[Senate Report 105-395]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 617
105th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 2d Session                                                     105-395
_______________________________________________________________________


 
           WOMEN'S RIGHTS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL ACT OF 1998

                                _______
                                

 October  9 (legislative day, October 2), 1998.--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. 1641]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1641) to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to study alternatives for establishing a national 
historic trail to commemorate and interpret the history of 
women's rights in the United States, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    On page 2, lines 8 and 9, strike ``establishing a national 
historic trail''.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    The purpose of S. 1641 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a study of alternatives to commemorate and 
interpret the history of women's rights in the United States.

                          Background and Need

    The women's rights movement in America began in Waterloo, 
New York nearly 150 years ago when five women met at the home 
of Jane and Richard Hunt. Elizabeth Cady Stanton of Seneca 
Falls, Mary Ann McClintock of Waterloo, Marta Coffin Wright of 
Auburn, Lucretia Coffin Mott of Philadelphia and Mrs. Hunt 
planned the first women's rights convention held at the 
Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls.
    The corridor between Boston, Massachusetts, and Buffalo, 
New York, is rich with unprotected and uninterpreted sites of 
the early women's rights movement. In Massachusetts, the 
birthplace of Susan B. Anthony, and the homes of Abby Kelley 
Foster, Julia Ward Howe, Margaret Fuller, and Lucy Stone are 
all significant and important resources in the women's rights 
movement. The homes of Abigail Adams and Mercy Warren, and the 
site of the 1908 National American Woman Suffrage Association 
convention in Buffalo, New York are other sites and events 
involved in the efforts to advance women's rights.
    The purpose of the bill is to identify and connect sites 
related to the women's rights movement nationwide. The National 
Park Service has already identified many historic resources 
relating to the women's rights movement in a Women's History 
Theme Study. The study identified and evaluated many sites as 
potential National Historic Landmarks. Under this legislation, 
the National Park Service would continue to identify and 
evaluate sites related to the women's rights movement in the 
Boston, Massachusetts to Buffalo, New York corridor as well as 
other regions of the country and recommend appropriate 
commemorative designations.

                          Legislative History

    S. 1641 was introduced by Senators Moynihan and D'Amato on 
February 12, 1998 and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources. Since the bill's introduction Senators 
Coverdell and Kennedy have been added as cosponsors. The 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation and 
Recreation held a hearing on S. 1641 on September 17, 1998.
    At its business meeting on September 24, 1998, the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1641 
favorably reported, as amended.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on September 24, 1998, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
1641, if amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendment

    During the consideration of S. 1641, the Committee adopted 
anamendment which removes a requirement that the Secretary of 
the Interior conduct a national historic trail suitability and 
feasibility study for sites associated with the history of the women's 
rights movement. The amendment gives the National Park Service more 
flexibility to study and recommend appropriate commemorative 
designations.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1 designates the bill's short title as the 
``Women's Rights National Historic Trail Act of 1998''.
    Section 2 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a study of alternatives to commemorate and interpret 
the history of women's rights in the United States.
    This section states that the study will include the 
following: (1) consideration of the establishment of a new unit 
of the National Park System; (2) consideration of the 
establishment of various appropriate designations for routes 
and sites relating to the history of women's rights in the 
United States, and alternative means to link those sites, 
including a corridor between Buffalo, New York, and Boston, 
Massachusetts; (3) recommendations for cooperative arrangements 
with State and local governments, local historical 
organizations, and other entities; and (4) cost estimates for 
the alternatives.
    This section also states that the Secretary: (1) conduct 
the study with public involvement and in consultation with 
State and local officials, scholarly and other interested 
organizations, and individuals; (2) complete the study as 
expeditiously as practicable after the date on which funds are 
made available for the study; and (3) on completion of the 
study, submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate a report on the findings and 
recommendations of the study.

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    The following estimate of costs of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, October 1, 1998.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
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 S. 1641, the Women's 
Rights National Historic Trail Act of 1998.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact for this 
estimate is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.
    Enclosure.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

S. 1641--Women's Rights National Historic Trail Act of 1998

    S. 1641 would direct the National Park Service (NPS) to 
conduct a study of alternatives for commemorating and 
interpreting the history of women's rights in the United 
States. The study would address the possibility of establishing 
a new NPS unit and other alternatives, including related cost 
estimates.
    Based on information obtained from the NPS, CBO estimates 
that implementing S. 1641 would cost the Federal Government 
about $250,000 over the next two years, assuming the 
availability of appropriated funds. The bill would not affect 
direct spending or receipts; therefor, pay-as-you-go procedures 
would not apply. S. 1641 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.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
The estimate was approved by Paul N. Van de Water, 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 S. 1641. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards of 
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 
enactment of S. 1641, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On September 3, 1998, 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. 1641. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 1641 
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 of the Department 
of the Interior at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

 Statement of Destry Jarvis, Assistant Director for External Affairs, 
           National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before you to discuss S. 1641, a bill to authorize a study of 
alternatives for a Women's Rights National Heritage Trail. Mr. 
Chairman, the Department of the Interior supports enactment of 
S. 1641.
    S. 1641 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a study, with public involvement and in consultation 
with State and local officials, scholarly and other interested 
organizations and individuals, to consider (1) the 
establishment of a new unit of the National Park System, (2) 
various designations for routes and sites related to the 
history of women's rights in the United States, and means to 
link them, including a corridor between Boston, in the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Buffalo, in the State of New 
York, (3) recommendations for cooperative arrangements between 
various State, local, and other entities, and (4) cost 
estimates for alternatives studied.
    The corridor between Boston and Buffalo is rich with 
unprotected and uninterpreted sites of the early women's rights 
movement. In Massachusetts, the birthplace of Susan B. Anthony, 
and the homes of Abby Kelley Foster, Julia Ward Howe, Margaret 
Fuller, and Lucy Stone are significant and important resources 
held in private and public hands. In New York State significant 
and important resources for understanding the development of 
the women's rights movement in the United States are held in a 
variety of ownerships. Women's Rights National Historical Park 
in Seneca Falls, established by Congress in December, 1980, 
protects and interprets the homes of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and 
MaryAnn and Thomas M'Clintock, organizers of the First Women's 
Rights Convention, and the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, in which 
the 1848 convention was held. In Rochester, the Susan B. 
Anthony Memorial, Inc. preserves the home and office of Susan 
B. Anthony and her sister, Mary Anthony, head of the Rochester 
Suffrage League. This home, a National Historic Landmark, also 
served as the office of the National American Woman Suffrage 
Association under Carrie Chapman Catt.
    These are merely the resources related to the early women's 
rights movement. If homes and events of the earlier and later 
efforts to advance women's rights were included in the study of 
the Boston to Buffalo corridor, the homes of Abigail Adams and 
Mercy Warren would have to be included, as would the site of 
the 1908 National American Woman Suffrage Association 
convention in Buffalo, New York. The homes of Elizabeth Smith 
Miller, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's cousin and head of the Geneva, 
New York Political Equality Club, of Florence Luscomb, 
campaigner in the Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio suffrage 
campaigns, and of Blanche Ames, a leader of the Massachusetts 
Woman's Suffrage League, would also need to be considered for 
inclusion.
    This bill, and the companion H.R. 3240, were introduced in 
the week before Susan B. Anthony's birthday. We understand that 
the intent was to begin a process to identify and connect sites 
to the women's rights movement nationwide. The bill clearly 
states that a trial need not be limited to the Boston-Buffalo 
corridor. While there are certainly significant sites 
throughout the United States, the National Park Service concurs 
that a study of the New England-New York corridor is a logical 
next step to national recognition of this movement for several 
important reasons.
    The National Park Service staff at Women's Rights National 
Historical Park in Seneca Falls, NY has great expertise in the 
field of women's history. Through active partnerships with 
national organizations that can provide support and 
information, the National Park Service is prepared to be an 
active participant in a study. Furthermore, many historic 
resources have already been identified in the corridor 
suggested for study. A recent Women's History Theme Study 
prepared by the NPS identified and evaluated many sites for 
their potential as National Historic Landmarks. The National 
Park Service has also nearly completed a special resource study 
of the Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester, NY which recommends 
consideration of interpretive programs--like the Women's Rights 
Heritage Trail--to connect related women's history sites. In 
addition, as part of their individual celebrations of the 150th 
anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, both the National 
Park Service and the State of New York have already created 
websites identifying state, National Register and National 
Historic Landmark properties related to women's rights 
activism. These preliminary efforts will assist the NPS in a 
study of alternatives for a women's rights heritage trail.
    The National Park Service welcomes this opportunity to work 
with Congress to begin to commemorate the brave women who 
created and continued one of America's unique civil rights 
movements. We look forward to participating in further steps to 
recognize and interpret the network of places associated with 
women's rights, in the Boston--Buffalo corridor as well as in 
other regions of the country.
    Once again, thank you for this opportunity to testify. I 
would be happy to answer any 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 S. 1641, as ordered 
reported.