[House Report 108-716]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Rept. 108-716
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 1
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MINGO JOB CORPS CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CENTER TRANSFER
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October 4, 2004.--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 S. 1814]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(S. 1814) to transfer Federal lands between the Secretary of
Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of S. 1814 is to transfer Federal lands between
the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Mingo National Wildlife Refuge is located in Puxico,
Missouri. It was established on June 7, 1944, under the
authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and it consists of
21,676 acres of wildlife habitat. The Refuge is a major
migration and wintering area for migratory waterfowl through
the Mississippi Flyway. In the past, populations of 125,000
mallard ducks, 75,000 Canada geese and nesting bald eagles have
been recorded at the Refuge. There are also over 140 identified
archaeological sites within the Refuge.
The Job Corps is a national employment program established
by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. It is administered by
the Department of Labor to address employment barriers
experienced by nearly 70,000 at-risk students each year between
the ages of 16 and 24. There are 118 Job Corps Centers
throughout the country. A subset of the Job Corps are the
Civilian Conservation Centers (CCC), of which the U.S. Forest
Service operates 18 and the Fish and Wildlife Service operates
two. The latter two CCCs are: the Mingo Job Corps CCC and the
Treasure Lake Job Corps CCC in Indiahoma, Oklahoma. The key
difference between a Job Corps Center and a Job Corps CCC is
that in addition to training, CCCs emphasis work-based efforts
to conserve, develop or manage public recreational areas.
The Mingo Job Corps CCC is located at the southeast corner
of the refuge. It occupies 87 acres of the unit, including ten
buildings on the campus, and a new education building is
currently under construction. According to the Fish and
Wildlife Service, the Center can accommodate up to 224
residential students and there are 76 federal employees working
at the Center. The fundamental goal of the Center is to provide
students with the basic training and educational skills
necessary to secure long-term employment and to have a
successful career in the future. At this time, the Fish and
Wildlife Service operates the Job Corps Center through an
interagency agreement with the Department of Labor. During the
past academic year, Mingo was ranked 29th out of 118 centers in
the nation. Despite this fact, the Labor Department has
indicated its desire to contract out the operation of the Mingo
Center. To date, there is only one center, the Iroquois Job
Corps Center in Medina, New York, that is operated by an
outside private contractor.
On March 6, 2003, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed
that would transfer the administration and operations of the
Mingo Job CCC to the Forest Service. Despite this agreement,
the transfer cannot occur administratively because the National
Wildlife Refuge Administration Act of 1966 stipulates that
refuge land can not be transferred without an act of Congress.
Under the terms of this legislation, the transfer will
occur in an expedited manner. The Director of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and the Chief of the Forest Service will enter
intoa second Memorandum of Agreement that includes procedures
for: the orderly transfer of employees; the transfer of property,
fixtures and facilities; and the transfer of records. In addition, the
bill stipulates that the property will revert back to the Fish and
Wildlife Service if the Mingo Job Corps CCC is closed in the future.
The Forest Service will not be liable for any environmental costs or
damages that may have occurred on the 87 acres of property prior to the
transfer. Each agency will be required to cover their own implementing
costs and each federal employee transferred to the Forest Service will
retain all of their employment rights and benefits. Finally, within 60
days after enactment of the bill, the Fish and Wildlife Service shall
provide to the Forest Service an inventory of all property and
facilities at the Center.
COMMITTEE ACTION
S. 1814 was introduced on November 3, 2003, by Senator Kit
Bond (R-MO). The bill was passed by the U.S. Senate on April
20, 2004, and in the House of Representatives was referred to
the Committee on Resources and additionally to the Committee on
Agriculture and the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Within the Committee, the bill was referred to the
Subcommittees on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans
and Forests and Forests Health. On May 13, 2004, the
Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans
held a hearing on the bill. On June 3, 2004, the Subcommittee
met to mark up the bill. There were no amendments offered and
the bill was then ordered favorably reported to the Full
Committee. On September 15, 2004, the Full Resources Committee
met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Forests and
Forests Health was discharged from further consideration of the
bill by unanimous consent. There were no amendments offered and
the bill was then 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 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:
S. 1814--An act to transfer federal lands between the Secretary of
Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1814 would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the
legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues. S.
1814 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates
as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not
affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
S. 1814 would transfer, from the Secretary of the Interior
to the Secretary of Agriculture, administrative jurisdiction
over the Mingo Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center, located
in Missouri. Based on information from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and the Forest Service, CBO estimates that the
agencies' costs to complete the proposed transfer would total
less than $100,000, assuming the availability of appropriated
funds. We also estimate that transferring the center between
agencies would not significantly affect operating costs.
On April 12, 2004, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
1814 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Environment
and Public Works on April 7, 2004. The two versions of S. 1814
are identical, and our cost estimates are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
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
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
COMMITTEE CORRESPONDENCE
House of Representatives,
Committee on Resources,
Washington, DC, September 29, 2004.
Hon. Robert Goodlatte,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
Longworth HOB, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: On September 15, 2004, the Committee on
Resources ordered reported S. 1814, a bill to transfer Federal
lands between the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of
the Interior. The bill was referred primarily to the Committee
on Resources, with an additional referral to the Committee on
Agriculture because it affects activities in forests not
created from the public domain.
The author of the bill, Senator Kit Bond would like to see
the measure considered on the Floor before we adjourn for the
year. Knowing that we have only a short time remaining in this
session, I ask that you allow the Committee on Agriculture to
be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it
may be scheduled under suspension of the rules as soon as
possible. This discharge in no way affects your jurisdiction
over the subject matter of the bill and it will not serve as
precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a
conference on the bill be necessary, I would support your
request to have the Committee on Agriculture represented on the
conference committee. I would be pleased to include this letter
and any response in the bill report filed by the Committee
Resources.
Thank you for your consideration of my request and I look
forward to bringing S. 1814 to the Floor soon.
Sincerely,
Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman.
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House of Representatives,
Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, DC, October 4, 2004.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
Chairman, House Committee on Resources,
Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I would like to take this opportunity to
respond to your letter of September 29, 2004 concerning my
committee's discharge of S. 1814. This legislation, sponsored
by Senator Kit Bond, would transfer federal lands between the
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Interior. On
September 23, 2004, the Committee on Agriculture favorably
ordered reported by an affirmative voice vote S. 1814. As you
are aware, the Committee on Agriculture was granted an
additional referral of this legislation on those provisions
that fall within the jurisdiction of this Committee.
Knowing of your interest in expediting this legislation and
in maintaining the continued consultation between our
Committees on these matters, I will agree to discharge S. 1814
from further consideration by the Committee on Agriculture. I
do so with the understanding that by discharging the bill, the
Committee on Agriculture does not waive any future jurisdiction
claim over these or similar measures. In addition, in the event
a conference with the Senate is requested on this matter, the
Committee on Agriculture reserves the right to seek appointment
of conferees, if it should become necessary.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter and look
forward to seeing S. 1814 on the floor of the House of
Representatives shortly.
Sincerely,
Bob Goodlatte,
Chairman.