Bill Revokes $1 Fee at Statue of Liberty
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WASHINGTON — President Reagan has signed a bill to end the $1 fee at the Statue of Liberty.
“The bill made sure Lady Liberty won’t hold a dollar bill instead of a torch,” said Rep. Frank J. Guarini (D-N.J.), a co-sponsor of the legislation. “I’m very glad because this was a victory for the little people.”
The bill, signed Friday, was part of an effort to chip away at an Administration plan to charge admission fees for the first time at 72 national parks, monuments and other public installations. The National Park Service has been criticized by lawmakers since announcing the fee plans in December.
Bowing to pressure, Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel said in March that a planned $2 fee at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park would not begin this year, in deference to the celebration of the Constitution’s 200th birthday. Fees at many other parks were delayed while the Administration weighed objections and set up collection systems.
But Hodel had refused to waive the Statue of Liberty fee, which began Feb. 2 as part of a test program for the current fiscal year.
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