[House Report 104-758]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



104th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     104-758
_______________________________________________________________________


 
    HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES HISTORIC BUILDING 
                    RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION ACT

_______________________________________________________________________


 September 4, 1996.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1179]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1179) to authorize appropriations for the preservation 
and restoration of historic buildings at historically black 
colleges and universities, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill 
as amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES HISTORIC 
                    BUILDING RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION.

  (a) Authority To Make Grants.--From the amounts made available to 
carry out the National Historic Preservation Act, the Secretary of the 
Interior shall make grants in accordance with this section to eligible 
historically black colleges and universities for the preservation and 
restoration of historic buildings and structures on the campus of these 
institutions.
  (b) Grant Conditions.--Grants made under subsection (a) shall be 
subject to the condition that the grantee covenants, for the period of 
time specified by the Secretary, that--
          (1) no alteration will be made in the property with respect 
        to which the grant is made without the concurrence of the 
        Secretary; and
          (2) reasonable public access to the property with respect to 
        which the grant is made will be permitted by the grantee for 
        interpretive and educational purposes.
  (c) Matching Requirement for Buildings and Structures Listed on the 
National Register of Historic Places.--(1) Except as provided by 
paragraph (2), the Secretary may obligate funds made available under 
this section for a grant with respect to a building or structure listed 
on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic 
Places only if the grantee agrees to match, from funds derived from 
non-Federal sources, the amount of the grant with an amount that is 
equal or greater than the grant.
  (2) The Secretary may waive paragraph (1) with respect to a grant if 
the Secretary determines from circumstances that an extreme emergency 
exists or that such a waiver is in the public interest to assure the 
preservation of historically significant resources.
  (d) Funding Provision.--Pursuant to section 108 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act, $29,000,000 shall be made available to carry 
out the purposes of this section. Of amounts made available pursuant to 
this section, $5,000,000 shall be available for grants to Fisk 
University, $2,500,000 shall be available for grants to Knoxville 
College, $2,000,000 shall be available for grants to Miles College, 
Alabama, $1,500,000 shall be available for grants to Talladega College, 
Alabama, $1,550,000 shall be available for grants to Selma University, 
Alabama, $250,000 shall be available for grants to Stillman College, 
Alabama, $200,000 shall be available for grants to Concordia College, 
Alabama, $2,900,000 shall be available for grants to Allen University, 
South Carolina, $1,000,000 shall be available for grants to Claflin 
College, South Carolina, $2,000,000 shall be available for grants to 
Voorhees College, South Carolina, $1,000,000 shall be available for 
grants to Rust College, Mississippi, and $3,000,000 shall be available 
for grants to Tougaloo University, Mississippi.
  (e) Regulations.--The Secretary shall develop such guidelines as may 
be necessary to carry out this section.
  (f) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section:
          (1) Historically black colleges.--The term ``historically 
        black colleges and universities'' has the same meaning given 
        the term ``part B institution'' by section 322 of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061).
          (2) Historic building and structures.--The term ``historic 
        building and structures'' means a building or structure listed 
        on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of 
        Historic Places or designated a National Historic Landmark.

                          purpose of the bill

    The purpose of H.R. 1179 is to authorize funds to ensure 
the preservation of historically significant buildings on the 
campuses of historic black colleges and universities.

                  background and need for legislation

    The targeting of bricks and mortar funding from the 
Historic Preservation Fund, as proposed under this legislation, 
for a specific category of resources was first provided for in 
the mid-1980s for lighthouses. Under the Bush Administration, 
Secretary of the Interior Lujan developed the program to 
provide funding for historically black colleges and 
universities from the Historic Preservation Fund.
    For the last several years, several million dollars have 
been included in the Department of the Interior Appropriation 
Acts for this purpose. The work which has been accomplished to 
date meets the appropriate standards with respect to use of the 
Historic Preservation Fund.
    The Historic Preservation Act currently provides a generic 
authorization of funding for historic preservation bricks and 
mortar projects. Unfortunately, in recent years about 98 
percent of the funding allocated for the Historic Preservation 
Fund has been used for further studies and inventories, and 
only a small amount has gone to the actual repair of buildings. 
This legislation ensures that some portion of the Historic 
Preservation Fund would continue to be directed to such bricks 
and mortar work.
    There is one concern with this legislation. Specifically, 
it is not clear that historically black colleges and 
universities are the highest priority use of these funds. In 
fact, the National Park Service already sends to Congress an 
annual report on the most threatened national historic 
landmarks, and none of the buildings eligible for funding under 
this authorization have been placed on that list in recent 
years.

                            committee action

    H.R. 1179 was introduced on March 9, 1995, by Congressman 
Bob Clement (D-TN) and Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN). 
The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, and within 
the Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests 
and Lands. On March 20, 1996, the Subcommittee held a hearing 
on H.R. 1179. On April 18, 1996, the Subcommittee met to mark 
up H.R. 1179. An amendment to in the nature of a substitute was 
offered by Congressman James V. Hansen (R-UT). Congressman Bill 
Richardson (D-NM) offered an amendment to the Hansen amendment 
which added colleges and universities in Alabama, South 
Carolina and Mississippi to the list of those eligible to 
receive grants under the bill. The amendment was adopted by 
voice vote. The amendment in the nature of a substitute as 
amended was then adopted by voice vote, and the bill was 
ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee by voice vote. 
On August 1, 1996, the Full Resources Committee met to consider 
H.R. 1179. An amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
offered by Congressman Duncan. Congressman Richardson offered 
an amendment to the Duncan amendment to add two colleges in 
Alabama to the list of those eligible to receive grants under 
the bill. The Richardson amendment was adopted by voice vote 
and the Duncan amendment, as amended, was adopted by voice 
vote. The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported 
to the House of Representatives by voice vote.

                      section-by-section analysis

Section 1. Historically black colleges and universities historic 
        building restoration and preservation

    Section 2(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to make 
grants from the Historic Preservation Fund for preservation and 
restoration of historic buildings on the campuses of 
historically black colleges and universities. The bill limits 
funding to those buildings on or eligible for the National 
Register of Historic Places. The Committee believes that this 
level of historic significance is appropriate for the 
expenditure of federal funds. The Committee does not expect 
that use of funds for this purpose will have any relationship 
to the overall appropriation to the Historic Preservation Fund, 
noting that the allocation of funds for this program has never 
been close to the $150 million annual ceiling.
    As a condition of the grant, the grantee shall agree not to 
make any alteration to the building without the concurrence of 
the Secretary, and shall ensure reasonable public access. The 
Committee intends for this limitation to only apply to 
alteration of historic integrity of the structure, as opposed 
to any change, regardless of how cosmetic. The bill further 
provides that expenditure of funds pursuant to this Act by the 
Secretary may only be made in those cases where the grantee 
provides non-federal funds in an amount equal to or greater 
than the amount of federal funds. The text provides for an 
exception in the case of an extreme emergency or in the public 
interest. The Committee expects that the use of this exception 
authority will meet the highest standards. For example, use of 
funds to correct a chronic problem would not be appropriate 
under this authority, while use of the authority to correct 
severe storm damage could be appropriate.
    Subsection (d) authorizes a total of $29 million and 
includes earmarks for certain institutions which the Committee 
believes warrant special consideration. Subsection (e) 
authorizes the issuance of any necessary guidelines and 
subsection (f) defines terms for the Act.

            committee oversight findings and recommendations

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                     inflationary impact statement

    Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that the 
enactment of H.R. 1179 will have no significant inflationary 
impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national 
economy.

                        cost of the legislation

    Clause 7(a) 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 
H.R. 1179. However, clause 7(d) 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 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     compliance with house rule xi

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 
1179 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 1179.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
rule XI 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 H.R. 
1179 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, August 28, 1996.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 1179, a bill to authorize appropriations for the 
preservation and restoration of historic buildings at 
historically black colleges and universities, as ordered 
reported by the House Committee on Resources on August 1, 1996. 
We estimate that implementing this bill would increase 
discretionary spending by a total of $29 million over the 1997-
2002 period, assuming the appropriation of the authorized 
amounts. Enacting H.R. 1179 would not affect direct spending or 
receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply 
to the bill.
    H.R. 1179 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
make matching grants to historically black colleges and 
universities for restoring and preserving historic buildings on 
their campuses. The Secretary would be directed to allocate a 
total of $29 million for such grants from the amounts 
appropriated to the Historic Preservation Fund. Assuming the 
appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO expects that the 
eligible institutions would satisfy the funding conditions 
outlined in the bill and that the money would be spent over the 
next six years.
    H.R. 1179 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4), and would have no impact on the budgets of 
state, local, or tribal governments.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

     H.R. 1179 contains no unfunded mandates.

                         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

     H.R. 1179 makes no changes in existing law.