I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1096 
To establish the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in the State of 
New Jersey as the successor to the Edison National Historic Site. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 3, 2005 
Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 
FERGUSON, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Mr. ANDREWS) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To establish the Thomas Edison National Historical Park 
in the State of New Jersey as the successor to the 
Edison National Historic Site. 
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 ‘‘Act Commemorating 
the LITE, or Lifetime Innovations of Thomas Edison.’’ 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Edison National Historic Site, located 
in West Orange, New Jersey, is a vital part of
America’s national system of parks which preserves 
Thomas Alva Edison’s research and development 
laboratories, library, papers, and artifacts, as well as 
his home. 
(2) The Site is a national historic treasure and 
contains the world’s largest collection of materials 
related to Thomas Edison, encompassing an esti-
mated 5,000,000 pages of documents, over 400,000 
artifacts, approximately 35,000 sound recordings, 
and 10,000 books from Edison’s personal library. 
(3) Thomas Edison is one of America’s greatest 
inventors, whose inexhaustible energy and genius 
produced 1,093 patents in his lifetime, more than 
any other American, including patents for the incan-
descent light bulb, the motion picture camera, and 
the phonograph. 
(4) In 1928, Thomas Edison was awarded the 
Congressional Gold Medal for the ‘‘development and 
application of inventions that have revolutionized 
civilization in the last century.’’ 
(5) In 1998, Congress again honored Thomas 
Edison by directing the Secretary of the Treasury to 
mint a commemorative coin celebrating the 125th 
anniversary of Edison’s invention of the light bulb, 
celebrated in 2004.
(6) The Edison National Historic Site is one of 
America’s most endangered historic places. The Na-
tional Park Service, in its General Management Plan 
and Development Concept Plan, identified the need 
for numerous actions to preserve, protect, restore, 
and enhance the Site and determined that sufficient 
government funds are not likely to be appropriated 
to complete these necessary actions in the foresee-
able future. 
(7) On November 6, 1997, the National Park 
Service signed an agreement with the Thomas Alva 
Edison Preservation Foundation (now the Edison 
Preservation Foundation), establishing a public-pri-
vate partnership to jointly raise money to fund iden-
tified improvements at the Edison National Historic 
Site so as to leave the Site unimpaired for the enjoy-
ment of future generations. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to recognize and pay tribute to Thomas 
Alva Edison and his innovations; and 
(2) to preserve, protect, restore, and enhance 
the Edison National Historic Site to ensure public 
use and enjoyment of the Site as an educational, sci-
entific, and cultural center.
SEC. 3. THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 
Thomas Edison National Historical Park as a unit of the 
National Park System (hereafter the ‘‘Historical Park’’). 
(b) BOUNDARIES.—The Historical Park shall be com-
prised of— 
(1) all property owned by the United States in 
the Edison National Historic Site as well as all 
property authorized to be acquired by the Secretary 
of the Interior for inclusion in the Edison National 
Historic Site before the date of the enactment of 
this Act, as generally depicted on the map entitled 
the ‘‘Edison National Historic Site’’, numbered 
20003B, and dated April 1977; and 
(2) all property authorized to be acquired for 
inclusion in the Historical Park by this Act or other 
law enacted after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(c) MAP.—The map of the Historical Park shall be 
on file and available for public inspection in the appro-
priate offices of the National Park Service. 
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer 
the Historical Park in accordance with this Act and with 
the provisions of law generally applicable to units of the 
National Park System, including the Acts entitled ‘‘An
Act to establish a National Park Service, and for other 
purposes,’’ approved August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 
U.S.C. 1 et seq.) and ‘‘An Act to provide for the preserva-
tion of historic American sites, buildings, objects, and an-
tiquities of national significance, and for other purposes,’’ 
approved August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.). 
(b) ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.— 
(1) REAL PROPERTY.—The Secretary may ac-
quire land or interests in land within the boundaries 
of the Historical Park, from willing sellers only, by 
donation, purchase with donated or appropriated 
funds, or exchange. 
(2) PERSONAL PROPERTY.—The Secretary may 
acquire personal property associated with, and ap-
propriate for, interpretation of the Historical Park. 
(c) COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 
may consult and enter into cooperative agreements with 
interested entities and individuals to provide for the pres-
ervation, development, interpretation, and use of the His-
torical Park. 
(d) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED LAW.—Public Law 87– 
628 (76 Stat. 428), regarding the establishment and ad-
ministration of the Edison National Historic Site, is re-
pealed.