S. 791 (119th)Bill Overview

Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2025

Public Lands and Natural Resources|Educational facilities and institutionsHistoric sites and heritage areas
Cosponsors
Support
Democratic
Introduced
Feb 27, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageCommittee

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does

This bill establishes the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in Baltimore, Maryland, as an affiliated area of the National Park System. The site is the former Public School 103, owned and operated by the Beloved Community Services Corporation, which will remain the management entity.

Why people may split

Liberals want stronger federal funding and program commitments.

Watch point

Narrow, locally focused, low-cost design typically attracts bipartisan support, but still requires committee and floor scheduling.

This bill establishes the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in Baltimore, Maryland, as an affiliated area of the National Park System.

The site is the former Public School 103, owned and operated by the Beloved Community Services Corporation, which will remain the management entity.

The Secretary of the Interior may provide technical assistance and enter cooperative agreements but may not acquire the school or assume overall financial responsibility.

Passage75/100

Very limited scope, low controversy, and explicit limits on federal cost increase odds, but procedural hurdles and unspecified funding add uncertainty.

CredibilityPartial

How solid the drafting looks.

Contention25/100

Liberals want stronger federal funding and program commitments.

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Likely benefits vs burdens50% / 50%
Local governments · Federal agenciesLocal governments · Federal agencies

These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.

Likely helped
  • Potential benefitPreserves and interprets Thurgood Marshall’s early education site for historical and educational purposes.
  • Local governmentsMay increase heritage tourism and local economic activity, potentially creating jobs and revenue.
  • Federal agenciesEnables federal technical assistance and cooperative grants for marketing, interpretation, and preservation.
Likely burdened
  • Local governmentsRelies on the nonprofit for ownership and upkeep, potentially shifting long-term maintenance costs locally.
  • Potential burdenCompliance with National Park Service standards and agreements could impose administrative and financial burdens.
  • Federal agenciesAuthorizes unspecified appropriations, creating uncertainty about the actual level of federal financial support.
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

Liberals want stronger federal funding and program commitments.
Progressive95%

Likely strongly supportive because the bill preserves and interprets Thurgood Marshall’s legacy and advances civil rights history.

Appreciates national recognition and NPS partnership, but may push for clearer, dedicated funding and public programming commitments.

Concerned that limiting federal financial responsibility could jeopardize sustainability.

Leans supportive
Centrist85%

Generally favorable: the bill protects a historically significant site while avoiding federal acquisition and major new bureaucracy.

Views the affiliated-area model as a pragmatic compromise.

Wants clear cooperative-agreement terms and transparent costs before full endorsement.

Leans supportive
Conservative70%

Cautiously supportive of honoring Thurgood Marshall but wary of federal precedent and spending.

The bill’s retention of local ownership and prohibition on federal acquisition reduces opposition.

Concerned about potential mission creep or later funding obligations.

Leans supportive
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood75/100

Very limited scope, low controversy, and explicit limits on federal cost increase odds, but procedural hurdles and unspecified funding add uncertainty.

Scope and complexity
24%
Scopenarrow
24%
Complexitylow
Why this could stall
  • No cost estimate or CBO score included
  • Local stakeholder consensus beyond owner unknown
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

Liberals want stronger federal funding and program commitments.

Very limited scope, low controversy, and explicit limits on federal cost increase odds, but procedural hurdles and unspecified funding add…

Unlocked analysis

Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site Establishment…

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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