[Senate Report 106-187]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 321
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    106-187

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                   GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

                                _______
                                

                October 14, 1999.--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. 1324]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1324) to expand the boundaries of the 
Gettysburg National Military Park to include the Wills House, 
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    The purpose of S. 1324, as ordered reported, is to expand 
the boundaries of Gettysburg National Military Park to include 
the Wills House in the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

                          Background and Need

    The Wills House, in the heart of the Borough of Gettysburg, 
is the home where Abraham Lincoln stayed on the eve of 
delivering his Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the 
Soldiers' National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. It was at 
this house where Lincoln made the final edits to his speech 
that is considered by many as one of the important pieces of 
oratory in the history of the United States.
    David Wills, President Lincoln's host, was instrumental in 
the creation of the national cemetery and led early 
preservation efforts of the Gettysburg Battlefield.
    The house is owned by the nonprofit Eisenhower Society. The 
first floor is used as commercial space and its upper floors 
contain a Lincoln museum. The Society has offered to sell the 
property to the National Park Service. The Society is no longer 
able to incur the costs necessary to operate and maintain the 
museum.
    The 1990 National Park Service ``Historic Pathways Plan'' 
for the Borough of Gettysburg recommended the house be the 
primary site for the interpretation of the role the borough 
played in the battle and its aftermath. The park's recent 
general management plan (GMP) reiterates the importance of the 
Wills House. Acquisition of the property would help fulfill the 
park's mandate to interpret the Battle of Gettysburg in the 
lower context of the Civil War and American History. It would 
also provide the National Park Service with a physical presence 
in the center of town.
    The park has sufficient land acquisition funds available to 
acquire the property. According to the GMP, restoration and 
rehabilitation estimates total between $2.5 and $3 million. 
Annual operating costs would be about $350,000 to $400,000.

                          Legislative History

    S. 1324 was introduced by Senator Santorum on July 1, 1999. 
The Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation and 
Recreation held a hearing on S. 1324 on July 29, 1999.
    At its business meeting on September 22, 1999, the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1324, 
favorably reported, without amendment.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on September 22, 1999, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
1324.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 amends section 1 of Public Law 101-377, ``An Act 
to revise the boundary of the Gettysburg National Military Park 
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and for other purposes'', 
to include the Wills House property in the Borough of 
Gettysburg, identified as Tract PO2-1 on a map entitled 
``Gettysburg National Military Park'' and numbered MARO 305/
80,011, Segment 2, dated April 1981, and revised May 14, 1999.
    Section 2 amends section 2 of Public Law 101-377 to make 
conforming changes to reference in section 1.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

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

S. 1324--A bill to expand the boundaries of the Gettysburg National 
        Military Park to include the Wills House

    Assuming appropriations of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 1324 would cost the federal 
government about $4 million over the 2000-2004 period. The bill 
would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply. S. 1324 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. 1324 would expand the boundaries of the Gettysburg 
National Military Park in Pennsylvania to include the Wills 
House, a building located outside of the park in the borough of 
Gettysburg.
    Based on information provided by the National Park Service 
(NPS) and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that the federal government would spend about $3 
million over the next three of four years to acquire and 
renovate the Wills House and to develop appropriate 
interpretive exhibits. In addition, the NPS would spend between 
$100,000 and $400,000 annually beginning in fiscal year 2000 to 
operate the site. Operating expenses after fiscal year 2004 
would be about $400,000 annually.
    On September 10, 1999, CBO prepared a cost estimate for 
H.R. 2435, a bill a expand the boundaries of the Gettysburg 
National Military Park to include the Wills House. H.R. 2435 
was ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on 
August 4, 1999. The two bills, and the two estimates, are 
identical.
    The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis. This estimate was 
approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 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. 1324. 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. 1324, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    On July 29, 1999, 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 views on S. 1324. These reports had not been 
received at the time the report on S. 1324 was filed. When the 
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 National Park Service at 
the Subcommittee hearing follows:

 Statement of Denis P. Galvin, Deputy Director, National Park Service, 
                       Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before the subcommittee and to present the views of the 
Department of the Interior on S. 1324, a bill to expand the 
boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park to include 
the Wills House. The Department of the Interior supports 
enactment of this legislation.
    Gettysburg National Military Park is the nationally 
significant site of the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg and the 
Soldier's National Cemetery. The Battle of Gettysburg lessened 
the Confederacy's ability to successfully wage war and 
contributed to the ultimate preservation of the United States. 
Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address at the 
dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery and heightened 
Americans' sense of the meaning and importance of the Civil 
War.
    The park encompasses 5,900 acres of terrain upon which most 
of the battle occurred. It contains more than 1,700 monuments 
and cannon placed by the battle's survivors to commemorate 
their comrades who fell in battle. The park also owns 
collections of 38,000 artifacts and 350,000 printed texts, 
historic photographs and other archival documents. The largest 
and one of the most significant objects in the collection is 
the cyclorama painting, the ``Battle of Gettysburg''. Together, 
the land, monuments, archival collection, and the cyclorama 
painting, represent a remarkable resource that can tell the 
compelling story of this important time in America's history.
    The National Park Service's mission at Gettysburg National 
Military Park is to preserve and protect the resources 
associated with the Battle of Gettysburg and the Soldier's 
National Cemetery, and to provide an understanding of the 
events that occurred there within the context of American 
History.
    In April 1997, the National Park Service (NPS) began the 
planning for a new General Management Plan/Environmental Impact 
Statement (GMP/EIS) to replace the park's outdated 1982 GMP. 
Working with the public, NPS established four goals for the 
GMP:
          The land and resources of Gettysburg NMP are 
        protected, rehabilitated and maintained.
          Visitors understand and appreciate the significant 
        events associated with the Gettysburg Campaign and its 
        impact on the development of the nation.
          Visitors safely enjoy high-quality and accessible 
        educational experiences.
          Public and private entities understand the park's 
        mission and act cooperatively to protect and interpret 
        the park and other resources related to the Gettysburg 
        Campaign and its commemoration.
    As a part of the process, NPS held public scoping meetings, 
workshops and focus group meetings; prepared and presented new 
mapping and resource work to explain the 1863 battle landscape 
and the changes it had undergone; and evaluated 5 preliminary 
concepts. Because of public comment, a sixth combined concept 
was developed. This combined concept eventually became NPS' 
preferred alternative.
    In August 1998, Gettysburg National Military Park released 
a draft General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement 
presenting four alternatives for future management of the 
Gettysburg battlefield, setting the basic philosophy and broad 
guidance for management decisions that affect the park's 
resources and the visitor's experience. The draft GMP/EIS 
included a preferred alternative derived from public comments 
on the preliminary concepts.
    The preferred alternative in the draft GMP/EIS includes a 
suite of actions to improve resource protection and 
interpretation at the park. In the battle action areas of the 
park, the preferred alternative would include rehabilitation of 
the large-scale landscape elements present during the battle--
the pattern of woods and open fields, and the system of lanes 
over which troops traveled. It also proposes the rehabilitation 
of small-scale landscape elements--fences, woodlots, orchards 
and other features--that were significant to the outcome of the 
battle. The preferred alternative would provide for the 
rehabilitation of the major historic features and circulation 
at the Soldiers' National Cemetery.
    In addition to the measures within the park, the preferred 
alternative proposed many measures to partner with the Borough 
of Gettysburg and other interested parties, to improve 
protection and interpretation of the battlefield-related 
resources of historic downtown Gettysburg including:
          Adding downtown Gettysburg to the park's auto tour 
        brochure as the ``fourth day'' of the battle. Since the 
        great majority of the park's visitors tour the 
        battlefield using the brochure, including the Borough 
        of Gettysburg as an element on the tour has the 
        potential to greatly increase tourism in the area.
          Expanding the historic pathway and related 
        interpretive media and programs to encompass a greater 
        portion of the historic town.
          Cooperating with local entities to preserve, 
        rehabilitate and interpret the Lincoln Train Station.
          Establishing an NPS presence downtown at the Wills 
        House to ensure that the story of the town and its non-
        combatants is properly presented and interpreted.
          Developing, in coordination with local entities, an 
        active menu of programs, interpretation, living history 
        and tours to educate visitors about the town's role in 
        the battle, its aftermath and the preservation of the 
        battlefield.
          Providing information about the town and site 
        interpreting the Gettysburg Battle and its aftermath in 
        the park visitor center.
          Working with the community and private entities to 
        provide regular shuttle service between the Visitor 
        Center/Museum and downtown Gettysburg.
    In June 1999, the NPS released its final General Management 
Plan/Environmental Impact Statement for Gettysburg NMP, which 
includes all the above recommendations pertaining to downtown 
Gettysburg.
    S. 1324 would amend Public Law 101-377, the comprehensive 
boundary legislation for Gettysburg National Military Park, by 
expanding the boundary of the park to include the Wills House 
in the Borough of Gettysburg. The Wills House is the home where 
Abraham Lincoln stayed on the eve of delivering his Gettysburg 
Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at 
Gettysburg on November 19, 1863. David Wills, President 
Lincoln's host in Gettysburg, was instrumental in the creation 
of the Soldiers' National Cemetery and early preservation 
efforts of the Gettysburg Battlefield. The Soldiers' National 
Cemetery was the first national cemetery established to honor 
U.S. veterans. It was at the Wills home where Lincoln made the 
final edits to one of the most important speeches in United 
States history.
    The Wills House, located in the heart of the Borough of 
Gettysburg, is currently owned by a non-profit organization, 
the Eisenhower Society. The house's first floor is used as 
commercial space and its upper floors contain a Lincoln museum. 
The Eisenhower Society operates the museum. The Society has 
approached the National Park Service with an offer to sell the 
property to the National Park Service so the property may 
become a part of Gettysburg National Military Park. The Society 
is no longer able to incur the costs necessary to operate and 
maintain the museum. They are a willing seller and support the 
addition of the property to the park.
    In 1990 the National Park Service developed the Historic 
Pathways for the Borough of Gettysburg. The plan recommended 
that the Wills House be the site for the primary interpretation 
of the role the Borough of Gettysburg played in the battle and 
its aftermath. Gettysburg National Military Park's recently 
approved general management plan reiterates the importance of 
the Wills House for interpreting the significant role of 
Gettysburg and its citizens in the battle, its aftermath and 
its commemoration.
    Acquisition by the National Park Service would provide the 
park with an unparalleled opportunity to fulfill the park's 
legislated mandate to interpret the ``Battle of Gettysburg in 
the larger context of the Civil War and American History . . . 
including the causes and the consequences of the Civil War. . . 
.'' Acquisition would also provide the National Park Service an 
important physical presence in the center of the Borough of 
Gettysburg. Such a presence is critical to providing visitors a 
better understanding of how the battle and its aftermath 
influenced the town and were influenced by the town.
    In the park's general management plan it is estimated that 
restoration and rehabilitation of the Wills House for use as a 
year-round interpretive center to include the Lincoln Museum 
and fabricate and install new exhibits will cost between $2.5 
and $3 million. Annual operation costs are estimated at 
approximately $350,000 to $400,000 including staffing and 
utility costs. Acquisition costs are estimated to range from 
$520,000 to $600,000. Acquisition and restoration would be 
subject to the availability of funding and National Park 
Service priorities.
    We thank the committee for taking up this important piece 
of legislation. Acquisition and rehabilitation of the Wills 
House is an important factor in implementing the parks' general 
management plan. It is a major investment in the Borough of 
Gettysburg that the National Park Service believes is a key to 
bringing the community and the park together in telling the 
story of Gettysburg.
    This completes my statement. I will be happy to answer 
questions which you or members of the committee may have.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law by the 
bill S. 1324, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted in enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed in shown in roman):

                 (Public Law 101-377, August 17, 1990)

    Sec. 1(a). * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (b) Additional Land.--In addition to the land identified in 
subsection (a), the park shall also include the property 
commonly known as the Wills House located in the borough of 
Gettysburg and identified as Tract PO2-1 on the map entitled 
``Gettysburg National Military Park'' numbered MARO 305/80,011 
Segment 2, and dated April 11, 1981, revised May 14, 1999.
    [(b)] (c) Lands Excluded From the Park.--Lands and 
interests in lands outside of the boundary so depicted as 
``Park Boundary'' on the [map referred to in subsection (a)] 
maps referred to in subsections (a) and (b) are hereby excluded 
from the park and shall be disposed of in accordance with 
provisions of section 2(c).
    Sec. 2(a). * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (c) Conveyance of Lands Excluded From Park.--(1) The 
Secretary is authorized, in accordance with applicable existing 
law, to exchange Federal lands and interests excluded from the 
park pursuant to section [(1b)] (1c) for the purpose of 
acquiring lands within the park boundary.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (d) Relinquishment of Legislative Jurisdiction to 
Pennsylvania.--With respect to any lands over which the United 
States exercises exclusive or concurrent legislative 
jurisdiction and which are excluded from the park pursuant to 
section [(1b)] (1c), the Secretary may relinquish to the State 
of Pennsylvania such exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction by 
filing with the Governor a notice of relinquishment to take 
effect upon acceptance thereof, unless otherwise provided by 
the laws of the State.

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