[Senate Report 107-260]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 577
107th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 107-260
======================================================================
HOMESTEAD NATIONAL MONUMENT OF AMERICA ADDITIONS ACT
_______
September 9, 2002.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 38]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 38) to provide for additional lands to
be included within the boundaries of the Homestead National
Monument of America in the State of Nebraska, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of H.R. 38 is to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to acquire approximately 18.98 acres of privately
owned land and 13.9 acres of State-owned land to be included
within the boundaries of the Homestead National Monument of
America in the State of Nebraska.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Homestead National Monument of America, located in
southeast Nebraska near the town of Beatrice, commemorates one
of the first documented Nebraska homesteads claimed after the
passage of the Homestead Act of 1862. The Homestead Act
provided that any citizen or intended citizen could claim 160
acres of surveyed government land. The Homestead National
Monument is located on the site of the original land claim of
Daniel Freeman, a Union Scout and one of the first claimants
under the Homestead Act. Homestead National Monument includes a
pioneer cabin, an old school house, nearly one hundred acres of
restored tall grass prairie, and a visitor center.
H.R. 38 authorizes the acquisition of four additional
parcels of land for the Monument, the total amount of which
would be less than 30 acres. The two private landowners
involved have agreed in principle to the proposed legislation
and the State of Nebraska has also agreed to donate its lands
as provided in the bill.
The two privately owned parcels of land to be added to the
Monument are the Graff property and the Pioneer Acres Green.
The Graff property consists of approximately 15.98 acres
adjacent to the Monument grounds. This acquisition will protect
a portion of the Nation's second oldest restored prairie. In
addition, it will provide an alternative location, outside of
the flood plain, to house the Monument's primary cultural
resources. The new Homestead Heritage Center visitor facility
on the acquired land would hold the Monument's collections,
exhibits, public research facilities and administrative
offices. Funds to build the visitor center were appropriated in
fiscal year 2001, but the National Park Service intends to wait
to build the new center until land above the flood plain has
been acquired.
The second privately owned property, Pioneer Acres Green,
consists of approximately 3 acres of land. The purpose of this
addition is to limit development of lands immediately adjacent
to major park historical resources.
The two publicly owned parcels of land to be added to the
Monument are a segment of State Highway 4 and the property
known as State Triangle. The National Park Service has arranged
with the Nebraska Department of Roads to move State Highway 4
from the monument and create the Homestead Heritage Parkway.
The Parkway would allow for educational displays along the road
as well as pedestrian and bicycle path that would connect the
park to Beatrice, four miles to the east.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 38 was introduced by Representative Bereuter on
January 3, 2001 and was passed by the House of Representatives
on December 11, 2001. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a
hearing on H.R. 38 on June 12, 2002. At its business meeting on
July 31, 2002, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
ordered H.R. 38 to be favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on July 31, 2002, by voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 38.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 contains the short title, the ``Homestead
National Monument of America Additions Act.''
Section 2 provides a series of definitions.
Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary to acquire private
lands from willing sellers only, and State-owned lands by
donation only.
Subsection (b) describes the four parcels of land the
Secretary may acquire.
Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to modify the
boundary of the Monument after acquiring the land and to
administer the new parcels included within the boundary.
Subsection (d) requires the Secretary to purchase the Graff
property within 5 years after enactment of this Act. If the
property is not acquired within 5 years, the authority expires
and it will not become part of the Monument.
Subsection (e) requires the National Park Service to keep
on file a map to reflect these additions to the Monument.
Subsection (f) authorizes $400,000 to carry out the Act.
Section 4 authorizes the Secretary to enter into
cooperative agreements with State and local governments and
other interested entities for the operation, maintenance,
interpretation, recreation, and other purposes for the proposed
Homestead Heritage Highway.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 8, 2002.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 38, the Homestead
National Monument of America Additions Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
H.R. 38--Homestead National Monument of America Additions Act
H.R. 38 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire four parcels of land totaling almost 33 acres in
Nebraska. The land would be added to the Homestead National
Monument of America in Gage County, Nebraska. The legislation
would allow the Secretary to acquire approximately 19 acres of
privately owned land by donation or purchase. The Secretary
would be permitted to acquire approximately 14 acres of state-
owned property by donation only. Finally, section 3 would
authorize the appropriation of $400,000 to implement the
legislation.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 38 would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. The $400,000 needed
to purchase the two parcels of privately owned land for the
monument was already appropriated for fiscal year 2001, and we
estimate that annual costs to manage those parcels (and any
property donated by the state) would not be significant. The
legislation would not affect direct spending; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply.
H.R. 38 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
Any actions taken by the state of Nebraska or local governments
in the state as a result of this legislation, including
donating land for the monument, would be voluntary.
On December 4, 2001, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 38 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources
on November 28, 2001. The two versions of the legislation are
identical, as are the estimated costs.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah, Reis.
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out H.R. 38. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals
and businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of H.R. 38.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
On July 30, 2002, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting
forth executive views on H.R. 38. These reports had not been
received at the time the report on H.R. 38 was filed. The
testimony provided by the National Park Service at the
Subcommittee hearing follows:
Statement of P. Daniel Smith, Assistant to the Director, National Park
Service, Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the
views of the Department of H.R. 38. This bill provides for
additional lands to be included within the boundaries of
Homestead National Monument of America in the State of
Nebraska. The House passed this legislation on December 11,
2001.
The Department supports the enactment of H.R. 38, as passed
by the House, Acquisition of these additional lands has been
recommended by the Homestead National Monument of America's
1999 General Management Plan, and costs to administered this
boundary modification are expected to be minimal. Funding to
acquire the privately owned properties was included in the
Fiscal Year 2001 Interior Appropriations Act, and we anticipate
that management of the acquired lands can be accomplished with
existing park resources.
Homestead National Monument of America (Monument) was
established in 1936. The Monument's enabling legislation states
that the purpose of the Monument is to establish ``* * * a
proper memorial emblematical of the hardships and the pioneer
life through which the early settlers passed in settlement,
cultivation, and civilization of, the Great West * * *'' The
legislation also specifies that the Secretary of the Interior
will ``* * * erect suitable buildings to be used as a specific
museum in which shall be preserved literature applying to such
settlement and agriculture implements used to bring the western
plains to its present state of high civilization, and to use
the said tract of land for such other objects and purposes as
in his judgment may perpetuate the history of this country
mainly developed by the homestead law.''
If enacted, the bill will add four small, but important,
parcels of land to the Monument. These additions will allow the
opportunity for greater protection of the Monument's primary
cultural resource, will protect the Monument from encroaching
development, and will provide the opportunity for improved
visitor and interpretive services. The total amount of land to
be added is approximately 33 acres. The private landowners
affected have agreed in principle to this proposed legislation
and the State of Nebraska has agreed, as well, to donate its
lands as provided for in the bill.
The four parcels to be added to the Monument and the
purposes for the addition of each are as follows:
The Graff property: This privately owned parcel consists of
approximately 15.98 acres adjacent to and overlooking the
Monument's grounds. Addition of the property would serve two
purposes. First, it would ensure protection for the nation's
second oldest restored prairie, which holds important
educational, research, and scientific values. Second, this
property, located on higher ground, could be used as an
alternative location, outside of the floodplain, for the
Monument's primary cultural resource, the Palmer-Epard cabin,
as well as the visitor facility.
Pioneer Acres Green: This parcel consists of approximately
3 acres of privately owned land. Inclusion of this property in
the boundary will provide additional protection to park
resources from nearby development.
Segment of State Highway 4: This parcel consists of
approximately 5.6 acres of Nebraska State Highway and its
addition will protect natural and archaeological resources and
provide a site to support education efforts through
interpretive wayside exhibits. The State of Nebraska is
currently examining proposals to reroute State Highway 4, which
would allow for this existing road to serve as an access road
to the Monument.
State Triangle: This parcel consists of approximately 8.3
acres and is bounded by the Monument on two sides and by State
Highway 4 on the third side. The property is immediately
adjacent to the site of the original homestead cabin and will
allow for maximizing interpretive efforts and maintaining the
integrity of the Monument's boundaries.
At the request of the landowner, the property described in
subsection (b)(1)--the Graff Property--must be acquired within
five years after the date of the enactment of this Act. The
family, which has been a strong supporter of the Monument, made
this request in order to better plan for the future and to
minimize the impacts on their lives. If this legislation is
enacted, meeting the requests should not be difficult since the
funds for acquisition have already been appropriated.
Mr. Chairman, the Department supports the enactment of H.R.
38, as passed by the House, and we thank you again for the
opportunity to appear today. This concludes my prepared
remarks. I will be pleased to answer any questions you or other
committee members might have.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing laws are made by the Act H.R. 38 as ordered
reported.