Arlington Memorial to Robert E. Lee Redesignated as Arlington House National Historic Site

This joint resolution strips the 'Robert E. Lee Memorial' designation from the historic mansion overlooking Arlington National Cemetery and officially renames it the 'Arlington House National Historic Site.' The bill effectively ends the site's status as a dedicated memorial to the Confederate general, a designation that has been in place since 1955. Once enacted, the National Park Service will shift its administrative focus to the broader historical context of the property rather than its specific function as a memorial to Lee.

Scrubbing the Records

The bill doesn't just swap a sign on the front gate; it triggers a massive digital and physical paper trail update. Under the 'Update of Federal Records' provision, every federal law, regulation, map, and document in the U.S. government’s possession must now refer to the location by its new name. For a regular visitor or a local resident, this means that everything from GPS data and National Park Service brochures to official federal archives will be updated to reflect the 'Arlington House' title. This ensures that the administrative identity of the site is uniform across all branches of government.

Closing the Legislative Chapter

To make this change permanent, the bill specifically repeals the joint resolutions of June 29, 1955, and June 30, 1972. These were the original laws that established and later refined the site’s status as a memorial to Lee. By repealing these, the bill removes the legal foundation for the memorial status entirely. For the average citizen, this is a straightforward administrative cleanup: the house remains open to the public, but the legal 'reason for being' for the site shifts from honoring an individual to preserving a historic location.