H.R. 8638

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8638 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8638

To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Washington Spy 
Ring National Historic Trail, and for other purposes.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 30, 2026

Mr. Suozzi (for himself and Mr. LaLota) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

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A BILL

To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Washington Spy 
Ring National Historic Trail, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Washington Spy Ring National 
Historic Trail Designation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) The Culper Spy Ring was a group of American 
Revolutionaries who gathered intelligence on British troop 
movements and fortifications in Manhattan, Long Island, and 
elsewhere for General George Washington.
(2) The Culper Spy Ring is credited with uncovering 
Benedict Arnold's conspiracy to surrender West Point to the 
British and saving the Franco-American alliance by uncovering 
plans to ambush the French army in Rhode Island.
(3) Key locations used by the Culper Spy Ring include--
(A) Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay, New York, the home 
of intelligence operative Robert Townsend;
(B) the Arsenal (also known as the Job Sammis 
House) in Huntington, New York, which was used to store 
gunpowder during the British occupation of Long Island 
and the town of Huntington;
(C) the Brewster House, a tavern in Setauket, New 
York, owned by the Brewster family and used to spy on 
British officers and transfer information to General 
Washington across the Long Island Sound; and
(D) generally, the byways and highways connecting 
these sites.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF THE WASHINGTON SPY RING NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL.

Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)) 
is amended--
(1) by redesignating the second paragraph (31) (relating to 
Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail) as paragraph 
(32); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(33) Washington spy ring national historic trail.--
``(A) In general.--The Washington Spy Ring National 
Historic Trail, a trail of approximately 50 miles of 
village, town, and city streets and New York Route 25A, 
from Great Neck, New York, along Long Island's North 
Shore, through Nassau and Suffolk Counties, to Port 
Jefferson, New York, following the route generally 
depicted on the map titled `Proposed Washington Spy 
Ring National Historic Trail Extent and Key Locations', 
numbered NERO 962/198100, and dated November 2025.
``(B) Availability of map.--The map described in 
subparagraph (A) shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the appropriate office of the 
Secretary of the Interior.
``(C) Administration.--In cooperation with the 
Secretary of the Interior, the Washington Spy Ring 
National Historic Trail designated by this paragraph 
shall be administered by the North Shore Promotion 
Alliance, an organization described in section 
501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such 
Code.''.
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