNMI 

Pedro R. Pierluisi, PR 

Colleen W. Hanabusa, HI 

Steven A. Horsford, NV 

Carol Shea-Porter, NH 

Joe Garcia, FL 

Matt Cartwright, PA 

Edward J. Markey, MA, ex officio

(III)

CONTENTS 

Page

Hearing held on Friday, April 12, 2013 ................................................................. 1

Statement of Members: 

Grijalva, Hon. Rau ́l M., a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Arizona ...................................................................................................... 3

Hastings, Hon. Doc, a Representative in Congress from the State of 

Washington .................................................................................................... 1

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 3

Statement of Witnesses: 

Beehan, Hon. Thomas L., Mayor, City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 

Chairman, Energy Communities Alliance .................................................. 11

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 12

Berting, Fran, County Councilor, The Incorporated County of Los Alamos, 

New Mexico ................................................................................................... 15

Clarification for the record ....................................................................... 25

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 16

Fleischmann, Hon. Charles J. ‘‘Chuck’’, a Representative in Congress 

from the State of Tennessee ......................................................................... 4

Knox, Victor W., Associate Director, Park Planning, Facilities, and Public 

Lands, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior .............. 5

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 6

Young, Hon. Steve C., Mayor, City of Kennewick, Washington ................... 8

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 9

(1)

LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 1208, TO 

ESTABLISH THE MANHATTAN PROJECT 

NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK IN OAK 

RIDGE, TENNESSEE, LOS ALAMOS, NEW 

MEXICO AND HANFORD, WASHINGTON, AND 

FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

Friday, April 12, 2013

U.S. House of Representatives 

Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation 

Committee on Natural Resources 

Washington, D.C. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:01 a.m. in room 

1324, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Doc Hastings presiding. 

Members present: Representatives McClintock, Tipton, Cramer, 

LaMalfa, Grijalva, and Sablan. 

Also present: Representatives Hastings and Fleischmann. 

Mr. HASTINGS. The Subcommittee will come to order, and I’ll 

note that this is the Subcommittee that Chairman Bishop has a 

conflict. And so as Chairman of the Full Committee, I get to take 

his place, and so I’m pleased to be here. 

The Chair notes the presence of a quorum, and I would ask 

unanimous consent that Mr. Fleischmann from Tennessee, who 

used to be a member of this Committee, be allowed to sit on the 

dais and participate. 

Without objection, so ordered. And, welcome, Chuck. 

Under the rules, opening statements are limited to the Chairman 

and the Ranking Member; however, I ask unanimous consent that 

any Member that wishes, to have a statement submitted to the 

clerk prior to close of business today. I will now recognize myself 

for 5 minutes for my opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. DOC HASTINGS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF WASHINGTON 

Mr. HASTINGS. Today’s hearing is another step forward in the effort to establish a historical park to preserve the story and facilities 

of the Manhattan Project. This effort consists of many years of 

careful study and consideration, and even more years of dedicated 

advocacy by individuals and organizations in communities that are 

directly touched and were directly touched by the Manhattan 

Project. 

Last June, these years of efforts culminated in the introduction 

of a bipartisan legislation in both the House and the Senate to establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park and that 

park would be at Hanford in my State of Washington; Los Alamos 

in New Mexico, and Oak Ridge in Tennessee. As with hundreds of 

2

other bills, this legislation did not advance to become law in the 

last Congress, yet significant progress was made. 

The House and Senate held back-to-back hearings to hear testimony of support, and the bill was approved by this Committee and 

advanced to the full House for consideration. In a vote of the House 

under suspension process, it requires two-thirds majority. And, 

while we had a majority, we didn’t have the two-thirds, so the bill 

did not pass the House last year. But, we do know that the majority of the House supports this legislation, both Democrats and Republicans; and, so, the question of passage is not one of if, but 

when, and we will obviously work on that. 

As we begin this new Congress, bipartisan legislation has again 

been introduced in both the House and the Senate and the Senate 

is expected to follow today’s hearing with one of their own later on 

this month. The Representatives and Senators of both parties that 

are working together on this legislation are very committed to advancing this historical park into law. And even though we have a 

great deal of passion, that passion is exceeded by those, the volunteers, in the respective communities across the Nation. 

We are fortunate to have representatives from each of the three 

communities here today to testify on this legislation. There are 

many historical, economic and tourism development organizations 

in each of these communities that have helped lead the way in preserving this piece of our Nation’s history. They are doing a tremendous job communicating the important positive role this part can 

play in telling the story of our efforts during the Second World War 

as we move forward, and what they did with the Manhattan 

Project. 

Today’s witnesses are all elected leaders and members of the 

Energy Community Alliance, an organization of local communities 

whose towns are directly impacted by the presence of significant 

Department of Energy facilities. I am particularly grateful for the 

Alliance’s willingness to work with the Committee in arranging today’s hearing, which coincides with their annual meeting here in 

our nation’s capital. 

We are also joined by a witness from the National Park Service. 

Establishing a Manhattan Project National Historical Park is supported by the Park Service as well as Department of the Interior 

and Department of Energy. One key point that I know the witnesses will cover, that I believe is important to stress, is that the 

vast majority of the historical facilities identified for inclusion in 

this park are already owned by the Federal Government. At Hanford, in my State of Washington, every single property is federally 

owned. Department of Energy is responsible for these properties 

and is, in fact, legally responsible for spending tens of millions of 

dollars to destroy what’s on those properties. 

Rather than spend vast sums of taxpayer dollars to dismantle 

and demolish irreplaceable pieces of our Nation’s history, it is far 

wiser and cheaper to dedicate lower sums of money to preserve 

them for posterity. Clearly, the nature and location of these facilities, especially those located on secure Department of Energy sites 

presents a challenge, but this legislation facilitates coordination, 

planning and cooperation with the Department of Energy to ensure 

3

safe and secure visitor access and protection of our national security. 

So, I would like to ask unanimous consent, because this is kind 

of a repeat hearing of what we had last time, unanimous consent 

that the testimony of witnesses at last year’s hearing be part of 

this record, and without objection, so ordered. (Testimony from the 

June 28, 2012 hearing can be found at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

pkg/CHRG-112hhrg74876/pdf/CHRG-112hhrg74876.pdf.) 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Hastings follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DOC HASTINGS, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE

ON NATURAL RESOURCES

Today’s hearing is another step forward in the effort to establish a historical park 

to preserve the story and facilities of the Manhattan Project. This effort consists of 

many years of careful study and consideration, and even more years of dedicated 

advocacy by individuals and organizations in communities directly touched by the 

Manhattan Project. Last June, these years of efforts culminated in the introduction 

of bipartisan legislation in both the House and Senate to establish a Manhattan 

Project National Historical Park at Hanford, Washington, Los Alamos, New Mexico 

and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 

As with hundreds of other bills, this legislation did not advance to become law 

last Congress. Yet significant progress was made. The House and Senate held backto-back hearings to hear testimony of support, and the bill was approved by the 

House Natural Resources Committee and advanced to the full House for consideration. In a vote of the House under the suspension process, a strong majority of the 

House voted to pass the bill, though it did not receive the super-majority vote of 

two-thirds needed to send the bill to the Senate under this expedited procedure. We 

now know that a majority of the House—which includes both a majority of Republicans and Democrats—support establishment of this Historical Park and its passage is now a question of when, not if. 

As we begin this new Congress, bipartisan legislation has again been proposed in 

both the House and Senate. And the Senate is expected to follow today’s hearing 

with its own later this month. 

The Representatives and Senators of both parties that are working together on 

this legislation are very committed to advancing this historical park into law—

though even our passion for establishing the park is exceeded by that of the volunteers and local leaders in the three Manhattan Project communities and others 

across the Nation. We were fortunate to have a representative from each of the 

three communities testify at last year’s hearing, and we are fortunate to have similar representation today. There are many historical, economic and tourism development organizations in each of the communities that have helped lead the way in 

preserving this piece of our Nation’s history. They are doing a tremendous job communicating the important positive role this park can play in telling the story of efforts during the Second World War to accomplish an unprecedented, and many 

thought, impossible, industrial and scientific achievement—to construct a nuclear 

weapon and counter threats of similar development by Nazi Germany. 

Mr. HASTINGS. And with that, I recognize the distinguished 

Ranking Member for his opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. RAU ́ L GRIJALVA, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA 

Mr. GRIJALVA. Thank you very much. Chairman and witnesses, 

thank you for coming today. I hope you had a peek at the cherry 

blossoms, because after this storm today there might not be too 

many of them left for you to enjoy. 

Many of us supported the Chairman’s legislation and his efforts 

to move this legislation last Congress. It’s a good idea and the 

Chairman has worked hard on the issue for a long time. We continue to have concerns with provisions in the legislation limiting 

the park service from acquiring additional lands or facilities in the 

4

future, and that concern has been noted. And, without any further 

ado, so the witnesses can get to their testimony, let me thank you 

and thank you for coming today. And I yield back, Mr. Chair. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much for the brevity of your 

opening statement, and I would tell my good friend from Arizona 

that cherry blossoms are real blossoms in my State of Washington, 

because at the end of the day they produce cherries. 

[Laughter.] 

We have a distinguished panel here. We have Mr. Victor Knox, 

who is Associate Director of Park Planning, Facilities, and Public 

Lands of the National Park Service from the Department of the Interior. I will yield to my friend from Tennessee for the introduction 

of Tom Beehan, but we have also with us the Mayor of the City 

of Kennewick, part of the Tri-Cities in my home State. 

I have known Steve for a number of years. He said it was 30. 

I didn’t know it was that long. It could have been, but, at any rate, 

Steve has been very much an advocate and a very good representative for our three communities there as far as this Manhattan 

Project. And we also have Fran Berting, County Councilor for the 

County of Los Alamos in New Mexico and a former resident, by the 

way, of the Tri-Cities. And, Fran, thank you for reminding me of 

that. My memory now is coming back. 

At this time, I’d like to yield to my colleague from Tennessee for 

purposes of introduction. Chuck? 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. CHARLES J. ‘‘CHUCK’’ 

FLEISCHMANN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM 

THE STATE OF TENNESSEE 

Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman Hastings, Ranking Member Grijalva, distinguished 

members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to introduce Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan. Mayor Beehan 

is a constituent of mine and has joined us here today to talk about 

the importance of the Manhattan Project National Park to Oak 

Ridge and all of east Tennessee. 

I represent the Third District of Tennessee, which includes Oak 

Ridge. One cannot spend much time in my district without becoming aware of just how important the legacy of the Manhattan 

Project is to east Tennessee. From our cutting edge scientific research at Oak Ridge National Lab to critical National Security 

work at Y–12 to our important nuclear clean-up mission, so much 

of our history began with the thousands of Tennesseeans who 

worked hard every day to complete the Manhattan Project. 

The Park will provide visitors with a first-hand look at the incredible work done at Oak Ridge and pay tribute to those who work 

at Y–12, K25, and the X–10 graphite reactor. A unique time in our 

history, we accomplished incredible feats in completing the Manhattan project. 

Mayor Beehan understands the importance of the Park to our 

community. Who knows why it is so important to preserve the 

unique place that Oak Ridge holds in the history of our Nation, 

just like it’s important that we preserve legacies at Hanford and 

Los Alamos. 

5

I thank Mayor Beehan for his dedication to the Manhattan National Park and I thank him for joining us today. It is my pleasure 

to introduce Mayor Tom Beehan of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 

Mr. HASTINGS. I thank the gentleman for the introduction and 

for the panel that’s here. For those of you that are testifying in 

front of Congress the first time, I’ll tell you how the process goes. 

You have that little timer in front of you, and there’s a green light 

and a yellow light and a red light. And the way it works, first of 

all, your full statement will appear in the record that you have submitted to the Government. 

That will appear in the record. But what I’d like to do is ask you 

to keep your oral statements within the 5-minute rule. And the 

way the lights work is when the green light is on, you’re doing extremely well; but, when the green light goes off and the yellow 

light comes on, that means there’s 1 minute left. And then when 

the red light goes on, well, you just don’t want to go there. OK? 

I could, of course, but if you would keep your remarks within 

that 5 minutes, that’s what the lights are when they come on. So, 

if you could do it that way, we’ll start then, Mr. Knox, with you, 

and you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF VICTOR W. KNOX, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, 

PARK PLANNING, FACILITIES, AND PUBLIC LANDS, 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Mr. KNOX. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to be here today 

and thank you for the opportunity to present the Department of 

the Interior’s views on H.R. 1208. I’d like to submit a full statement for the record and summarize our position today here. 

The Administration supports H.R. 1208 with amendments. The 

bill would authorize establishment of Manhattan Project National 

Historical Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Los Alamos, New Mexico 

and Hanford, Washington. 

Development of the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project 

was one of the most transformative events in our Nation’s history. 

It ushered in the atomic age. It changed the role of the United 

States in the world community and set the stage for the cold war. 

This legislation would enable the National Park Service to work in 

partnership with the Department of Energy to ensure the preservation of key resources associated with the Manhattan Project and to 

increase public awareness and understanding of this consequential 

event. 

H.R. 1208 is based on the recommendations developed through 

the special resource study for the Manhattan Project sites. It was 

authorized by Congress in 2004 and transmitted to Congress in 

July 2011. The study, which was conducted by the National Park 

Service in consultation with the Department of Energy determined 

that resources at Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and Hanford met the National Park Service criteria of national significance suitability, feasibility and the need for Federal management for designation as a 

unit of the national park system. 

H.R. 1208 assigns the respective roles and responsibility of the 

National Park Service and the Department of Energy as envisioned 

in the study. Basically, the National Park Service would use its exVerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:14 Mar 18, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 X:\04PUBL~1\04AP12~1\80442.TXT MARK
6

pertise in the areas of interpretation and education to increase 

public awareness and understanding of this story, while the Department of Energy would retain full responsibility for our operations, maintenance, safe access and preservation of the historic 

Manhattan Project properties already under its jurisdiction. 

We appreciate the language in the bill specifically providing for 

amendments to a future agreement with the Department of Energy 

and a broad range of authorities for the Secretary of the Interior, 

as these provisions would give the National Park Service flexibility 

to shape the park over time and to maximize the promotion of education and interpretation related to the Park’s purpose. 

We look forward to implementing this legislation in partnership 

with the Department of Energy. While we support H.R. 1208, there 

are some areas where we would like to recommend amendments. 

Among our concerns to the bill language are the bill language regarding the written consent of property owners, land acquisition 

limitations and activities outside of the park. We are continuing to 

review the bill for any technical issues and we would be happy to 

work with the Committee to develop appropriate language and will 

provide our recommendations in the near future. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased 

to answer any questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Knox follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF VICTOR W. KNOX, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, PARK PLANNING, 

FACILITIES, AND PUBLIC LANDS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the views of the Department of the Interior on H.R. 1208, a bill to establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington, and for other purposes. 

The Administration supports H.R. 1208 with amendments. The development of 

the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project was one of the most transformative 

events in our Nation’s history: it ushered in the atomic age, changed the role of the 

United States in the world community, and set the stage for the cold war. This legislation would enable the National Park Service to work in partnership with the Department of Energy to ensure the preservation of key resources associated with the 

Manhattan Project and to increase public awareness and understanding of this consequential effort. 

H.R. 1208 would require the establishment of the Manhattan Project National 

Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System within 1 year of enactment, 

during which time the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Energy would 

enter into an agreement on the respective roles of the two departments. The unit 

would consist of facilities and areas located in Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, and Hanford, 

as identified in the bill and determined by the Secretary of the Interior in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, except for the B Reactor National Historic Landmark in Hanford, which would be required to be included in the park. The National 

Historical Park would be established by the Secretary of the Interior by publication 

of a Federal Register notice within 30 days after the agreement is made between 

the two secretaries. 

The bill would also provide authority for the Secretary of the Interior to enter into 

agreements with other Federal agencies to provide public access to, and management, interpretation, and historic preservation of, historically significant resources 

associated with the Manhattan Project; to provide technical assistance for Manhattan Project resources not included within the park; and to enter into cooperative 

agreements and accept donations related to park purposes. Additionally, it would 

allow the Secretary of the Interior to accept donations or enter into agreements to 

provide visitor services and administrative facilities within reasonable proximity to 

the park. The Secretary of Energy would be authorized to accept donations to help 

preserve and provide access to Manhattan Project resources. 

7

H.R. 1208 is based on the recommendations developed through the special resource study for the Manhattan Project Sites that was authorized by Congress in 

2004 and transmitted to Congress in July 2011. The study, which was conducted 

by the National Park Service in consultation with the Department of Energy, determined that resources at Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, and Hanford, met the National 

Park Service’s criteria of national significance, suitability, feasibility, and the need 

for Federal management for designation as a unit of the National Park System. 

H.R. 1208 assigns the respective roles and responsibilities of the National Park 

Service and the Department of Energy as envisioned in the study; the National Park 

Service would use its expertise in the areas of interpretation and education to increase public awareness and understanding of the story, while the Department of 

Energy would retain full responsibility for operations, maintenance, safe access, and 

preservation of historic Manhattan Project properties already under its jurisdiction 

along with full responsibility for any environmental remediation that is deemed necessary related to the properties to ensure public safety. 

Because the Department of Energy would maintain and operate, as they do currently, the primary facilities associated with the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, the study estimated that the National Park Service’s annual operation 

and maintenance costs for the three sites together would range from $2.45 million 

to $4 million. It also estimated that completing the General Management Plan for 

the park would cost an estimated $750,000. Costs of acquiring lands or interests in 

land, or developing facilities, would be estimated during the development of the 

General Management Plan. The Department of Energy has not yet assessed fully 

the operational difficulties in terms of security and public health and safety, applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and the potential new cost of national 

park designation at the sensitive national security and cleanup sites, which would 

be addressed with the context of the General Management Plan. 

The Department anticipates that the initial agreement between the two Departments likely would be fairly limited in scope, given the bill’s 1-year timeframe for 

executing an agreement that would enable the Secretary of the Interior to establish 

the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. We appreciate the language specifically providing for amendments to the agreement and a broad range of authorities for the Secretary of the Interior, as these provisions would give the National 

Park Service the flexibility to shape the park over time and to maximize the promotion of education and interpretation related to the park’s purpose in coordination 

and consultation with the Department of Energy. 

The flexibility is particularly important because managing a park with such complex resources, in partnership with another Federal agency, at three sites across the 

country, will likely bring unanticipated challenges. Some of the resources that may 

be included in the park may be near facilities that have highly sensitive, ongoing 

national security missions including nuclear weapons production and intelligence activities. Also, some of these sites may be on the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency’s National Priorities List. If this legislation is enacted, these issues, among 

others, will be taken into consideration by the Departments in the development of 

an agreement and management plan. The National Park Service has already begun 

a partnership with the Department of Energy regarding the Manhattan Project resources through our coordinated work on the study. If this legislation is enacted, 

we look forward to building a stronger partnership that will enable us to meet the 

challenges ahead. 

While we support H.R. 1208, there are some areas where we would like to recommend amendments. Among our concerns are the bill language regarding the written consent of owners; land acquisition limitations; and activities outside of the 

park. We are continuing to review the bill for any technical issues. We would be 

happy to work with the committee to develop the appropriate language and will provide our recommendations in the near future. 

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be happy to answer any 

questions you may have. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much, Mr. Knox. By the way, you 

can’t transfer more time to another witness here. 

Mr. KNOX. Oh, I was hoping you could. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. HASTINGS. I appreciate that very much. Next, I recognize 

Mayor Steve Young from the City of Kennewick and my home 

State of Washington. 

8

Mayor Young, you are recognized. 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. STEVEN C. YOUNG, MAYOR,

CITY OF KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON 

Mr. YOUNG. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I want to thank you and the Committee members for inviting me 

to testify on House Resolution 1208, which is a bill to establish the 

Manhattan Project National Historic Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and, of course, Hanford, Washington. But I would also like to thank Chairman Doc Hastings and 

Representatives Ben Ray Luja ́n and Chuck Fleischmann for cosponsoring this bill. 

My name is Steve Young. I am the Mayor of the City of 

Kennewick, Washington. I am also Chairman of the Hanford communities and Secretary to the Energy Communities Alliance, and 

I am here speaking in favor of H.R. 1208 on behalf of the Tri-Cities 

community of Washington State as well as in support of community 

organizations in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Los Alamos, New Mexico. All three of our communities have passed resolutions supporting the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. And, since 

its inception we have been united in our support of this bill. 

It is easy for those of us who live in the communities of Oak 

Ridge, Los Alamos and Tri-Cities to say that the Manhattan 

Project changed the world; but, on August 13, 1942, the Manhattan 

Project was established under the command of Col. Leslie Groves. 

Three years and 1 day later, August 14, 1945, the war was done. 

Between those dates, more than 100,000 men and women were 

brought to these three sites from all over the world. A majority of 

these young men and women had no idea what they were building. 

At Hanford, more than 2,000 residents, mostly farmers, were given 

just days to weeks to move off their land. This included moving, 

getting rid of thousands of animals, all the farm equipment, and, 

most importantly, closing schools and moving families lock, stock 

and barrel. 

Once land was acquired by the Government, workers had to be 

found, engineers, physicists, chemists, carpenters, et cetera. Then, 

these same individuals first had to build their own town dormitories, mess halls, water, sewer rows, infrastructure of all kinds. 

This had to be done before they could even start construction on 

the reactors, nuclear fuel manufacturing and final chemical separation. At Hanford, the construction camp quickly became the third 

largest city in the State of Washington with 50,000 construction 

workers. 

Hanford construction stretched the imagination, housing the 

50,000 men and women, 386 miles of highway, 780,000 yards of 

concrete, and 158 miles of new railroad track. All of this was done 

without the aid of computers. These were the days of slide rules 

and handcrafted blueprints, and yes, I remember those. Equipment, electronics and piping could not be bought off the shelf, and 

for the most part everything used had to be fabricated on the Hanford site. The B reactor, itself, the world’s, first, full-scale nuclear 

reactor was built in just 11 months, start to finish. 

The design was based on the success of Enrico Fermi’s Chicago 

Pile 1 and a pilot plant, the X–10 graphite reactor, located in Oak 

9

Ridge Tennessee. B Reactor was designed to produce 250 million 

watts, a million times more powerful than Chicago Pile 1, which 

produced the first ever sustained nuclear fission chain reaction 

under the bleachers at the University of Chicago Staff Field in December of 1942. 

Most importantly, the workers brought in to these three sites 

were among the most talented in the respective fields, whether it 

was physics or whether it was in pipe fitting. While we recognize 

the names of Enrico Fermi and Robert Oppenheimer, and Hans 

Bethe, we also need to give recognition to the many individual 

workers, most of whom stayed on the job and in these communities 

long after 1945. These are the engineering feats and accomplishments that must be told to future generations and it needs to be 

told before all of those old-timers are gone. As these three sites, 

and Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and Hanford are being cleaned up and 

many buildings are demolished and removed, the history of the scientific and engineering achievement at the birth of the atomic age 

must be preserved. 

Mr. Chairman, there is much more to my testimony, but my 

clock is running out. Do you have a copy of this? I hate this light, 

by the way. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Young follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE STEVE C. YOUNG, MAYOR, CITY OF KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: 

I thank you for inviting me to testify on H.R. 1208, a bill to establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Los Alamos, New 

Mexico, and Hanford Washington. I also would like to thank Chairman Doc 

Hastings, Representatives Ben Ray Luja ́n, and Chuck Fleischmann for co-sponsoring this bill. 

I am Steve Young, Mayor of the City of Kennewick, Washington, speaking in favor 

of H.R. 5987 on behalf of the Tri-Cities Community in Washington State, and in 

support of community organizations in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Los Alamos, New 

Mexico. All three of our communities have passed resolutions supporting the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, and we have been united in our support 

of this bill. 

Support for H.R. 5987

It is easy for those of us who live in the communities of Oak Ridge, Los Alamos 

and the Tri-Cities to say that the Manhattan Project changed the world. 

On August 13, 1942 the Manhattan Project was established under the command 

of Colonel Leslie R. Groves. Three years and 1 day later, August 14, 1945, the War 

was done! 

In between those dates, more than 100,000 men and women were brought to these 

three sites from all over the world. The majority of these young men and women 

had no idea what they were building. 

At Hanford more than 2,000 residents—mostly farmers—were given just days to 

weeks, to move off their land. This included moving, getting rid of thousands of animals, all the farm equipment and most importantly closing schools and moving families—lock-stock-and barrel! 

Once the land was acquired by the Government, the workers had to be found—

engineers, physicists, chemists, carpenters, electricians, iron workers, cement masons and a multitude of office workers, cooks, guards, and truck drivers. Then these 

same individuals first had to build their own town with dormitories, mess halls, 

water, sewer, roads and railroads. This had to be done BEFORE they could start 

construction on reactors, nuclear fuel manufacturing and chemical separations. At 

Hanford the construction camp quickly became the third largest town in the State 

of Washington, with 50,000 construction workers. 

Hanford construction stretched the imagination. Housing for 50,000 men and 

women; 386 miles of highway (including Washington State’s first four-lane highway); 780,000 yards of concrete, and 158 miles of railroad track. 

10

All of this was done without the aid of computers! These were the days of sliderules and hand-crafted blueprints! 

Equipment, electronics and piping could not be bought off-the shelf. For the most 

part everything had to be fabricated on the Hanford site. 

B Reactor itself, the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactor, was built in just 11 

months start-to-finish. The design was based on the success of Enrico Fermi’s ‘‘Chicago Pile 1;’’ and a pilot plant, the X–10 graphite reactor located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. B Reactor was designed to produce 250 million watts; a million times more 

powerful than Chicago Pile 1, which produced the first ever sustained nuclear fission chain reaction under the bleachers at the University of Chicago’s Staff Field 

in December of 1942. 

Most of the workers brought in to these three sites were among the most talented 

in their respective fields; whether it was physics, or pipefitting. While we recognize 

the names of Enrico Fermi, J. Robert Oppenheimer and Hans Bethe; we also need 

to give recognition to individual workers, many of whom stayed on the job and in 

these communities after 1945. 

These are engineering feats and accomplishments that must be told to future generations! And, it needs to be told before all of the ‘‘old-timers’’ are gone. 

As these three sites in Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and Hanford are being cleaned up, 

and many buildings are demolished and removed; the history of scientific and engineering achievement at the birth of the Atomic Age must be preserved. 

The National Park Service, as it does with all of its sites, interprets the sites, and 

attempts to address ALL viewpoints to give a full and fair picture. We support such 

actions. This will not be a park that gives just a nuclear weapons viewpoint. We 

believe it is more about the thousands of men and women who built buildings, 

equipment and processes that became a turning point in the history of the United 

States. The science of the Manhattan Project has transformed contemporary society 

with significant contributions in fields such as nuclear medicine, industrial isotopes, 

and nanotechnology. This historic park will tell all sides of the story of what occurred at Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and the Hanford/Tri-Cities area, as was identified 

in the National Park Service Special Resource Study released last year. 

Our three communities have collectively worked toward this legislation for more 

than 3 years. Within the Tri-Cities an ad-hoc group of TRIDEC, the Visitor & Convention Bureau, B Reactor Museum Association and Hanford Communities led the 

charge. In this process, we not only partnered with each other, but we also worked 

closely with the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, the Energy 

Communities Alliance, the Atomic Heritage Foundation, the National Parks Conservation Association, State Historical Preservation Officers, and the National Trust 

for Historic Preservation. 

There is no question in our minds of the importance of creating this new national 

park, nor of the public interest to view these former ‘‘secret’’ sites. 

At Hanford, DOE hosted 8,000 visitors to B Reactor last year. These visitors came 

from all 50 States, and from 48 foreign countries. These numbers were the result 

of only ONE announcement by DOE that 8,000 seats to B Reactor would be open 

to the public last summer. The tours filled in less than 5 hours. Last year DOE increased the number of seats to 10,000. Unlike the National Park Service, DOE (except for one single public announcement) does not advertise its tours. 

These visitor numbers also clearly demonstrate that designating these three sites 

as the Manhattan Project National Historical Park will create jobs and provide an 

economic development benefit for all three communities. Such designation will come 

at a time when all three sites are seeing downturns in Federal employment as these 

sites are being cleaned up. Cleaning up these sites, and opening them to public 

viewing is of major importance to three communities that have been supporting national missions since 1943. 

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park at Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and 

Hanford is critical to the preservation of one of our Nation’s most historic events 

of the 20th Century. 

Our Tri-Cities community encourages you to move forward with this legislation. 

We have unanimity with our sister communities in Oak Ridge and Los Alamos that 

the Park should be established in the near term in order to honor our Manhattan 

Project and Cold War veterans. 

We urge Congress to pass this National Park legislation. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Well, I thank the gentleman. As I said, your full 

statement will appear in the record, and thank you very much for 

your testimony. 

11

Next, we go over to Mayor Beehan from the City of Oak Ridge 

Tennessee. Mayor? 

STATEMENT OF THE HON. THOMAS L. BEEHAN, MAYOR,

CITY OF OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE, CHAIRMAN, ENERGY COMMUNITIES ALLIANCE 

Mr. BEEHAN. Chairman Hastings and members of the Committee, I want to thank you for allowing me to testify on H.R. 1208. 

I would also like to thank the co-sponsors of this bill, yourself, 

Chairman Hastings, Rep. Fleischmann and Rep. Ben Ray Luja ́n. 

I have provided the Committee with a copy of my written comments. I am Tom Beehan, the Mayor of Oak Ridge, Tennessee and 

I am Chairman of the Energy Community Alliance. Our members 

include local governments and other community organizations from 

Oak Ridge to Los Alamos and the Tri-Cities area. The testimony 

I will present to you today is on behalf of the City of Oak Ridge 

in conjunction with the Energy Community Alliance; but, I would 

also like to recognize many of the Energy Community Alliance 

elected officials and partners who are here today in the room and 

thank them for their support—glad they’re here. 

First and most importantly I would like to stress that our three 

communities are united in support of the passage of this bill to establish the three-unit National Historical Park in Tennessee, New 

Mexico and Washington. There is also bipartisan support for this 

bill in the House and the Senate, and our communities have been 

working for many years to preserve the history of the Manhattan 

Project at our sites, and we feel that now is the time to pass a bill 

that will lead to the establishment of a national historical park. It 

is easy for those of us who lived there in these communities to support the Manhattan Project before it changed the world. It began 

in great secrecy in 1942 and the original mission was established 

and completed in August of 1947—I’m sorry—August of 1945 when 

the Japanese surrendered. 

The Manhattan Project is an incredible story and deserves to be 

preserved and told. Let me be clear, however, and the interpretation of these sites will be about giving current and future generations an understanding of this indisputable turning point in American and indeed world history. Despite what some detractors may 

claim, this is not a park about weapons. I believe this is a historical park about scientific, energy and engineering accomplishments 

at a time when our country was defending itself, both during World 

War II and the cold war. This historic park will tell all sides of the 

story at what occurred at Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and the Tri-Cities, and it has been identified in a National Park Service Special 

Resource Study. 

The National Park Service interprets all sites and attempts to 

address all viewpoints to give a full and fair picture, and we support these actions. According to the National Park Study, cultural 

resources associated with the Manhattan Project are not currently 

represented in the National Park System and comparably managed 

areas are not protected. Further, including the Manhattan related 

sites in the National Park System will provide for comprehensive 

interpretation and public understanding of this nationally significant story. 

12

Last year, the ECA sponsored a trip to the Hanford site. Our 

group toured the B Reactor in the world’s first scale production nuclear reactor. When visiting the B Reactor, one really gets an appreciation for the potential of the site to attract thousands of visitors a year. Already, a few public tours are available for the B Reactor, and they fill up almost immediately. In Oak Ridge we also 

have assets that are open to visitors who want to get a glimpse of 

what life was like behind the gate. 

In 2011 around 8,000 people visited the graphic reactor at 

ORNL, and close to 5,000 people came through the Y–12 New Hope 

Center. Additional special tours are held each year during the secret city festival, which attracts between 20,000 to 30,000 people. 

The historic, Alexander and key community asset is being restored 

in the original town site of Oak Ridge. In Los Alamos, the industrial laboratory work, such as the Gun Site and the Little Boy are 

also there and can be visited. 

Time is running out, so I am going to jump. The Manhattan 

Project National Park is needed to preserve the history of the most 

significant event in the 20th century. As you proceed, we ask you 

to consider the following recommendations. Establish the park to 

honor our veterans who are still with us; protect the ongoing mission of DOE; authorize user entrance fees; donation authority 

should be broad. All inclusion of Nationally significant sites: We 

need to be flexible to permit the National Park Service to work 

with our communities to be able to add sites that are nationally 

significant and suitable for inclusion in the Park. 

Thank you for allowing me to testify. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Beehan follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE THOMAS L. BEEHAN, MAYOR, CITY OF

OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE, CHAIRMAN, ENERGY COMMUNITIES ALLIANCE

Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Grijalva and members of the Committee, I 

thank you for inviting me to testify on H.R. 1208, a bill To Establish the Manhattan 

Project National Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington, and for other purposes. I would also like to thank the co-sponsors 

of this bill: Representative Doc Hastings, Representative Chuck Fleischmann and 

Representative Ben Ray Luja ́n. I am Tom Beehan, the Mayor of the City of Oak 

Ridge, Tennessee and the Chairman of the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA), the 

association of local governments that are adjacent to, impacted by, or support Department of Energy (DOE) activities. Our members include local governments and 

other community organizations from the Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and the Tri-Cities 

(Hanford) areas, and all three communities have passed resolutions supporting the 

Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The testimony I will present to you 

today is on behalf of the City of Oak Ridge in conjunction with the Energy Communities Alliance. 

The City of Oak Ridge and the Energy Communities Alliance Support the 

Bill To Establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in 

Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and Hanford

First, and most importantly, I would like to stress that all three of our communities are united in our support for the passage of this bill to establish a 3-unit National Historical Park in Tennessee, New Mexico and Washington. There is also bipartisan support for this bill from the Senators and Members of Congress from all 

three of our States. Our communities have been working for many years to preserve 

the history of the Manhattan Project at our sites, and we feel that now is the time 

to pass a bill that will lead to the establishment of a National Historical Park. In 

addition, there is support for both bills among the State and local elected officials, 

historic preservation organizations, National Park Service officials, Department of 

Energy officials, business leaders, environmental cleanup advocates, chambers of 

commerce, museum officials, librarians and many others. 

13

Among the biggest advocates of the National Historical Park are the people who 

worked at the three sites during World War II. It is important to remember that 

no one in our country knew what the workers were building at the sites—they were 

truly ‘‘Secret Cities.’’ Most of the young men and women working in these communities did not even know what the project was. These were among the nation’s best 

and brightest citizens from all walks of life. 

National Historical Parks are developed to ensure that we preserve our country’s 

assets and open them to the public to learn about our Nation’s history. We should 

work to open this park while some of the Manhattan Project Veterans are still alive 

and able to see their work recognized by our Nation. These people played a valuable 

role in ending World War II and defending not only the United States but also democracies throughout the world. They are every bit as important to telling the story 

of the Manhattan Project as are our buildings and equipment. These true heroes, 

who dedicated their wartime service to the Manhattan Project, appreciate the legislation developed by your committee. 

The Important History of the Manhattan Project Sites Must Be Preserved

As an expert panel of historians reported in 2001, the top-secret Manhattan 

Project program during World War II, centered in Los Alamos, NM, Oak Ridge, TN, 

and Hanford, WA, has been called ‘‘the single most significant event of the 20th century.’’ Operating from December 1942 until September 1945, the Manhattan Project 

was a $2.2 billion effort that employed 130,000 workers at its peak, but was kept 

secret and out of public view. 

It is easy for those of us who live in the communities of Oak Ridge, Los Alamos 

and the Tri-Cities to say that the Manhattan Project changed the world. The Manhattan Project began in great secrecy in 1942, and the original mission was essentially completed by August of 1945 when the Japanese surrendered. The engineering 

and construction feats of the more than 100,000 men and women who were brought 

to these three sites from all over the world to build and operate first-of-a-kind nuclear plants, is an incredible story that deserves to be preserved and told. 

On August 13, 1942 at the direction of FDR, the Manhattan Engineer District was 

established under the command of Colonel Leslie R. Groves. By September of 1942 

Groves selected Oak Ridge, Tennessee as the site for uranium isotope separation. 

In November 1942 Los Alamos was chosen as the laboratory to build the integral 

parts, under the direction of J. Robert Oppenheimer. And in January 1943 Hanford 

was selected for plutonium production. In 1945, just three years after the start of 

the project, the war with Japan was over. This was an incredible wartime achievement. 

In today’s world, it is mind-boggling to think of what happened in these 3 short 

years. First, the actual land had to be acquired and existing homes and landowners 

had to be relocated. Then, workers of all types had to be recruited—engineers, 

physicists, chemists, mathematicians, as well as carpenters, electricians, iron workers, cement masons, and a multitude of office workers, cooks, guards and truck drivers. These individuals had to first build their own towns with dormitories and barracks, mess halls, utilities, roads, railroads, and even shower houses. Now almost 

70 years later, these sites are being reindustrialized, and many ancillary buildings 

have been demolished and removed. The history of these human scientific and engineering achievements at the birth of the Atomic Age must be interpreted and preserved. 

Let me be clear, interpretation at these sites will be about giving current and future generations an understanding of this indisputable turning point in American, 

and indeed world history. Despite what some detractors may claim, this is not a 

park about weapons. I believe this Historical Park is about the feats of scientific 

and engineering accomplishments developed at a time when our country was defending itself, both during World War II and the cold war. The construction and operation of the first generation reactors in total secrecy was an astounding development. Now, the science of the Manhattan Project has transformed contemporary society with significant contributions in fields such as nuclear medicine and 

nanotechnology. This Historical Park will tell all sides of the story of what occurred 

at Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and the Tri-cities, as has been identified in the National 

Park Service Special Resource Study released in 2011. The National Park Service 

interprets all sites and attempts to address all viewpoints to give a full and fair picture, and we support such actions. Most importantly, the Park will tell one of the 

most important stories of how Americans from all walks of life came together, 

formed a community, and dedicated themselves to protecting all that we hold dear 

in this country. 

14

Background of Legislation

The National Park Service, at the direction of Congress, conducted a special resource study on several Manhattan Project sites for possible inclusion in the National Park System. The study recommends that the best way to preserve and interpret the Manhattan Project is for Congress to establish a national historical park 

at the three sites where a majority of the key scientific activity associated with the 

project occurred: Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and Hanford. The study acknowledged the 

significant Department of Energy investment in preservation of its assets, which 

played a role in the Park Service recommendation to proceed with a park designation. The DOE support provides the foundation for National Park Service interpretation of these assets for the public to see. 

According to the National Park Service study, ‘‘Cultural resources associated with 

the Manhattan Project are not currently represented in the national park system, 

and comparably managed areas are not protected . . . the comprehensive story of 

the nationally significant Manhattan Project is not told anywhere . . . Including 

Manhattan Project-related sites in the national park system will provide for comprehensive interpretation and public understanding of this nationally significant 

story in 20th century American history.’’

Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, the Tri-Cities Communities Are Committed To 

Working Together To Establish a National Historical Park

Since the Department of Interior’s final study and recommendation was announced in July 2011, our State, city and county officials, business leaders, historical societies and groups, various community groups and individuals in our communities and throughout the country have been working diligently with you and your 

staffs to support this legislative process; and we come here to support the legislation 

introduced in both the Senate and the House. 

Many of us participated in Energy Communities Alliance ‘‘Peer Exchange’’ meetings in Richland, Washington and in Los Alamos, New Mexico to discuss many of 

the issues surrounding the establishment of a National Historical Park at our sites. 

Our organization plans to visit Oak Ridge, Tennessee this year to discuss the topic 

further. At these meetings, all the participants stressed the need to work together 

to get this park established. The three communities have not only partnered together to work on this important initiative, but we have also worked with DOE, the 

Department of the Interior, State Historical Preservation Officers, The National 

Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Parks Conservation Association, the 

Atomic Heritage Foundation and many others to support the establishment of a National Park Unit at ours sites. 

While in Richland, our group toured the B Reactor, the incredible engineering accomplishment that is the world’s first full scale production nuclear reactor. The B 

Reactor was built in just 11 months. The design was based on the success of Enrico 

Fermi’s ‘‘Chicago Pile 1’’ and a pilot plant, the X–10 Graphite Reactor, located at 

what is now the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This tour provided the potential 

experience that a visitor to a National Park would have when visiting the site, and 

the National Park Service has not even started their interpretative work. When visiting the B Reactor, one really gets an appreciation for the potential of the site to 

attract thousands of visitors a year. Already the few public tours that are available 

for the B Reactor fill up almost as soon as they become available. Last year, more 

than 8,000 seats were filled in less than 5 hours. This year more than 10,000 people 

will go on the tour. The B Reactor has had visitors from all 50 States and 48 countries. 

Oak Ridge has many assets that are open to visitors and community members 

who want to learn more and get a glimpse of what life was like ‘‘behind the gate’’. 

The Department of Energy Facilities Public Bus Tours, held from June through August each summer, highlight the Graphite Reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the New Hope Center at Y–12, the DOE operated American Museum of 

Science and Energy, and portions of the City of Oak Ridge, where housing and other 

structures from the Manhattan Project era remain. In 2011, around 8,000 people 

visited the Graphite Reactor at ORNL and close to 5,000 people came through the 

Y–12 New Hope Center. Additional special tours of these facilities, along with the 

Y–12 facility are held each year during the ‘‘Secret City Festival,’’ which attracts 

between 20,000–30,000 people. These tours are one of the most popular events during the festival weekend and over 700 people recently participated in the tour in 

a single day. The historical Alexander Inn Guest House, a key community asset, is 

being restored in the original townsite of Oak Ridge. 

In Los Alamos, our group got to tour the site where the industrial work at the 

laboratory was on a smaller scale than at Oak Ridge or Hanford. Properties, such 

as the Gun Site, where the work on Little Boy was done, and at the V Site, where 

15

work on the ‘‘Gadget’’ was accomplished, allowed us to get a sense of the ‘‘can-do’’ 

spirit of the scientists and technicians who had to make do in make-shift buildings 

with some rather creative equipment. We are confident the Department of Energy 

and Department of the Interior can work out visitor access issues to these sites. At 

the same time, in the Los Alamos’ historic center, visitors can walk the same paths 

as the giants of 20th century physicists, and see the homes where J. Robert 

Oppenheimer, Hans Bethe, and other talented scientists once lived and socialized. 

Recommendations

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park is needed to preserve the history 

of the most significant event of the 20th century. As you proceed, we ask that you 

consider the following recommendations:

• Establish the Park Now to Honor Our Manhattan Project Veterans.

There is unanimity among the three communities that the Park should be established in the near term in order to honor our Manhattan Project and cold 

war veterans. 

• Protect ongoing Missions of DOE. We support legislative language that protects the ongoing missions of DOE, and recognize the need for appropriate flexibility in the partnership among the stakeholders. 

• Authorize User/Entrance Fees. Although the legislation should recognize 

DOE’s responsibility to maintain its assets, authorization for a modest entry/

user fee should be included to assist in the long term stewardship of non-DOEowned assets. 

• Donations authority should be broad. We want to ensure that the National 

Park is permitted to accept both personal property and financial donations to 

support the park and the tours of the sites. 

• Allow inclusion of Nationally Significant Sites. We need flexibility to permit the NPS to work with communities to be able to add sites that are nationally significant and suitable for inclusion in the Historical Park. 

Conclusion

In closing, we believe the proposed Historical Park will serve as a 21st century 

model for the National Park Service, or as the National Park Service study calls 

it ‘‘A new innovative Manhattan Project National Historical Park,’’ one that is based 

on Federal, State and community partnerships. We look forward to working with 

you, and urge that this Congress pass this National Park legislation. The City of 

Oak Ridge supports this important legislation H.R. 1208. We thank you and the full 

committee for your leadership and support. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Mayor Beehan, thank you very much for your testimony. 

And, last, and certainly not least, Fran Berting, who is the County Councilor for the County of Los Alamos in New Mexico, as I 

mentioned in my introduction of former residents of the Tri-Cities. 

STATEMENT OF FRAN BERTING, COUNTY COUNCILOR, THE 

INCORPORATED COUNTY OF LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO 

Ms. BERTING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning, 

Chairman Hastings. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Can you move that microphone a little bit closer 

to you? 

Ms. BERTING. Is that better? 

Mr. HASTINGS. That’s better. Thank you. 

Ms. BERTING. OK. Very good. 

Well, good morning, again, Chairman Hastings and Ranking 

Member Grijalva and distinguished members of the Committee. I 

would like, first of all, to thank the co-sponsors of bill H.R. 1208, 

Rep. Ben Ray Luja ́n, yourself Rep. Doc Hastings, and Rep. Chuck 

Fleischmann. 

I am Fran Berting, County Counselor for the incorporated county 

of Los Alamos, and Treasurer of the Energy Community Alliance, 

16

1The Los Alamos Historical Society is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve, 

promote, and communicate the remarkable history and inspiring stories of Los Alamos and its 

people for our community, for the global audience, and for future generations. Among its many 

activities, the Historical Society operates the Los Alamos Historical Museum and owns, in a life 

trust, the World War II home of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, scientific director of the Manhattan 

Project. As the owner of this home in the Los Alamos Historic District, the Historical Society 

is the property owner within the potential boundary of the park. Additionally, helping to establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park is one of seven planks the Historical Society’s strategic plan.

also representing ECA. I am presenting this testimony on behalf of 

the County of Los Alamos and Los Alamos Historical Society, both 

of which heartily support H.R. 1208. 

The key points of my testimony are: (1) the Manhattan Project 

was one of the most significant historical events of the 20th century, if not the most significant, considering its worldwide ramifications; (2) throughout northern New Mexico there is broad support 

to establish a national park unit in Los Alamos, our County and 

many other groups have been working cooperatively to bring about 

the legislation in the establishment of the park; (3) the park will 

have a positive economic impact on the region in addition to the 

tourism; and (4) for a park to be born, we need legislation, and legislation that allows for partnerships among Federal agencies, community groups, individuals and others. 

At its heart, the story of the Manhattan Project is an amazing 

episode of our Nation’s history and that of the world. It brought together the brightest scientists, many of them immigrants who came 

to this country seeking freedom. They face pressures to end World 

War II by creating something that had only existed in theory. The 

story of making theory, of taking theory to the instrument that 

brought the war with Japan to an end must be told. Tied together 

under the auspices of a national park, the Manhattan Project industrial sites in Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and Hanford, along with 

the places where soldiers and scientists lived and formed communities, will create a full picture of the history. 

In some we look forward to sharing our stories with the many 

visitors a national historical park will bring. These stories will benefit from the balanced interpretation provided by the National Park 

Service. We are heartened to see the Department of Energy working with the Department of the Interior and many other partners 

to make this world changing history accessible. So we thank you 

for your leadership and support, and thank you, Mr. Chair, for the 

opportunity to testify. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Berting follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF FRAN BERTING, COUNTY COUNCILOR, THE INCORPORATED

COUNTY OF LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO

Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Grijalva and Members of the Committee, I 

thank you for inviting me to testify on H.R. 1208, a bill To Establish the Manhattan 

Project National Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington, and for other purposes. I would also like to thank the co-sponsors 

of this bill: Representative Ben Ray Luja ́n, Representative Doc Hastings, and Representative Chuck Fleischmann. I am Fran Berting, and I serve as a County Councilor for the Incorporated County of Los Alamos. I will present this testimony on 

behalf of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos in conjunction with the Los Alamos 

Historical Society.1 Both the Incorporated County of Los Alamos and the Los Alamos Historical Society support H.R. 1208. 

The key points of my testimony are:

17

1. The Manhattan Project has been described as one of the most significant historical events of the 20th century and therefore the key sites at Los Alamos, Oak Ridge 

and Hanford should be preserved in a National Historical Park. 

2. Throughout northern New Mexico, there is broad support to establish a National Park unit at Los Alamos. Our County and many other groups have been 

working cooperatively to support this legislation and the establishment of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. 

3. Establishment of a National Park unit at Los Alamos will have a positive impact on the citizens and economy of northern New Mexico. 

4. For a Manhattan Project National Historical Park to be successful, we need legislation that allows for partnerships among Federal agencies, community groups, individuals and others. 

Due to Their Historical Significance, the Manhattan Project Sites Should 

Be Preserved in a National Historical Park

Historians have called the Manhattan Project the most significant undertaking of 

the 20th century. Employing hundreds of thousands at its peak, located in widely 

scattered, secret communities, the project brought an end to World War II and ushered in the atomic age. The Incorporated County of Los Alamos is pleased to support 

H.R. 1208, a bill to establish the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Los 

Alamos, New Mexico and Hanford, Washington. 

At its heart, the story of the Manhattan Project is an amazing episode of our 

great Nation’s history. It brought together the brightest scientists, many of them 

immigrants who came to this country seeking freedom. They faced pressure to end 

the world’s most horrible war by creating something that had only existed in theory. 

The Manhattan Project is a story about young people with a can-do spirit who 

brought about a great technological achievement. It is the story of unleashing a 

mysterious force of nature and of fostering fear and uncertainty about the future 

of humankind. It is a story about creativity. It is a scientific story, a soldier’s story, 

a spy story, and a human story. The story of the Manhattan Project is one that, 

from the perspectives of all who participated and all who were affected, must be 

told. 

The County and the Historical Society fully support this bill’s efforts to ‘‘enhance 

the protection and preservation of such resources and provide for comprehensive interpretation and public understanding of this nationally significant story in 20th 

century American history.’’

Tied together under the auspices of a national park, the Manhattan Project industrial sites in Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, and Hanford, along with the places where soldiers and scientists lived and formed communities, will create a full picture of the 

history. 

Some critics have said that a national park dedicated to the Manhattan Project 

will glorify the atomic bomb or create a theme park for weapons of mass destruction. We disagree. The National Park Service, of all government agencies, is the 

most trusted for telling complete stories from all sides—the good and bad, the painful and the poignant. Parks and monuments that commemorate battles or massacres do not celebrate ugly moments in American history. They teach about them; 

they help us, as a nation, to reflect and learn. The Nation needs to understand the 

Manhattan Project from all sides. 

There is Broad Support for This Bill Throughout Los Alamos County and 

Our Region

In 2007, recognizing the impact of a possible national park on our community, our 

County Council appointed an ad hoc committee to determine what such a park 

might look like in Los Alamos. The details of the committee recommendations are 

attached to this testimony as ‘‘Attachment A.’’ In summary, the committee envisioned a downtown national park visitor center where guests would learn about the 

Manhattan Project and then be sent to existing venues to learn more, a recommendation the National Park Service adopted in its final report to Congress. 

The communities called out in this legislation—Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, and Hanford—fully support this park. In 2008, the ad hoc committee held public meetings 

in Los Alamos as well as meetings with potential partners, from tour guides to the 

nearby pueblos. After some initial—and false—concern that the park service might 

take over the iconic Fuller Lodge in downtown Los Alamos as a park headquarters 

was resolved, the community came out fully in support of the park. The County 

Council passed a resolution to that effect in February 2010 (see ‘‘Attachment B’’). 

We have had several meetings with our counterparts in Hanford and Oak Ridge to 

discuss park possibilities. In short, we are excited about this park and are happy 

to assist the Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy, Los Alamos NaVerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:14 Mar 18, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 X:\04PUBL~1\04AP12~1\80442.TXT MARK
18

tional Laboratory, and others to make it happen. We believe it will be a benefit not 

only to Los Alamos but to nearby communities, as well. 

A Manhattan Project National Historical Park Unit at Los Alamos Will 

Provide Economic Benefits to Northern New Mexico

With, by the Park Services own estimate, hundreds of thousands of additional annual visitors the Manhattan Project National Historical Park will provide economic 

benefits to northern New Mexico. The region will need workers not only in tourism 

and service industries but in construction and other related industries to support 

the Park. 

As the ad hoc committee suggested, the story of the Manhattan Project isn’t just 

about world-class scientists. The story includes people from the rural communities 

and pueblos surrounding Los Alamos, mostly Native Americans and Hispanics, who 

provided the backbone of a labor force that built and maintained the laboratories 

and facilities, cleaned the houses, and drove the trucks. The Manhattan Project forever changed rustic northern New Mexico. In fact, the Manhattan Project National 

Historical Park will, once again, transform these communities, creating an economic 

driver based on heritage tourism that provides jobs, educational opportunities, and 

improved futures to traditionally under-served communities. 

Legislation Must Allow for Partnerships Among Federal Agencies, 

Communities, Historical Societies and Other Interested Organizations 

and Individuals

Finally, we appreciate with enthusiasm the statement in Section 3 of this bill that 

one purpose of the park is ‘‘to assist the Department of Energy, Historical Park communities, historical societies, and other interested organizations and individuals in 

efforts to preserve and protect the historically significant resources associated with 

the Manhattan Project.’’ Protecting these resources is something the Los Alamos 

Historical Society has been working on for nearly 50 years. Partnerships and cooperative agreements between Federal agencies, local governments, non-profit groups, 

and even private property owners will make this park happen, bringing together 

widespread resources for the benefit of our Nation as the Manhattan Project did 

years ago. 

Again, I urge you to view the recommendations from the ad hoc committee, specifically the section about partnerships. Manhattan Project resources, from museums to the laboratory and from tour guides to the famous ‘‘gatekeeper’’ office at 109 

E. Palace Avenue in Santa Fe, are dispersed and disorganized when it comes to the 

theme of Manhattan Project history. The national park will bring these resources 

together, along with those of Hanford and Oak Ridge, for visitors to understand a 

bigger picture. 

We are also especially pleased to see in the final section of the bill that both the 

Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy will be able to accept 

monetary or service donations for the park. This is particularly important to restoration work at Los Alamos National Laboratory and will assist the lab in preserving a significant historic site. One individual has been waiting in the wings for 

years to donate to the site’s restoration but has had no mechanism for giving the 

money. The park will allow this preservation project to take place. 

Conclusion

In sum, we look forward to sharing our stories with the many visitors a national 

historical park will bring in addition to sharing our resources with the National 

Park Service to assist in creation of the park. Along with many community partners 

who have worked on this project, the Incorporated County of Los Alamos in conjunction with the Los Alamos Historical Society supports the establishment of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in order to preserve and teach this important history. We have also briefed the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities and 

they support our efforts. The park has tremendous support in our community. We 

believe it will have economic benefit to northern New Mexico. We are heartened to 

see the Department of Energy willing to work with the Department of Interior and 

other partners to make this world-changing history accessible. We thank you for 

your leadership and support. 

19

ATTACHMENT A 

Recommendations to the Los Alamos County Council From the Manhattan 

Project National Historical Park (MPNHP) Ad Hoc Committee 04/02/2008

I. Purpose

In 2004, Congress approved and the President signed legislation directing the 

NPS to conduct a special resource study to determine the national significance, suitability, and feasibility of designating one or more historic sites of the Manhattan 

Project for potential inclusion in the National Park System. This park could include 

non-contiguous sites in Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Hanford, and Dayton. The NPS held 

meetings in each of the communities during the spring and summer of 2006 to gather public input. 

In August 2007, Los Alamos County Council approved the establishment of an ad 

hoc committee to help determine what the proposed non-contiguous Manhattan 

Project National Historical Park might look like in Los Alamos. This committee is 

comprised of representatives involved in historic preservation and tourism from 

throughout the community, including Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). 

After approval by Council, the committee will present its plan to NPS representatives when they come to Los Alamos for a second round of community meetings in 

2008. 

II. Committee Conduct

The committee began meeting bi-weekly in August 2007 and discussed several 

ideas, such as what ‘‘attractions’’ might be included in a national park and who locally might participate. These ideas were expanded upon and refined over time. A 

great deal of Manhattan Project history has already been preserved in our community in places such as the Los Alamos Historical Museum, the Bradbury Science 

Museum, and the Oppenheimer House. The committee members do not believe that 

the NPS needs to ‘‘reinvent the wheel.’’

In October, the committee took a special ‘‘behind the fence’’ tour of sites at LANL 

which may be included in the park, either as part of periodic tours or which may 

be open to more public access in the future. 

On Nov. 6 and 9, the committee held meetings by invitation and word of mouth 

for potential partners in the park. Approximately 15 people attended the first meeting and 10 attended the second. At both meetings, ad hoc committee members 

shared their vision for the park site (see III. below) Most of these potential partners 

were intrigued with the idea of a Manhattan Project National Historical Park within the community and looked forward to getting more information from the NPS. 

On November 13, the committee held an advertised public meeting in Fuller 

Lodge to discuss this vision for the park. Another 15 people attended and added to 

the committee’s ideas. 

Based on input from these meetings, the committee has refined its vision and proposes the following: 

III. Park Vision

A. Centralized Park Headquarters: At a central Visitor Center, which would 

include information and interpretation, a Park Ranger would greet visitors, tell 

them about the National Park and then direct them to other sites in the area where 

they would be able to see tangible historical sites and objects from the Manhattan 

Project (Ashley Pond, Lamy Train Station) as well as interpretation and information 

that is already taking place in the community (LA Historical Museum, Bradbury 

Science Museum). 

B. Tours

a. Guided and Self-Guided: These would include ranger-guided walking tours 

through the downtown historic district and other sites; driving and walking audio 

tours; as well as guided tours that would show visitors accessible areas of LANL, 

historic downtown, the old Main Gate location, and other sites. 

b. LANL: With approval and coordination of LANL and the Department of Energy 

officials, periodic ‘‘Behind the Fence Tours’’ to V-Site, Gun Site, and other restored 

Manhattan Project-era buildings, similar to the tours held at Trinity Site. 

C. Partners

Potential partners in this project are those who own, maintain or have some other 

association (such as tourist services or items) with tangible historical objects or 

buildings from the Manhattan Project—something that will enhance visitors’ experiences and increase their understanding of this time in history. The lists below are 

not all-inclusive. 

20

D. Potential Themes of Interpretation

1. People/Social History 

a. Scientists and their families 

b. Military 

i. In Los Alamos (SEDs, MPs, etc.) 

ii. In the Pacific, including POWs 

c. Local Pueblo and Hispanic populations whose lives were affected and who 

were an essential part of the project (stet) 

d. Local historical figures such as Edith Warner, Dorothy McKibbin, Evelyn 

Frey 

e. Stories of people affected by the bombings, both American and Japanese 

f. Responses to the bomb 

2. Science 

a. Bradbury Science Museum 

3. Impacts 

a. Science 

b. Northern New Mexico 

c. Military 

d. International Relations 

e. Cold War 

f. Environmental/Health 

g. Government 

i. Civilian control of nuclear resources (AEC, DOE) 

ii. The growth of government-run, multi-disciplinary science labs 

4. Growth of the town of Los Alamos 

5. What happened to people after the war? 

E. Potential Visitor Sites 

1. Local 

a. The Los Alamos Historical Museum 

b. The Bradbury Science Museum 

c. Oppenheimer House 

d. Ashley Pond 

e. Ice House Memorial 

f. Fuller Lodge 

g. Historic Walking Tour of Bathtub Row 

h. Periodic ‘‘Behind the Fence’’ Tours to V-Site, Gun Site, and other restored Manhattan-era buildings at LANL 

i. Unitarian Church (former dorm) 

j. Little Theater (former Rec Hall) 

k. Christian Science Church (former dorm) 

l. Hill Diner (WWII-era building) 

m. Main Hill Road/Main Gate area 

n. Last Sundt apartment building in Los Alamos (Dentist office on Trinity) 

o. Crossroads Bible Church (WWII-era Theater) 

2. Nearby 

a. Bandelier National Monument 

b. Pajarito Mountain Ski Area 

c. Valles Caldera 

d. Otowi Bridge 

e. Sundt apartments in Espanola on Railroad Avenue 

3. Santa Fe 

a. 109 E. Palace Ave. 

b. La Fonda 

c. Lamy Train Station 

d. Delgado Street Bridge and other spy-related sites 

4. Albuquerque 

a. Oxnard Air Field (Kirtland AFB) 

b. National Atomic Museum 

5. Future considerations 

a. Sculptures, outdoor art, and other monuments to the Manhattan Project 

era that are currently under consideration 

Mr. HASTINGS. Thank you very much, Ms. Berting. I appreciate 

your testimony and I appreciate all of your testimony. I only have 

a few questions, and I’ll recognize myself first. 

21

Mr. Knox, I mentioned in my opening statement that the bill did 

pass out of committee, but it failed under the procedural Rule getting two-thirds vote on the House. Part of that was the debate. I 

didn’t agree with that portion of the debate that was opposed to it; 

and the portion of the debate I didn’t agree with was that this legislation would glorify atomic weapons. 

Give me your thoughts on that observation. 

Mr. KNOX. Yes. The National Park Service from our perspective; 

we don’t see the purpose here at all to be glorifying nuclear weapons. It’s about an event—the Manhattan Project—that changed the 

history of the United States and of the world. And telling that 

story, and telling all sides of that story, and we do that in the National Park System at other places. 

At Manzanar Internment Camp in California we tell the story of 

the Japanese Internment in World War II. At Andersonville in 

Georgia, we talk about that POW Camp that existed during the 

Civil War and the conditions that were there. At the Sand Creek 

Massacre site in Colorado we talk about the massacre of Indians 

during the 19th century. Those are not all events that we’re entirely proud of as a nation, but they’re events we need to learn 

from, and that’s what we try and do from the National Parks, 

which is tell the whole story. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Well, I appreciate that, because I had a conversation with the member who is no longer here on that. I just respectfully disagreed with his position, but he made his position known; 

and, as a result, we didn’t get the two-thirds vote at that particular 

time. 

I just want to mention Mayor Young pointed out how quickly this 

came together. To build a nuclear reactor in 11 months is absolutely remarkable. You couldn’t do it today; and it was done then 

because we were in a war effort. And the only mission we have at 

Hanford right now is to clean up the legacy, and we are in defense 

production in Hanford until the late 1980s. 

But just to give you an idea of the complexity of building nuclear 

weapons and the process that goes in there, a lot of the waste, a 

majority of the waste, I should say, in developing these nuclear 

weapons, is stored now in Hanford in underground tanks. And you 

might have heard some of the tanks have leaked. We’ve known 

that, going back for some 30 years. But because they’re underground, people have a hard time quantifying how much we’re really 

talking about. And there’s 53 million gallons of hazardous/radioactive waste that’s stored underground at Hanford. 

To put it in a context that we all understand, if you were to put 

those 53 million gallons in a facility here that we all know about, 

like the House chamber, it would make up over 20 House chambers. That’s how much 53 million gallons is, and that’s the legacy 

there that we need to clean up, and that’s why Yucca Mountain is 

so important in this whole process, and that’s why WIPP is important in New Mexico for this whole process. 

But over 20 House chambers of radioactive/nuclear waste is what 

is stored underground next to the Columbia River in my State of 

Washington. And that’s why the clean-up of this is so important. 

But the legacy—let’s not lose site of the legacy. The legacy was we 

didn’t know if we were going to win that war. We thought that 

22

Nazi Germany was ahead of us, and we had to move as quickly as 

we possibly could in order to achieve what we did do. And, by the 

way, we won the Second World War and we won the cold war, 

largely, because of the efforts of these communities. 

At this time I recognize the distinguished Ranking Member of 

the Committee, Mr. Grijalva. 

Mr. GRIJALVA. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and you 

asked the question that I was going to ask about the discussion 

last time and the debate last time over the glorification issue and 

the impact of what this program and what this designation meant. 

And I appreciate the answers that were just given to us. 

I thought I got caught up in that debate at a late moment when 

people weren’t able to react to it and that it was also this legislation was caught up in a debate unrelated on another item unrelated to this issue. And I appreciate these answers about what the 

interpretation is and what it has been for the Park Service and all 

of its sites. 

Ms. Berting, if I may, last Congress, the New Mexico Historical 

Society, expressed concerns with language in the legislation and I 

have heard it from other witnesses: preventing the Park Service 

from using Federal funds for acquisition of additional property. 

This was particularly a concern around Los Alamos. Is that concern 

still a valid one with the society as far as you can relate to us? 

Ms. BERTING. I haven’t heard that particular argument, as a 

matter of fact. There were other concerns about whether the land 

to be acquired had permission from the landowner and that sort of 

thing. So I do think there is concern having to do with Federal dollars, particularly at this point, but that has not been raised as an 

issue against the park to my knowledge. 

Mr. GRIJALVA. OK. I appreciate that. 

Mayor Young, the Chairman began with the point you made 

about the storage of the nuclear waste. I think the article that appeared in the New York Times pointing out potential problems and 

consequences that resulted in those problems, and some of those 

consequences they pointed out were dire to say the least, at least 

in that article. 

Do we need to be concerned that the safety issues that are being 

talked about by that advisory committee on the waste treatment 

plant could impact visitors to the B Reactor? 

Mr. YOUNG. Yes. That is an excellent question and it is a simple 

answer of no. We monitor those tanks daily by the hour; we know 

where the leaks are. We know where it is progressing. All of these 

tanks are underground. There is no impact to the air at all, and 

the travel between B Reactor and the old city site and Bruggemann 

Warehouse is all way outside of those tank farms. So there would 

be no threat to the public. 

In fact, we have had the public traveling in and out of there 

viewing these marvelous sites for quite some time now; but, no. We 

test the air daily. We know exactly what’s out there and we have 

had no problems. 

Mr. GRIJALVA. Excuse me. You are talking specifically about the 

waste treatment plant. Correct? 

23

Mr. YOUNG. Yes, the waste treatment plant. Yes, absolutely; so, 

we again, the National Park area itself would be quite a distance 

from the tank farms and it would also be a safe traveled area. 

Mr. GRIJALVA. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, I have no 

other questions other than a disagreement with your analogy example of taking all those barrels of waste, and it would be like 20 

times the size of the House chamber, given, on occasion, the already radioactive quality to that chamber. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. GRIJALVA. It might be creating some other situation that I 

wouldn’t want to deal with, but with that I yield back. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Will the Chairman yield to me before? 

Mr. GRIJALVA. Absolutely. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Well, I would just say that perhaps there is some 

radioactivity on some sides of the House chamber and not on others, but I won’t go into that detail. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. HASTINGS. The gentleman’s point is well taken. 

Mr. GRIJALVA. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. HASTINGS. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California, Mr. LaMalfa. 

Mr. LAMALFA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks for allowing me to have a moment here; just a couple sentiments here. 

First, I thank the Chairman for finding this a creative way to make 

a good thing happen, and a good thing to acknowledge in our history. Not all of our parks get to acknowledge and remember good 

things in our past. This could be seen as a mixed bag in how our 

country came together in order to find a way to solve the war at 

that time. 

Again, that could be taken in a lot of ways, but it was certainly 

the country coming together doing a pretty amazing thing in that 

project. And so the Chairman’s method here of something that 

would actually cost us a lot more to recover instead of making this 

an example of something that people can see as a tourist attraction 

and a learning experience. 

I read a lot about the Manhattan Project as a junior high kid 

when I read a lot about World War II as well, so I think it can be 

a great experience for us to know and understand, and something 

to think about in the future of why we don’t want to use these in 

future conflicts. But I also appreciate Mayor Young’s comment on 

the red lights here. I hate them in traffic, if you ever try and drive 

through this town or home. But they’re the only way we can get 

anything done in this place, thankfully, especially when we are 

talking about member conversations. 

But I think this is a great measure here to have this bit of tourism and taking this asset, and have it be an asset instead of actually bear cost on recovery of what it would take to do the cleanup side, the recovery side. So I support what you’re trying to do 

and appreciate your efforts, Mr. Chairman. So thank you. Thank 

you all for coming way out here and I appreciate you all doing this. 

Thank you. 

Mr. HASTINGS. The gentleman yields back. The gentleman from 

Northern Marianas, Mr. Sablan. 

24

Mr. SABLAN. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and 

good morning everyone. 

Mr. Chairman, I know how much effort you have given to 

H.R. 1208, and I am sure we all recognize the historical significance of the Manhattan Project and the importance of protecting 

events associated with the development of the bomb. And so I fully 

support the bill, but the story of the atomic bomb will not be complete. 

In fact, the bomb would never have ended World War II in the 

Pacific without the contribution of those areas of our country where 

delivery was perfected and from where the bombs were launched 

against Japan. I am speaking of Wendover Air Force Base in 

Yucca, where Col. Paul Tibbets was school trained in the B29 super 

fortresses for their historic flights. And I am speaking of the air 

fields in the Northern Mariana Islands and final assembly where 

arming of this weapon took place. From here, the Enola Gay took 

off carrying the weapon that was dropped on Hiroshima, and later 

box car carrying the bomb to Nagasaki. 

Without the work that went on at this site in Utah and Northern 

Mariana Islands, all of the work on the Manhattan Project in Tennessee, New Mexico and Washington would not have had its intended effect. So I would simply like to note for the record, Mr. 

Chairman, that this Committee should at some point in the future 

recognize these additional sites and consider their addition to the 

Manhattan Project National Historical Park that the Chairman’s 

bill is establishing, of which, again, I fully support. 

I thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for all of your effort on 

H.R. 1208. 

Mr. HASTINGS. Would the gentleman yield? 

Mr. SABLAN. I yield to the Chair. 

Mr. HASTINGS. I certainly concur with that, because the effort to 

win the Second World War, obviously, was not confined to just 

these three areas, but the concentration of that. Boy! You could 

make the case in a variety of ways that helped that war effort. 

I think the key point is, and I certainly concur, is we should not 

lose sight of the history that has brought us where we are today. 

And I think that is what the gentleman’s point is and I certainly 

concur with that. 

Mr. SABLAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Actually, we should compute the history. And, God forbid that we ever have to—no one 

ever has to use this weapon again upon anybody. But thank you 

very much for your efforts, sir. I support, fully support H.R. 1208. 

Mr. HASTINGS. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and the Chair 

recognizes the gentleman from California, Mr. McClintock. 

Mr. MCCLINTOCK. Well, I thank you. I just wanted to add that 

although hundreds of thousands of Japanese were killed by the deployment of these bombs, millions of Japanese and at least hundreds of thousands of American lives were saved by the deployment 

of these bombs. 

My father was a member of the 88th Infantry Division. He arrived in Italy in the spring of 1945. The 88th Infantry Division was 

to be part of the invasion of Japan with horrendous casualties projected on both sides. It was the deployment of the bomb because 

of the work that was carried out at these facilities, that invasion 

25

never had to take place. Those lives were saved and that’s a very 

important part of the story that we should never forget. 

Mr. HASTINGS. I thank the gentleman. Is there any other questions for the panel? 

I am going to be parochial here for a minute, because I saw some 

people came into the hearing room a little bit late; namely, my 

wife, my daughter and my three granddaughters are here. So if you 

would stand up, I would appreciate that, just to be recognized, they 

are here visiting. So thank you. 

[Applause.] 

Mr. HASTINGS. If there is no further business to come before the 

Committee, the Committee stands adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:46 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] 

[Additional Materials Submitted for the Record]

CLARIFICATION FOR THE RECORD BY FRAN BERTING

APRIL 18, 2013. 

The Honorable ROB BISHOP, 

U.S. House of Representatives, 

Washington, DC 20515. 

The Honorable Raul Grijalva, 

U.S. House of Representatives, 

Washington, DC 20515. 

DEAR CHAIRMAN BISHOP AND RANKING MEMBER GRIJALVA,

Thank you for the opportunity to testify last week on H.R. 1208, a bill to establish 

the Manhattan Project National Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Los Alamos, New 

Mexico, and Hanford, Washington, and for other purposes. I would like to take this 

opportunity to clarify my answer to a question from Ranking Member Grijalva regarding using Federal funds for acquisition of additional property. The question 

from Ranking Member Grijalva was:

‘‘Ms. Berting, last Congress the [Los Alamos] Historical Society expressed concerns 

with the language in this legislation, and I’ve heard it from other witnesses, preventing the park service from using Federal funds for acquisition of additional property. This is particularly of concern around Los Alamos. Is that concern still a valid 

one with the Society?’’

The position of the Los Alamos County and the Los Alamos Historical Society is 

that because of geography and history, the layout of Los Alamos is slightly different 

than the other Manhattan Project communities. The historic downtown, where the 

scientists lived, is several miles away from the remaining WWII sites at the laboratory, many of which are still behind the fence. Based on public meetings and a significant amount of local input, we know the community desires to have a park visitor’s center located in or near the historic downtown. The National Park Service has 

also recommended a centralized visitors center in Los Alamos. The property in the 

downtown is privately owned and valuable, making a donation of such property to 

the park service difficult. Los Alamos County and the Los Alamos Historical Society 

would like the Park Service to have the option to be able to obtain property through 

purchase in order to achieve the ideal of a downtown park visitor’s center. 

I would like to have this information added to the Subcommittee hearing record. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify on this important bill. I look forward 

to working with you and your committee to get a park established in Los Alamos, 

Oak Ridge and Hanford. Please contact me or Harry Burgess, County Administrator, with any additional questions. 

Sincerely, 

FRAN BERTING, 

Councilor, Incorporated County of Los Alamos.

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