I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2832
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to inventory,
evaluate, document, and assist efforts to restore and preserve surviving
United States Life-Saving Service stations.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
Mr. PALLONE (for himself and Mr. LOBIONDO) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Resources
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish a
program to inventory, evaluate, document, and assist
efforts to restore and preserve surviving United States
Life-Saving Service stations.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Life-
Saving Service Heritage Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States has a long tradition of
heroic efforts to rescue those in peril on the sea.
(2) Legislation providing appropriations to the
Secretary of the Treasury for ‘‘surf boats, rockets,
carronades, and other necessary apparatus for the
better preservation of life and property from ship-
wrecks on the coast of New Jersey, between Sandy
Hook and Little Egg Harbor’’ was approved August
14, 1848 (9 Stat. 322), and was subsequently ex-
tended to support volunteer lifesaving efforts on the
coast of New Jersey between Little Egg Harbor and
Cape May, and in other States and territories.
(3) Legislation providing appropriations to the
Secretary of the Treasury ‘‘for the purpose of more
effectively securing life and property on the coast of
New Jersey and Long Island . . . and to employ crews
of experienced surfmen at such stations’’ was ap-
proved April 20, 1871 (17 Stat. 12).
(4) The Life-Saving Service was reorganized by
the Congress by enactment of the Act entitled ‘‘An
Act to organize the Life-Saving-Service’’, approved
June 18, 1878 (chapter 265; 20 Stat. 163).
(5) America’s lifesaving stations and boats were
staffed by brave volunteer and professional life-
savers, who risked life and limb to rescue ship-
wrecked passengers and crews.
(6) Many surviving Life-Saving Service stations
are of rare architectural significance, yet these his-
toric stations are threatened by harsh coastal envi-
ronments, rapid economic development in the coastal
zone, neglect, and lack of resources for their preser-
vation.
(7) The heroic actions of Life-Saving Service
personnel deserve greater recognition, and their con-
tributions to America’s maritime and architectural
history should be celebrated through a comprehen-
sive preservation program and greater opportunities
for the public’s education about the heritage of the
Life-Saving Service and related private and public
organizations.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to author-
ize the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program
to inventory, evaluate, document, and assist in efforts to
restore and preserve surviving lifesaving stations and
other structures and artifacts dedicated to our forefathers’
lifesaving efforts.
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES LIFE-SAVING SERVICE STATION
PRESERVATION PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior,
through the National Maritime Initiative of the National
Park Service, shall establish a program in accordance with
this section to inventory, evaluate, document, and assist
efforts to restore and preserve surviving United States
Life-Saving Service stations.
(b) INVENTORY, DOCUMENTATION, AND EVALUA-
TION.—The Secretary, in cooperation with the U.S. Life-
Saving Service Heritage Association, shall—
(1) survey coastal regions of the United States
to identify and prepare an inventory of surviving his-
toric lifesaving stations, boats, and other significant
lifesaving equipment;
(2) document the designs of significant existing
structures and lifesaving boats for inclusion in the
Historic American Building Survey/Historic Amer-
ican Engineering Record Collection in the Library of
Congress; and
(3) 
evaluate 
historic 
lifesaving 
stations,
including—
(A) assessing the historic significance, in-
tegrity, and condition of surviving historic life-
saving stations;
(B) making recommendations for out-
standing examples of historic lifesaving stations
that should be listed on the National Register
of Historic Places, or designated as National
Historic Landmarks; and
(C) making recommendations for out-
standing examples of lifesaving boats to be in-
cluded in the Historic American Engineering
Record Collection.
(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, EDUCATIONAL MATE-
RIALS, RESEARCH AIDS, AND OTHER INFORMATION.—
The Secretary shall—
(1) serve as a clearinghouse of information for
persons interested in restoring and preserving his-
toric lifesaving stations, their boats, and related life-
saving equipment; and
(2) make available to the public, including
through the Internet, educational materials, research
aids, guides, bibliographies, and other information
regarding the Life-Saving Service, Revenue Cutter
Service, and related organizations that provided hu-
manitarian assistance to shipwrecked mariners and
their passengers, including—
(A) information on the history and devel-
opment of the Life-Saving Service, the Revenue