Fort Ontario Study Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. KATKO. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, Fort Ontario has stood on the shores of Lake Ontario in Oswego, New York, since 1755. For the past 63 years, the fort has been preserved as a New York State Historic Site, serving as a cultural and historic landmark for Oswego County and the entire region.

I am proud to stand here today in support of this legislation which would take the crucial step towards ensuring this historic site receives the national recognition it deserves. The Fort Ontario Study Act would commission a special resource study of Fort Ontario to evaluate the site's national significance and determine the suitability of its designation as a part of the National Park System.

The history of Fort Ontario is truly unique within the National Park System and within our Nation as a whole. The fort has been involved in nearly every major American war from the French and Indian War to World War II. From 1944 to 1946, under a declaration by President Franklin Roosevelt, the fort served as the Nation's only emergency refugee camp, providing shelter to over 900 refugees who fled the Holocaust--a truly unique designation. The site now hosts the Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum, which preserves the stories of these refugees, the tragedies they faced, and, eventually, the freedom and safety they gained right here in the United States.

Fort Ontario has become an important tourist attraction in central New York, drawing visitors from across the State, the country, and, indeed, throughout the world. Preserving this location as a national park will not only better preserve the history of the fort, but there will also be the potential to grow tourism and boost our regional economy.

I am very honored to introduce this legislation that recognizes the important history of the fort and to credit this important step to the local champions who have worked tirelessly to preserve the history of the site, including the Friends of Fort Ontario, Paul Lear with New York State Parks, the board of the Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum--a great group of individuals--and the many volunteers who give their time to this cause.

I want to thank fellow New York Representatives, Congressman Hanna and Congresswoman Slaughter, who have worked with me in the House to support this effort, as well as the chairman of the committee for working to move this important legislation.

I ask all my colleagues to support this legislation.

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