Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Suggests Approach to Make Joseph Priestley House a National Historic Site

In a correspondence received on February 16, 2010, from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as a response to my correspondence about the Joseph Priestley House, Reid has suggested that parties interested in having the Joseph Priestley House and Museum considered as a National Historic Site within the National Park Service contact the Senators within whose district the site is located. In this case, interested parties should contact Senators Casey and Specter of Pennsylvania. He has also forwarded my correspondence to the two Senators.

I include the addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of the two Senators below:

Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA)

393 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

Phone: (202) 224-6324

Toll Free: (866) 802-2833

Fax: (202) 228-0604

http://casey.senate.gov/

Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA)

711 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington , DC 20510

Main: 202-224-4254

Fax: 202-228-1229

http://specter.senate.gov/public/

Progress on Making The Joseph Priestley House Part of the National Park Service as a National Historic Site.

I have now received responses from both Senator Harry Reid and the National Park Service with regard to my suggestion to include The Joseph Priestley House as a National Historic Site as part of the National Park Service.

I include my latest letter to Senator Reid below and encourage all those of you who feel similarly to write to your congressmen supporting the idea.

Dear Senator Reid:

Thank you for having forwarded my email to you of Sept. 5, 2009 with regard to the Joseph Priestley House to the National Park Service. I have now received their response dated Nov. 5, 2009, and I note that they have copied you on that correspondence. I was encouraged to see that there is a way to proceed with the consideration of The Joseph Priestley House for inclusion as a National Historic Site in the National Park System. As indicated in that letter this is initiated through acts of Congress by first authorizing the NPS to conduct a special resource study.

I would like you to consider introducing legislation to authorize the NPS to conduct a special resource study as to whether the Joseph Priestley House is appropriate for inclusion in the NPS. I have read the pamphlet "Criteria for New National Parklands" that they included and I feel strongly that it meets the objectives set forth therein. I do not know what else I can provide you to help you move to the next step. I look forward to your suggestions.

Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid Forwards Request to National Park Service to Make Joseph Priestley House a National Historic Site

I received a letter from Senator Harry Reid that was very encouraging.  Sen. Reid met with Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, the other day and, unfortunately, I had not written to Reid beforehand.  After writing to Reid, Reid responded that he was going to forward my request to the National Park Service.  It will be interesting to see what comes of this.

I don't know if it is that we just passed the slowest part of the year in August and nothing happened, or if something is going on with respect to the Joseph Priestley House and it is not being reported by any of the media.