[Senate Report 104-384]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 607
104th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 2d Session                                                     104-384
_______________________________________________________________________


 
       ALEUTIAN WORLD WAR II NATIONAL HISTORIC AREAS ACT OF 1996

                                _______
                                

               September 30, 1996.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1809]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1809) entitled ``Aleutian World War II 
National Historic Areas Act of 1996'', having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                         purpose of the measure

    The purposes of S. 1809 are to designate and preserve the 
Aleutian World War II National Historic Area within lands owned 
by the Ounalaska Corporation on the island of Amaknak, Alaska, 
and to provide for the interpretation of the history and role 
of the Aleut people and the Aleutian Islands in the defense of 
the United States during World War II.

                          background and need

    The Aleutian Islands form an 1,100 mile volcanic arc that 
sweeps out into the North Pacific Ocean off the Alaska 
mainland. To the north is the Bering Sea and to the southwest 
are the Kurile Islands. During World War II, the Aleutian 
Islands came under attack. The Aleutian islands of Unalaska and 
Amaknak were raided and bombed by Japanese aircraft in one of 
the few sieges on United States territory.
    During the War, Alaska Native people from 23 villages were 
evacuated from the region and many were interned in relocation 
camps. As a result of the devastating bombing by the Japanese, 
the city of Unalaska, located on Unalaska Island, was the only 
village that was reinhabited following the World War II effort.
    The Dutch Harbor National Historic Landmark located on 
Amaknak Island and adjacent to the larger Aleutian island of 
Unalaska, is one of eight World War II National Historic 
Landmarks in Alaska that were designated from 1985 to 1987. The 
National Historic Landmarks in the Aleutians represent the 
Allied and Japanese battle to control the strategically located 
Aleutian Island chain.
    The 1978, Section 6 of Public Law 95-348 established War in 
the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam and mandated the 
National Park Service to provide a study of sites and areas 
associated with the Pacific Campaign during World War II. In 
response, the National Park Service conducted a study of the 
World War II National Historic Landmarks in the Aleutian 
Islands and concluded that the National Historic Landmark at 
Dutch Harbor in Unalaska was both feasible and suitable for 
establishment as a new area of the National Park System in 
terms of access, existing infrastructure, cost and integrity of 
resource.
    Historic resources on Amaknak Island at Dutch Harbor 
include over two dozen ammunition magazines; a short airstrip 
and hangar; Ulatka Head, the highest coastal defense battery 
ever constructed in the United States; and several significant 
World War II era structures which were part of the Naval 
Operating Base and the Iliuliuk Submarine Base.
    The Ounalaska Corporation is the Alaska Native village 
corporation for the Unalaska region of the Western Aleutian 
Islands. The Corporation is the major land owner on Amaknak 
Island and adjacent Unalaska Island.
    This bill would designate and preserve the Aleutian World 
War II National Historic Area within lands owned by the 
Ounalaska Corporation on the island of Amaknak, Alaska, and 
would provide for the interpretation of the history and role of 
the Aleut people and the Aleutian Islands in the defense of the 
United States during World War II.
    No land exchanges, conveyances, acquisition, or day-to-day 
operational expenses would be authorized through this bill. The 
Ounalaska Corporation would maintain ownership and control of 
the lands, buildings and historic structures which would 
comprise the historic area. The Secretary of the Interior would 
be authorized to award grants and provide technical assistance 
to the Corporation and the city of Unalaska to assist with the 
planning, development, and historic preservation.

                          legislative history

    S. 1809 was introduced by Senator Murkowski on May 23, 
1996. Senator Stevens was added as a cosponsor on June 13, 
1996. The Subcommittee on Parks, Historic Preservation and 
Recreation held a hearing on the bill on July 25, 1996. At the 
business meeting on September 12, 1996, the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources ordered S. 1809 favorably reported.

                        committee recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on September 12, 1996, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
1809.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1 entitles the Act the ``Aleutian World War II 
National Historic Areas Act of 1996.''
    Section 2 describes the purposes of the Act as designating, 
preserving and providing for the interpretation of the Aleutian 
World War II National Historic Area within lands owned by the 
Ounalaska Corporation on the Island of Amaknak, Alaska.
    Section 3 directs that the boundaries of the National 
Historic Area shall be comprised of areas on Amaknak island as 
depicted on a map.
    Section 4 directs that nothing in the Act shall authorize 
the conveyance of lands between the Ounalaska Corporation and 
the United States Department of the Interior or remove land or 
structures from the exclusive control of the Ounalaska 
Corporation; or provide authority for the Department of the 
Interior from assuming duties associated with the daily 
operation of the Historic Area or any of its facilities or 
structures.
    Section 5 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to award 
grants and provide technical assistance to the Ounalaska 
Corporation and the city of Unalaska to assist in the planning, 
development, and historic preservation of the Historic Area 
resources.

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                Washington, DC, September 23, 1996.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed S. 1809, the Aleutian World War II National Historic 
Areas Act of 1996, as reported by the Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources on September 16, 1996. We estimate 
that the federal government would spend less than $50,000 
annually to implement this bill, assuming appropriation of the 
necessary amounts. Enacting S. 1809 would not affect direct 
spending or receipts. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
not apply to the bill.
    S. 1809 would designate certain lands on the island of 
Amaknak, Alaska, as the Aleutian World War II National Historic 
Areas. These lands would continue to be owned and maintained by 
the Ounalaska Corporation. The bill would authorize the 
Secretary of the Interior to provide the corporation and the 
city of Unalaska with financial and technical assistance for 
planning, development, and preservation purposes.
    Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that the National Park Service (NPS) would spend less 
than $50,000 annually for grants to the corporation and the 
city. The NPS already provides technical assistance for 
preservation of local historical properties.
    S. 1809 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4) and would impose no costs on 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.

                      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 S. 1809. 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 S. 1809, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On September 13, 1996, 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 agency recommendations on S. 1809. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 1809 
was filed. When these reports become available, the Chairman 
will request that they be printed in the Congressional Record 
for the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the 
Department of the Interior at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

      Statement by John Reynolds, Deputy Director, National Park 
                  Service, Department of the Interior

          I appreciate the opportunity to appear today to 
        present the position of the Department of the Interior 
        on S. 1809, a bill to provide for the designation of a 
        World War II historic area on Native Corporation land 
        on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands. We support 
        this bill.
          S. 1809 would designate an area on Amaknak Island of 
        the Aleutian Islands as a ``national historic area.'' 
        Because the area would be administered by a private 
        entity on private lands, it would not legally be 
        considered a unit of the National Park system. It 
        would, instead, have the status of an ``affiliated 
        area'' of the National Park system. We should also note 
        that this site could also be considered for 
        Congressional designation as a National Heritage Area. 
        Such designation may be more appropriate than 
        affiliated area status since this site is owned and 
        maintained by a non-federal entity and the National 
        Park Service role is to provide grants and technical 
        assistance.
          The Aleutian Islands extend from the Alaska peninsula 
        toward Japan in a long volcanic arc that stands between 
        the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. The area that 
        would be designated by the bill as a national area is 
        owned by the Ounalaskha Corporation. The bill provides 
        that the Ounalaskha Corporation would be responsible 
        for operating the national historic area. The bill 
        would also prohibit the Department of the Interior from 
        acquiring lands within the site, or from exercising 
        management control over the area. Section 5 of the 
        bill, however, would allow the Secretary of the 
        Interior to award grants and provide technical 
        assistance to the Ounalaskha Corporation in its 
        administration of the site.
          The 81-acre site is clearly worthy of this 
        recognition. It is located on Ulatka Head, a high 
        promontory of land that dominates Unalaska Bay on 
        Amaknak Island. During World War II this ridge formed 
        the kingpin of the defensive Iron Ring across the bay.
          The Aleutian Campaign in the War in the Pacific, 
        known as the forgotten campaign, directly involved 
        close to two hundred thousand American, Canadian, and 
        Japanese military and civilians. The campaign resonated 
        with Americans all over the world as it involved the 
        only battles of World War II that were fought on 
        American soil.
          The bombing of Dutch Harbor on Unalaska, the Battle 
        of Attu, and the bombing and invasion of Kiska Island, 
        were the crucial events of the Campaign. Approximately 
        1,000 American and Canadian men lost their lives 
        between June 1942 and August 1943. The Japanese 
        invasion forces lost their entire garrison on Attu 
        Island; in addition, another 1,650 lives were lost on 
        Kiska and at sea.
          Billions of dollars were invested in the construction 
        of a military theater on these remote islands at a pace 
        that was astounding even by today's standards. American 
        troops overcame Aleutian weather and spectacular 
        volcanic terrain in reclaiming American territory on 
        Attu and Kiska. Less heroically, these events forced 
        the relocation and internment of over 800 Native Aleut 
        for the duration of World War II. Nearly 80 Aleut 
        leaders and elders died during the relocation, which 
        led to the depredation of Aleut culture. The evacuation 
        represents the largest per capita civilian displacement 
        of U.S. residents from any U.S. jurisdiction.
          The site contemplated by S. 1809 is within the 
        boundaries of the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and 
        Fort Mears, a U.S. Army National Historic Landmark 
        designated in 1987. Previous NPS studies conducted 
        under Section 6 of Public Law 95-348, which established 
        War in the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam in 
        1978, determined that this site was a component of a 
        large area in the Aleutian Island that possessed 
        resources feasible and suitable for designation as a 
        unit of the national park system.
          The establishment of this historic area would provide 
        the Ounalaskha Corporation with an opportunity to 
        preserve and protect Aleutian resources. It would 
        commemorate the effects of war and other events that 
        continue to change the villages and landscapes of these 
        islands, which are rich in natural and cultural 
        resources. The need to recognize the importance of this 
        area has long been expressed by the Unalaska community 
        at large, local, state, and national historical 
        associations and organizations, veteran's groups and 
        organizations, and the military.
          In addition, themes relating to Aleut and Russian 
        culture and history, set against backdrop of Aleutian 
        tundra and wildlife, are not represented in the 
        National Park system. For at least the last five years, 
        the National Park Service has listed all three of 
        Ounalaskha's National Historic Landmarks as endangered 
        or threatened. If this bill is enacted, the National 
        Park Service would be able to offer the Ounalaskha 
        Corporation the use of its skills and experience in the 
        areas of cultural and natural resource education and 
        historic preservation, and help the corporation 
        interpret the story of the forgotten campaign in the 
        Aleutian Islands for the American people.
          This concludes my statement. I would be happy to 
        answer any of your questions.

                        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 law are made by the bill S. 1809 as 
reported.