S3490-119

Passed Senate

To establish the Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park, to designate the America’s National Churchill Museum National Historic Landmark, and for other purposes.

119th Congress Introduced Dec 16, 2025

Legislative Progress

Passed Senate
Introduced Committee Passed
Dec 16, 2025

Mr. Hawley (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. …

Dec 16, 2025 (inferred)

Passed Senate (inferred from es version)

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill creates the Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park in New York and designates Americas National Churchill Museum in Missouri as a National Historic Landmark. It aims to preserve historically significant sites related to World War II refugee history and Winston Churchills legacy for educational purposes.

Who Benefits and How

Westminster College receives federal technical and financial assistance through cooperative agreements, plus increased visibility from National Historic Landmark designation. Tourism and hospitality businesses in both Oswego County, NY and Fulton, Missouri may see increased visitor traffic from the new designations. Historic preservation organizations and consultants gain new contracting opportunities through cooperative agreements. Landowners in the proposed park boundary area can sell their property to the federal government.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal taxpayers fund land acquisition, park development, management plans, and ongoing operations. The National Park Service takes on new administrative responsibilities for managing a new park unit and conducting required studies. The Department of the Interior must conduct a special resource study within 3 years to evaluate whether the Churchill Museum should become a full NPS unit.

Key Provisions

  • Establishes Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park to preserve the stories of 982 WWII refugees housed there from 1944-1946
  • Authorizes land acquisition by donation, purchase, or exchange for the new park
  • Designates Americas National Churchill Museum at Westminster College as a National Historic Landmark
  • Requires a special resource study to determine if the Churchill Museum should become a National Park System unit
  • Preserves property owner rights at the Churchill Museum site
Model: claude-opus-4-5-20251101
Generated: Dec 27, 2025 17:39

Evidence Chain:

This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

Primary Purpose

Establishes the Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park in New York and designates Americas National Churchill Museum in Missouri as a National Historic Landmark.

Policy Domains

Public Lands Historic Preservation National Parks

Legislative Strategy

"Preserve and memorialize historically significant sites related to World War II refugee history and Winston Churchills legacy"

Likely Beneficiaries

  • National Park Service (expanded portfolio)
  • Historic preservation organizations
  • Tourism industry in Oswego, NY and Fulton, MO
  • Westminster College
  • Local communities around the designated sites
  • Educational institutions and historians

Likely Burden Bearers

  • Federal taxpayers (funding for land acquisition, management, and studies)
  • Department of the Interior (administrative responsibilities)

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
National Parks Historic Preservation Federal Land Acquisition
Actor Mappings
"the_state"
→ State of New York
"the_secretary"
→ Secretary of the Interior
Domains
Historic Preservation National Landmarks
Actor Mappings
"the_city"
→ City of Fulton, Missouri
"the_state"
→ State of Missouri
"the_college"
→ Westminster College
"the_secretary"
→ Secretary of the Interior

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

9 terms
"map" §2(a)(1)

The map entitled Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park Proposed Boundary, numbered 962/194,681, dated September 2024

"National Historical Park" §2(a)(2)

The Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park established by subsection (b)(1)

"Secretary" §2(a)(3)

Secretary of the Interior (for Section 2)

"State" §2(a)(4)

State of New York (for Section 2)

"City" §3(a)(1)

The city of Fulton, Missouri

"College" §3(a)(2)

Westminster College, located at 501 Westminster Avenue in Fulton, Missouri

"Landmark" §3(a)(3)

Americas National Churchill Museum National Historic Landmark designated by subsection (b)(1)

"Secretary" §3(a)(4)

Secretary of the Interior (for Section 3)

"State" §3(a)(5)

State of Missouri (for Section 3)

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology