Bingaman proposes bill to create national historical park | News

Jeff Bingaman introduced a new bill that would designate Manhattan Project sites as National Historical Parks. Senator Tom Udall is cosponsoring the bill.

According to a report done by the National Park Service and the Department of Energy, the best way to preserve and interpret the Manhattan Project is for Congress to establish a National Historic Park. If passed, the three parks will be built in Oak Ridge, TN, Hanford, WA and Los Alamos.

“The Manhattan Project was a difficult yet historically significant part of our nation’s history. Establishing a National Historic Park will help us better understand the legacy the Manhattan Project left behind,” Senator Jeff Bingaman said.

The Manhattan Project ran from December 1942 until September 1945. It cost $2.2 billion and employed 130,000 people. It was a top secret project and kept out of public view.

“The Manhattan Project and the founding scientific community of Los Alamos forever changed the world,” Senator Tom Udall said. “What transpired in the Jemez Mountain range marked a powerful and emotional turning point in history that a National Park would help generations of people to better understand.”

The Bill was sent to the Senate energy and Natural Resources committee, which Bingaman chairs. Representative Doc Hastings from Washington will also introduce a similar bill in the House. Bingaman said this will allow citizens to understand how important this project was to our Nation's history.

“Providing visitors with opportunities to form their own intellectual and emotional connections with the significance of sites to be included in the Manhattan Project National Historical Park helps them understand its relevance to our shared national heritage,” Bingaman said. “There is no better place to understand history than where it happened, and that’s what national parks and the National Park Service do best.”