To designate the General George C. Marshall House, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, as an affiliated area of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
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The bill would designate the General George C. Marshall House in Leesburg, Virginia, as an affiliated area of the National Park System, with the George C. Marshall International Center managing it under National Park Service standards.
It would formally recognize the historic home of the World War II general and statesman while keeping ownership and day-to-day management with the private nonprofit rather than the federal government.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would establish the General George C. Marshall House in Leesburg, Virginia, as an affiliated area of the National Park System, covering the property depicted on a specified 2023 map. It would name the George C. Marshall International Center as the site's management entity and require the Interior Department to sign an agreement with the center spelling out management roles consistent with National Park Service policies. Interior could also provide technical assistance and cooperative agreements to help fund marketing, marking, interpretation, and preservation of the site, and would have to complete a management plan within three years of funds becoming available. The bill explicitly limits Interior's role: it would not authorize the agency to acquire property at the site or take on managerial or financial responsibility for its operation. It also states that private property rights of neighboring landowners are unaffected and that no buffer zones are created around the house.
Key provisions
- 1Would establish the General George C. Marshall House as an affiliated area of the National Park System, per a designated map
- 2Would designate the George C. Marshall International Center as the site's management entity
- 3Would require Interior to enter an agreement delineating management roles and authorize technical and financial assistance agreements
- 4Would bar Interior from acquiring property or assuming managerial/financial responsibility for the site
- 5Would protect private property rights of adjacent landowners and prohibit buffer zones
- 6Would require Interior to complete a management plan within three years of funds being made available
Who would be affected
The George C. Marshall International Center, which would manage the site; the Department of the Interior, which would enter agreements and prepare a management plan; visitors and historians interested in the house; and neighboring private property owners, whose land-use rights are explicitly protected.
Why it matters
Affiliated status would give the Marshall House formal National Park Service recognition, potential technical and financial assistance, and inclusion in NPS-related marketing and preservation efforts, without shifting ownership or federal liability to Interior. Neighboring landowners are protected from new land-use restrictions or buffer zones tied to the designation.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Creates National Park System (54 U.S.C. § 100502) (Sec. 1(i))
Adds the General George C. Marshall House as a new affiliated area and requires a management plan under this code section
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for Interior to complete the affiliated area's management plan
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that H.R. 1352 would have no significant effect on the federal budget.
H.R. 1352 would designate the home of General George C. Marshall in Leesburg, Virginia, as an affiliated area of the National Park System, without changing the ownership or management of the site. The bill would authorize the Department of the Interior to provide technical and financial assistance to the site's management entity for interpretation and preservation, and would require the department to complete a management plan for the site. CBO found no significant budgetary effect, as any spending under the bill would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds (discretionary spending). CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
Interior would negotiate and sign a management agreement with the George C. Marshall International Center defining respective roles consistent with National Park Service policy. Interior could separately offer technical assistance and cooperative funding agreements for marketing, marking, interpretation, and preservation. Once funds are made available, Interior would have three years, in consultation with the center, to complete a management plan under existing National Park System planning requirements. Interior's role remains advisory and supportive rather than operational, since it cannot acquire the property or take on management or financial responsibility.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 418.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill designates the General George C. Marshall House in Leesburg, Virginia, as an affiliated area of the National Park System (NPS). (George Catlett Marshall, Jr. served as Army Chief of Staff during World War II, and later as Secretary of State, president of the American Red Cross, and Secretary of Defense.)
The bill designates the George C. Marshall International Center as the management entity for the affiliated area. The Department of the Interior must enter into an agreement with the center that delineates the roles and responsibilities for management of the affiliated area that are in accordance with policies and standards applicable to NPS. Further, Interior may provide technical assistance and enter into cooperative agreements with the center for the purpose of providing financial assistance for the marketing, marking, interpretation, and preservation of the affiliated area.
Interior must complete a management plan for the affiliated area within three years of funds being made available to carry out this bill.
Legislative subjects
Geography and mapping; Historic sites and heritage areas; Military history; Parks, recreation areas, trails; Public Lands and Natural Resources; U.S. history; Virginia
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-580