[House Report 106-391]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    106-391

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   MINUTEMAN MISSILE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE ESTABLISHMENT ACT OF 1999

                                _______
                                

October 18, 1999.--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 S. 382]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(S. 382) to establish the Minuteman Missile National Historic 
Site in the State of South Dakota, 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 S. 382 is to establish the Minuteman Missile 
National Historic Site in the State of South Dakota.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States 
deployed the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile 
(ICBM). By 1963, Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota had a 
large combat-ready Minuteman Missile wing with 165 sites. With 
the collapse of the Soviet Union the Cold War effectively ended 
and in 1991 the United States signed the Strategic Arms 
Reduction Treaty (START) with the Soviet Union. START required 
that all Minuteman II missiles be deactivated. Recognizing the 
potential historical significance of these sites, the National 
Park Service and the Air Force, through an interagency 
agreement, determined that several sites should be preserved 
until a study could be completed on their suitability as 
national historic sites. That study concluded that the 
combination of the Delta One and Delta Nine sites at Ellsworth 
Air Force Base were suitable and feasible for inclusion into 
the National Park System as a national historic site and, in 
fact, the Delta Nine launch silo is the only ICBM launch tube 
remaining. However, the interagency agreement governing these 
sites has expired, which now allows for the total destruction 
of the Delta Nine site and the Delta One site, except for the 
above-ground facilities at Delta One.
    S. 382 would establish the Minuteman Missile National 
Historic Site in South Dakota as a unit of the National Park 
System. The site will be comprised of separate and discrete 
areas consisting of the Delta One Launch Control Facility 
(LCF), the Delta Nine Launch Facility (LF), and a proposed 
visitors center-administrative facility. The LCF is the entire 
launch control facility while the LF is the missile silo 
complex. The Delta One site (6.35 acres) and the Delta Nine 
site (1.58 acres) are located approximately 11 miles apart 
along Interstate 90 in the southwest quadrant of South Dakota.
    S. 382 directs the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a 
management plan for the site in coordination with the Badlands 
National Park within three years of enactment and to form 
cooperative agreements with appropriate public and private 
entities. This bill also authorizes the Secretary to acquire 
lands within the boundaries of the historic site by donation, 
purchase or exchange from another federal agency, unless the 
land has been determined to be contaminated with hazardous 
substances. Any funds appropriated to the U.S. Air Force in 
fiscal year 1999 for use of the proposed historic site shall be 
transferred to the National Park Service for the sites' 
establishment, operation, or maintenance.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    S. 382 was introduced on February 4, 1999, by Senator Tim 
Johnson (D-SD). On March 25, 1999, the Senate passed the bill 
without amendment by unanimous consent. S. 382 was then 
referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public 
Lands. On September 14, 1999, the Subcommittee held a hearing 
on the bill, where the National Park Service testified in 
support of the bill. On September 23, 1999, the Subcommittee 
met to consider S. 382. No amendments were offered and the bill 
was ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee by voice 
vote. On October 6, 1999, the Full Resources Committee met to 
consider S. 382. No amendments were offered and the bill was 
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by 
voice vote.

            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 grant 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. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII 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 on this bill.
    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, October 13, 1999.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 382, the Minuteman 
Missile National Historic Site Establishment Act of 1999.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 382--Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Establishment Act of 
        1999

    Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 382 would cost the federal 
government about $8.4 million over the 2000-2004 period. 
Subsequent ongoing costs after this period would be about $0.7 
million annually. S. 382 would not affect direct spending or 
receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
    S. 382 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    S. 382 would establish the Minuteman Missile National 
Historic Site in South Dakota as a unit of the National Park 
System. The new park unit would consist of the Delta 1 and 
Delta 9 launch facilities and one of two support facility areas 
that are under consideration for a visitor and administrative 
site. The National Park Service (NPS) would have three years in 
which to complete a general management plan for the new park 
unit, including an evaluation of the alternative areas for the 
visitor and administrative facility.
    Based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates 
that the government would spend about $350,000 over the 2000-
2002 period to develop the general management plan for the 
Minuteman unit. The NPS would incur additional costs of about 
$8 million over the 2000-2004 period to establish and begin 
operating the site, most of which would be used to build a 
visitor and administrative center. In subsequent years, the 
agency would spend about $0.7 million to operate and maintain 
the new park.
    On March 11, 1999, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
382 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources on March 4, 1999. The two versions of the 
legislation are identical, as are the cost estimates.
    The CBO staff contact 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 State, local, or 
tribal law.

                        changes in existing law

    If enacted, this bill makes no changes in existing law.

                                  
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