[House Report 108-255]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 108-255
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MARTIN LUTHER KING, JUNIOR, NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE LAND EXCHANGE ACT
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September 3, 2003.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1616]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 1616) to authorize the exchange of certain lands within
the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site for
lands owned by the City of Atlanta, Georgia, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 1616 is to authorize the exchange of
certain lands within the Martin Luther King, Junior, National
Historic Site for lands owned by the City of Atlanta, Georgia,
and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site
Visitor Center and Museum is located in downtown Atlanta and
has no emergency ingress or egress, making it virtually
impossible for firefighting and other emergency equipment to
reach the Historic Site. To address this problem, the City of
Atlanta would exchange a parcel of land owned by the City for a
vacant lot owned by the National Park Service, which has been
deemed to have no historic significance. The acquisition of the
city-owned property would enable the National Park Service to
establish easy street access to the Historic Site Visitor
Center, and would benefit the City by exchanging property that
the City could develop.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 1616 was introduced on April 3, 2003, by Congressman
John Lewis (D-GA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. On June 17, 2003,
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On July 9, 2003,
the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands
was discharged from further consideration of the bill by
unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the bill was
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by
unanimous consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8, and Article IV, section 3, of the
Constitution of the United States grants Congress the authority
to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 11, 2003.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1616, the Martin
Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site Land Exchange Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerly,
Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1616--Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site Land
Exchange Act
H.R. 1616 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS)
to acquire land within for the Martin Luther King, Junior,
National Historic Site by exchange. The new authority would
enable the NPS to exchange a small parcel of land owned by the
agency for a parcel owned by the city of Atlanta that is less
than 0.5 acres. The newly acquired tract would be used for
access to the historic site.
Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming the
availability of appropriations, CBO estimates that it would
cost the federal government about $200,000 over the next fiscal
year to complete the exchange and pave the new property. For
this estimate, CBO assumes that the properties to be exchanged
would be determined by NPS to be roughly equal in value.
H.R. 1616 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.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 2 OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 10, 1980
AN ACT To establish the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic
Site in the State of Georgia, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2. (a) * * *
(b)(1) Within the national historic site the Secretary is
authorized to acquire by donation, purchase with donated or
appropriated funds, transfer, or exchange, lands and interests
therein, except that property owned by the State of Georgia or
any political subdivision thereof may be acquired only by
donation[.] or exchange.
* * * * * * *