II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2316 

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

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

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 19, 2012 

Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate the Salt Pond Visitor Center at the Cape Cod 

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

Pond Visitor Center’’, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF SALT POND VISITOR CENTER 

4 AT THE CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

6 (1) Thomas Phillip (‘‘Tip’’) O’Neill, Jr. was 

7 born on December 9, 1912, in a middle-class Irish 

8 neighborhood of North Cambridge, Massachusetts, 


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1 to Thomas Phillip O’Neill, Sr. and Rose Ann 

2 O’Neill; 

3 (2) nicknamed ‘‘Tip’’ during his childhood, Tip 

4 O’Neill was educated in Roman Catholic schools, 

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

6 where he was captain of the basketball team; 

7 (3) Tip O’Neill attended Boston College, where 

8 he ran for a Cambridge City Council seat during his 

9 senior year, his first attempt at running for office 

10 and only electoral defeat; 

11 (4) following his graduation from Boston Col12 lege in 1936, Tip O’Neill was elected to the Massa13 chusetts House of Representatives that same year as 

14 a New Deal Democrat whose political philosophy 

15 was shaped by his experience growing up in working16 class Boston and his strong Catholic faith, which led 

17 him to view government as a means for helping the 

18 disadvantaged in society; 

19 (5) in 1949, Tip O’Neill became the first 

20 Democratic Speaker in the history of the Massachu21 setts State Legislature, serving as Speaker until 

22 1952, when he ran successfully for the United States 

23 House of Representatives to fill the seat vacated by 

24 Senator-elect John F. Kennedy; 


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1 (6) in 1958, inspired by the establishment of 

2 the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, a seashore 

3 park in the State of North Carolina, Representative 

4 Tip O’Neill, along with his close friend and colleague 

5 Representative Edward Boland, introduced legisla6 tion to protect land on Cape Cod as a national sea7 shore; 

8 (7) in describing the area on Cape Cod referred 

9 to in paragraph (6), Henry David Thoreau wrote 

10 that ‘‘[a] man may stand there and put all America 

11 behind him’’, as the pristine sandy beach, marshes, 

12 ponds, and uplands supporting diverse species rep13 resent a unique, cherished jewel of nature; 

14 (8) the legislation referred to in paragraph (6) 

15 established a 40-mile National Park along the outer 

16 beach of Cape Cod, from the city of Chatham 

17 through the cities of Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, 

18 Truro, and Provincetown, including lighthouses, cul19 tural landscapes, and wild cranberry bogs that offer 

20 a glimpse of the past and continuing ways of life of 

21 Cape Cod; 

22 (9) after introducing the legislation referred to 

23 in paragraph (6) in the 85th Congress, Tip O’Neill 

24 continued to advocate strongly for the establishment 

25 of the Cape Cod National Seashore, cosponsoring 


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1 bills in the 86th and 87th Congresses, testifying at 

2 hearings, and working to advance the legislation 

3 through Congress; 

4 (10) the legislation to establish the Cape Cod 

5 National Seashore was intended to preserve one of 

6 the great natural marvels of the United States, in7 cluding the unbroken beach and moors, marshes, 

8 forests, and freshwater ponds that are home to 

9 many species of birds, fish, animals, and plants; 

10 (11) on August 7, 1961, President Kennedy 

11 signed into law Public Law 87–126, which author12 ized the establishment the Cape Cod National Sea13 shore; 

14 (12) in 1966, the Cape Cod National Seashore 

15 was formally established, and Representative O’Neill 

16 attended the May 30, 1966, ceremony inaugurating 

17 the Salt Pond Visitor Center; 

18 (13) the Cape Cod National Seashore has be19 come a national treasure, with millions of Americans 

20 and visitors from around the world enjoying the 

21 beauty and remarkable biodiversity of the Cape Cod 

22 National Seashore; 

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

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


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1 frequent visitor to the National Seashore throughout 

2 his service in Congress and his retirement; 

3 (15) while a Member of Congress, Tip O’Neill 

4 rose quickly through the leadership ranks due to his 

5 extraordinary political skills, mastery of the legisla6 tive process, and sharp wit, serving first as Majority 

7 Whip in the House of Representatives beginning in 

8 1971 and then, in 1973, as House Majority Leader; 

9 (16) one of Tip O’Neill’s greatest accomplish10 ments as Speaker was the crafting of a peace accord 

11 between warring factions in Northern Ireland, dur12 ing which he worked with fellow Irish-American poli13 ticians, including Senator Edward M. Kennedy, to 

14 develop the ‘‘St. Patrick’s Day declaration’’, which 

15 denounced violence in Northern Ireland and cul16 minated with the Irish aid package on the signing of 

17 the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985; 

18 (17) on January 3, 1987, Tip O’Neill retired 

19 from Congress, having served in public life for 50 

20 years, including 34 years as a Member of Congress 

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

22 continuous term of any Speaker since the first Con23 gress met in 1789; 

24 (18) Tip O’Neill’s extraordinary record of pub25 lic service to the United States and tremendous acVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:13 Apr 21, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2316.IS S2316

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1 complishments and unmatched attention to the 

2 needs of his constituents led President George H.W. 

3 Bush in 1991 to present Tip O’Neill with the Presi4 dential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award 

5 in the United States; and 

6 (19) it is fitting to recognize the support of Tip 

7 O’Neill for the protection of the natural, historic, 

8 and cultural resources of the National Parks of the 

9 State of Massachusetts. 

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

11 Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham, Massachusetts, 

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

13 Visitor Center’’. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

20 post an interpretive sign at the visitor center described 

21 in this section that— 

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

23 Jr. and his contributions as a Member of the United 

24 States House of Representatives; 


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

2 Jr.; and 

3 (3) refers to the efforts of Thomas P. O’Neill, 

4 Jr. to aid in the preservation of the Cape Cod Na5 tional Seashore and other National Parks in the 

6 State of Massachusetts. 

Æ 


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