{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=77cda1f2-b927-4004-9f7d-89bde00f8ed4", "Carper, Coons, Carney Celebrate Passage of Delaware National Park Bill", "2014-12-12", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Thomas Carper", "C000174", "www.carper.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u00ad\u2013 Today, U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Congressman John Carney (all D-Del.) celebrated Congressional\u00a0passage of historic legislation to authorize the creation of a national park in Delaware. The language passed today mirrored bills introduced in 2013 by\u00a0Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Rep. John Carney\u2013 the First State National Historical Park Act of 2013.\r\nThe legislation\u00a0authorizes the First State National Monument in Delaware to become the First State National Historical Park and\u00a0expands the current First State National Monument to include park sites in all three counties of Delaware.\u00a0\u00a0Similar to the national monument, the First State National Historical Park will celebrate\u00a0early American Dutch, Swedish and English Settlements located throughout Delaware, and Delaware\u2019s role in the events leading up to\u00a0 the founding of our nation.\r\n\u201cFor over a decade, I have been working with federal officials, state officials, community leaders and everyday citizens to establish a national park in Delaware,\u201d said Sen. Carper. \u201cToday, I thank my colleagues in the House and Senate for approving this legislation. Now, Delaware can have a national park that preserves and teaches the lessons of\u00a0our state\u2019s heritage and our country\u2019s history. I cannot wait for the day when families from all across this country and the world will plan their vacations around the First State National Historical Park to learn how Delaware helped launch the most enduring experiment in democracy that the world has ever known \u2013 the United States of America.\u00a0I must also give special recognition and thanks to\u00a0Senators Coons, Casey (D-Pa.) and Toomey (R-Pa.) and Representatives Carney and Meehan (R-Pa.) for their continued support and efforts during this process, as well as the many state and local government and community leaders who have worked hard to make this a reality.\u201d\r\n\u201cA national park will preserve and celebrate our state\u2019s vibrant history, while boosting Delaware\u2019s economy and creating jobs,\" Senator Coons said. \"For more than a decade, Senator Carper has worked tirelessly to finally bring a national park to our state, and with final passage in the Senate today, he has succeeded. National parks are an important part of our national culture and heritage, and it's long past time that Delaware's rich history and resources were\u00a0recognized with official national park status.\u201d\r\n\u201cThis is a tremendous achievement for Delaware,\u201d said Congressman Carney. \u201cAfter years and years of hard work by so many in our state, Delaware will join the ranks of nearly all other states with a National Park. I look forward to taking my family and visitors from out of state to visit the natural and historic sites in our park. And I\u2019m gratified that our neighbors around the country will be able to enjoy the historic attractions our great state has to offer. Today\u2019s a proud day for Delaware.\u201d\r\nThe legislation allows the Park Service to work with other historically significant sites that are not included in the National Park, but can be included in the National Park materials, tours and other related items.\u00a0Additionally,\u00a0the legislation authorizes a study to assess historical significant properties that should be listed as national landmarks and be associated with the national park.\u00a0The management and headquarters\u00a0of the national monument willcontinue to be the same for\u00a0the\u00a0newly-designated\u00a0national park.\u00a0\r\nThe\u00a0following sites\u00a0have been\u00a0authorized to be\u00a0included in the park:\r\nNew Castle County, DE / Delaware County, PA:\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Woodlawn Trustees Property\r\nNew Castle County, DE:\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Old Sheriff's House\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Old New Castle Courthouse\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0New Castle Green\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Old Swedes Church National Historic Landmark\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fort Christina National Historic Landmark\r\nKent County, DE:\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Dover Green\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Dickinson Plantation National Historic Landmark\r\nSussex County, DE:\r\n\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ryves Holt House\r\nFor over a decade, Senator Carper has worked with the Delaware delegation, federal officials, state officials, and community leaders to identify a theme and a park concept that fits well within our federal budget and is worthy of designation as a national park. \u00a0In January 2009, the Bush Administration finalized a National Park Service Special Resource Study concluding that a national park should be placed in Delaware and every year since Senator Carper has introduced legislation authorizing a national park. \u00a0Since 2009, there have been over a dozen public meetings on the national park effort \u2013 including legislative hearings in both chambers of Congress \u2013 which have shown overwhelming support for the national park idea. \u00a0\r\nThe Senate approved the First State National Historical Park as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015. It passed the House last week. It will now go to the President for his signature.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=77cda1f2-b927-4004-9f7d-89bde00f8ed4"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.5271079502999783, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}