I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2278 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to designate the September 11th 

National Memorial Trail, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2021 

Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. BEYER) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to designate the 

September 11th National Memorial Trail, 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. SEPTEMBER 11TH NATIONAL MEMORIAL TRAIL. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Flight 

6 93 National Memorial. 

7 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di9 rector of the National Park Service. 


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1 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘States’’ means Vir2 ginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jer3 sey, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. 

4 (4) TRAIL.—The term ‘‘Trail’’ means the Sep5 tember 11th National Memorial Trail Route des6 ignated under subsection (b). 

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRAIL ROUTE.— 

8 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary, with concur9 rence of the agency having jurisdiction over the rel10 evant roads, may designate a tour route, to be 

11 known as the ‘‘September 11th National Memorial 

12 Trail Route’’, to link the National September 11 

13 Memorial and Museum in New York City, the Pen14 tagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, and the 

15 Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, 

16 Pennsylvania. The September 11th National Memo17 rial Trail shall— 

18 (A) provide for a tribute to the family 

19 members and loved ones who were victims of 

20 the attack and the heroes of September 11th, 

21 including the first responders in the days, 

22 weeks, and months after the attack; 

23 (B) be a Trail of Remembrance to honor 

24 the fallen in a tangible way that keeps their 


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1 memories alive and reaffirms the exceptionalism 

2 of our country; and 

3 (C) be a celebration of our Nation’s resil4 ience and perseverance since its founding as 

5 well as a promotion of our cultural and indus6 trial heritage. 

7 (2) ROUTE.—The Trail shall form an unbroken 

8 triangular trail of approximately 1,300 miles as fol9 lows: 

10 (A) Starting at the Pentagon Memorial in 

11 Arlington, Virginia, following the Mt. Vernon 

12 Trail; 

13 (B) then extending north along the 184- 

14 mile Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National His15 toric Park where it connects at Cumberland, 

16 Maryland, with the 150-mile Great Allegheny 

17 Passage and follows to Garret in Somerset 

18 County, Pennsylvania; 

19 (C) turning northeast and continuing for 

20 approximately 21 miles to the Flight 93 Na21 tional Memorial; 

22 (D) continuing east through the commu23 nities and historic sights of Pennsylvania, until 

24 arriving at New Jersey’s 130-mile Liberty 

25 Water Gap Trail, then follows to New York 


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1 City and continues to the National September 

2 11 Memorial and Museum; 

3 (E) returning south following important 

4 sections of the East Coast Greenway and con5 necting Pennsylvania’s 9–11 Memorial Garden 

6 of Reflection to the Trail; 

7 (F) continuing through New Jersey, Dela8 ware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia; 

9 and 

10 (G) ending at the Pentagon Memorial. 

11 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Trail shall be adminis12 tered by the Secretary through the Park. 

13 (d) ACTIVITIES.—To facilitate the establishment of 

14 the Trail and the dissemination of information regarding 

15 the Trail, the Secretary shall— 

16 (1) produce and disseminate appropriate edu17 cational materials regarding the Trail, such as hand18 books, maps, exhibits, signs, interpretive guides, and 

19 electronic information; 

20 (2) coordinate the management, planning, and 

21 with participating properties, other Federal agencies, 

22 State, and local governments, and nonprofit entities; 

23 (3) create and adopt an official, uniform symbol 

24 or device to mark the Trail; and 


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1 (4) issue guidelines for the use of the symbol or 

2 device adopted under paragraph (3). 

3 (e) ELEMENTS OF TRAIL ROUTE.—Subject to the 

4 consent of the owner of the property, the Secretary may 

5 designate as an official stop on the Trail— 

6 (1) all units and programs of the Park relating 

7 to the attacks of September 11th; 

8 (2) other Federal, State, local, and privately 

9 owned properties that the Secretary determines have 

10 a verifiable connection to the attacks of September 

11 11th and our Nation’s sacrifices since its founding; 

12 and 

13 (3) other governmental and nongovernmental 

14 facilities and programs of an educational, commemo15 rative, research, or interpretive nature that the Sec16 retary determines to be related to the attacks of 

17 September 11th and our Nation’s sacrifices since its 

18 founding. 

19 (f) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND MEMORANDA

20 OF UNDERSTANDING.—To facilitate the establishment of 

21 the Trail and to ensure effective coordination of the Fed22 eral and non-Federal properties designated as stops along 

23 the Trail, the Secretary may enter into cooperative agree24 ments and memoranda of understanding with, and provide 

25 technical and financial assistance to, other Federal agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2278.IH H2278

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1 cies, the State, localities, regional governmental bodies, 

2 and private entities. 

Æ 


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