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HR 1031
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Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park Establishment Act

To establish the Fort Ontario National Monument in the State of New York as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Introduced Feb 5, 2025

Latest action (Sep 10, 2026) Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.

Summary

  • Sets the short title as the "Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park Establishment Act."
  • Establishes the Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park in New York as a unit of the National Park System to preserve and interpret resources tied to the 982 World War II refugees housed at Fort Ontario from 1944 to 1946.
  • Delays the park's establishment until the Secretary of the Interior determines that enough land has been acquired within the proposed boundary to form a manageable park unit, then requires Federal Register notice within 30 days of that determination.
  • Authorizes the Secretary to acquire land within the boundary by donation, purchase, or exchange, with land owned by the State or its political subdivisions acquirable only by donation.
  • Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements for interpretive and educational services and for identifying and restoring historic resources on non-federal land, with reasonable public access required for assistance to non-federal land.
  • Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the State, to complete a general management plan within 3 fiscal years after funds are made available.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

8 cosponsors

Actions (3)

  1. Sep 10, 2026 Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. · house
  2. Feb 5, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. · house
  3. Feb 5, 2025 Introduced in House

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 5, 2025

Ms. Tenney (for herself and Mr. Suozzi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Fort Ontario National Monument in the State of New York as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park Establishment Act”.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) Map.—The term “map” means the map entitled “Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park Proposed Boundary”, numbered 962/194,681, and dated September 2024.

(2) National historical park.—The term “National Historical Park” means the Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park established by section 3(a)(1).

(3) Secretary.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior.

(4) State.—The term “State” means the State of New York.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF FORT ONTARIO HOLOCAUST REFUGEE SHELTER NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.

(a) Establishment.—

(1) In general.—Subject to paragraph (3), there is established in the State as a unit of the National Park System the Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park.

(2) Purpose.—The purpose of the National Historical Park is to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of present and future generations resources associated with the stories of the 982 refugees from World War II who were housed at Fort Ontario from August of 1944 until February of 1946.

(3) Conditions of establishment.—

(A) Determination by the secretary.—The National Historical Park shall not be established until the date on which the Secretary determines that a sufficient quantity of land or interests in land has been acquired from land identified as “Proposed Boundary” on the map to constitute a manageable park unit.

(B) Notice.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary makes a determination under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the establishment of the National Historical Park.

(4) Map.—The map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.

(5) Boundary.—The boundary of the National Historical Park shall include any land or interests in land acquired by the Secretary under this section.

(b) Administration.—

(1) In general.—The Secretary shall administer the National Historical Park in accordance with—

(A) this section; and

(B) the laws generally applicable to units of the National Park System, including—

(i) sections 100101(a), 100751(a), 100752, 100753, and 102101 of title 54, United States Code; and

(ii) chapters 1003 and 3201 of title 54, United States Code.

(2) Agreements.—

(A) Cooperative agreements.—In accordance with section 101702 of title 54, United States Code, the Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with the State or other public and private entities to provide interpretive and educational services within the National Historical Park.

(B) Interpretation and restoration agreements.—The Secretary may enter into agreements to identify, interpret, and restore nationally significant historic or cultural resources located on non-Federal land within the boundary of, or in close proximity to, the National Historical Park.

(C) Public access.—Any cooperative agreement entered into under subparagraph (B) to provide assistance to non-Federal land shall provide for reasonable public access to the non-Federal land.

(3) Acquisition of land.—

(A) In general.—Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary may acquire land and interests in land located within the boundary of the National Historical Park by—

(i) donation;

(ii) purchase with donated or appropriated funds; or

(iii) exchange.

(B) Limitation.—Any land owned by the State or a political subdivision of the State may be acquired for inclusion in the National Historical Park only by donation.

(4) Management plan.—Not later than 3 fiscal years after the date on which funds are made available to carry out this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the State, shall complete a general management plan for the National Historical Park in accordance with—

(A) section 100502 of title 54, United States Code; and

(B) any other applicable laws. <all>

Text versions (1)

  • Introduced in House · Feb 5, 2025

Only one text version is on file, so there’s no earlier version to compare against yet.

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

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