[Senate Report 106-63]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 133
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     106-63

======================================================================



 
     STAR-SPANGLED BANNER NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL STUDY ACT OF 1999

                                _______
                                

                  June 7, 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. 441]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 441) to amend the National Trails System 
Act to designate the route of the War of 1812 British invasion 
of Maryland and Washington, District of Columbia, and the route 
of the American defense, for study for potential addition to 
the national trails system, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill, 
as amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 4, lines 20 and 21, strike ``Columbia.''.'' and 
insert ``Columbia.''
    2. On page 4, after line 20, add a new subparagraph (C) and 
new section 4 as follows:
          ``(C) Coordination with other congressionally 
        mandated activities.--The Secretary shall coordinate 
        the trail study with the Revolutionary War and War of 
        1812 Historic Preservation study authorized under 
        section 603 of Public Law 104-333 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5 
        note), and the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails 
        Network authorized under title V of Public Law 105-312 
        (16 U.S.C. 461 note). Such coordination shall extend to 
        any research needed to complete the studies and any 
        findings and implementation actions that result from 
        the studies. The Secretary shall utilize available 
        resources to the greatest extent possible to avoid 
        unnecessary duplication of effort.

``SEC. 4. TRAIL REPORT.

    ``(a) Not later than two years after the date funds are 
made available for the Star Spangled Banner National Historic 
Trail Study, the Secretary of the Interior shall forward the 
completed study with final recommendations to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources in the Senate and the Committee on 
Resources of the House of Representatives.''.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    The purpose of S. 441, as ordered reported, is to amend the 
National Trails System Act to designate the route of the 
British invasion of Maryland and Washington, District of 
Columbia during the War of 1812; and the route of the American 
defense, for study for potential addition to the National 
Trails System.

                          Background and Need

    This legislation would assess the feasibility and 
desirability of designating the route of the British invasion 
of Washington, District of Columbia during the War of 1812 and 
the subsequent defeat of the British at Baltimore, Maryland as 
a component of the National Trails System.
    Approximately 30 sites along the proposed trail mark some 
of the most historically important events of the War of 1812. 
The proposed trail would include, but not be limited to, sites 
of the June 1814 battles at St. Leonard's Creek in Calvert 
County, Maryland; the site of the British landing at Benedict, 
Maryland; Fort Washington in Prince George's County; the White 
House and the Capitol in Washington, DC; and Fort McHenry in 
Baltimore.

                          Legislative History

    S. 441 was introduced by Senators Sarbanes and Mikulski on 
February 23, 1999. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic 
Preservation and Recreation held a hearing on S. 441 on April 
22, 1999.
    In the 105th Congress similar legislation (S. 2465) was 
introduced on September 4, 1998, by Senator Sarbanes. No 
further action was taken on S. 2465.
    At its business meeting on May 19, 1999, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 441, favorably 
reported, as amended.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on May 19, 1999, by unanimous voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 441, as 
amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendments

    During the consideration of S. 441, the committee adopted 
two clarifying amendments.
    The first amendment directs the Secretary of the Interior 
to coordinate this trail study with two other studies currently 
ongoing in and around the Chesapeake Bay and its environs.
    The second amendment specifies that the study is to be 
completed not later than two years after the date funds are 
made available to carry out the purposes of this Act.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 designates the bill's short title as the ``Star-
Spangled Banner National Historic Trail Study Act of 1999''.
    Section 2 lists several Congressional findings.
    Section 3 amends Section 5(c) of the National Trails System 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(c)) to:
          (1) redesignate paragraph (36) as (37);
          (2) designate the paragraphs relating to the Old 
        Spanish Trail and the Great Western Scenic Trail as 
        paragraphs (38) and (39), respectively; and
          (3) adds paragraph (40), authorizing a study of the 
        Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail.
    The section describes the proposed trail and lists the 
affected areas as 6 Maryland counties, the city of Baltimore 
and Washington, D.C.
    The Secretary is directed to coordinate the study with the 
Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Historic Preservation study 
authorized under section 603 of Public Law 104-333 (16 U.S.C. 
1a-5 note) and the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails 
Network authorized under title V of Public Law 105-312 (U.S.C. 
461 note).
    Section 4 requires the study to be completed within 2 years 
after funds are made available, with final recommendations to 
be submitted to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources and the House of Representatives Committee on 
Resources.

                   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, May 26, 1999.
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. 441, the Star-
Spangled Banner National Historic Trail Study 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. 441--Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail Study Act of 1999

    S. 441 would provide for the study of two routes for 
potential inclusion in the National Trails System. The National 
Park Service (NPS) would coordinate the study of the route of 
the British invasion of Maryland and Washington, D.C., in the 
War of 1812 and the route of the American defense with ongoing 
studies of the War of 1812 and other related projects. Based on 
information provided by the NPS and assuming appropriation of 
the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that the trail study would 
cost the federal government around $250,000 over the next two 
years.
    The bill would not affect direct spending or receipts; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. S. 441 
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.
    The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis. This 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. 441. 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. 441, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    At the Subcommittee hearing a representative from the 
National Park Service testified in support of S. 441 and 
recommended a number of amendments as follows:

   Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Associate Director, Cultural 
  Resource Stewardship and Partnerships, National Park Service, U.S. 
                       Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
views of the Department of the Interior on S. 441, a bill to 
amend the National Trails System Act to authorize a study of 
the route of the British invasion of Maryland and the District 
of Columbia and the route of American defense during the War of 
1812 for potential addition to the National Trails System as a 
National Historic Trail. The National Park Service supports 
this legislation but recommends that such a study be 
coordinated with the other current National Park Service 
initiatives related to the War of 1812 and the Chesapeake Bay. 
We would also recommend a technical amendments to the 
legislation.
    S. 441 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
undertake a study of the route of British invasion and the 
route of American defenses occurring in Maryland and the 
District of Columbia during the War of 1812. Such a study would 
be conducted so as to determine if those routes would qualify 
for designation as a National Historic Trail and addition to 
the National Trails System. The study would address the actions 
that occurred during the War of 1812 in the summer of 1814 in 
and around the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, the District of 
Columbia and the City of Baltimore.
    Certainly the events which occurred during the War of 1812 
and the geographic area that are the subject of this bill are 
historically significant. The goal of a study of these events 
would be to determine the best way to interpret and commemorate 
these events for present and future generations of Americans. 
To look at these events in the context of the National Trails 
System Act is of merit but the study should not be done without 
being coordinated and integrated with the other efforts 
currently underway. In the 104th Congress the National Park 
Service was authorized to undertake a study of the 
Revolutionary War and War of 1812. This theme study was begun 
this fiscal year, FY 1999, and is being conducted by the 
National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection 
Program. The study is being modeled on the Civil War Sites 
Advisory Commission Report of July 1993.
    As part of the study of the War of 1812 the National Park 
Service has just awarded a $75,000 grant to the State of 
Maryland to collect information on the War of 1812 sites in the 
State of Maryland. Most of the sights discussed in S. 441 are 
also part of the study and data collection that the State of 
Maryland will be addressing in the grant work. We have 
developed methodology for surveying and collecting information 
on battlefield sites that the State of Maryland will use. The 
information the State collects will be baseline data for the 
War of 1812 Study.
    In addition we are involved in a major planning effort for 
the Chesapeake Bay. In the 105th Congress the National Park 
Service was authorized to identify a network of Chesapeake Bay 
Gateways that would collectively enhance public education and 
recreational access to the Bay and its associated resources. 
The aim of the Chesapeake Bay Sites Study is to identify the 
cultural, historical and natural resources of the Chesapeake 
Bay region and to develop themes and then possible physical and 
interpretive connectors that link the resources common to 
specific themes.
    The Chesapeake Bay was an important theater of operation 
during the War of 1812. Sites in and around the Chesapeake Bay 
associated with the events of the War of 1812 are among the 
historic resources that we are reviewing as part of the 
Chesapeake Bay Sites Study. Alternatives and recommendations 
for how these Chesapeake Bay-related resources (including War 
of 1812 resources) would be protected and managed will be made 
to the Congress and other partners involved in the Chesapeake 
Bay Program.
    Both of these efforts, the War of 1812 Study and the 
Chesapeake Bay Sites Study are currently underway and through 
them the majority of the resources identified in S. 441 will be 
analyzed. A third, independent piece of legislation, directing 
the review of these resources through an historic trail study 
must be coordinated with and build on the other efforts being 
undertaken regarding the War of 1812 and the Chesapeake Bay's 
history. The trail study's recommendations should also be 
coordinated with the recommendations for protecting these 
resources that will come out of the War of 1812 Study and the 
Chesapeake Bay Sites Study.
    Both the War of 1812 Study and the Chesapeake Bay Sites 
Study will rely on a partnership effort to protect and 
interpret the resources identified. The partnerships will 
include federal, state, local and private, both non-profit and 
for-profit, partners. How the partnerships are structured will 
depend on the individual resource or group of resources that 
are identified for protection and what the program will be for 
protection, interpretation and public use. National Historic 
Trails also rely on partnership efforts for protection of the 
resources associated with the trail route as well as the trail 
route itself.
    We recommend that S. 441 be amended by adding language that 
requires coordination with these other efforts, the War of 1812 
Study and the Chesapeake Bay Sites Study. In addition, due to 
financial constraints, a section should be added that states 
that the trail study's completion date fall two years following 
the date funds are made available for the historic trail study.
    This completes my statement. I will be pleased to answer 
any questions you or other 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 made by 
the bill S. 441, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

                       NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ACT

    AN ACT To establish a national trails system, and for other 
purposes
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

                              short title

    Section 1. This Act may be cited as the ``National Trails 
System Act''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


             NATIONAL SCENIC AND NATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAILS

    Sec. 5. (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (c) The following routes shall be studied in accordance 
with the objectives outlined in subsection (b) of this section:

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (40)(A) Star-spangled banner national historic 
        trail.--In general.--The Star Spangled Banner National 
        Historic Trail, tracing the War of 1812 route of the 
        British naval attack on the Chesapeake Flotilla at St. 
        Leonard's Creek, the landing of the British forces at 
        Benedict, Maryland, the American defeat at the Battle 
        of Bladensburg, the siege of the Nation's capital, 
        Washington, District of Columbia (including the burning 
        of the United States Capitol and White House), actions 
        between the British and American forces in the upper 
        Chesapeake Bay, the route of the American troops 
        between Washington and Baltimore, the Battle of North 
        Point, and the ultimate victory of the Americans at 
        Fort McHenry, on September 14, 1814.
          (B) Affected areas.--The trail crosses more than 6 
        Maryland counties, the city of Baltimore, and 
        Washington, District of Columbia.
          (C) Coordination with other congressionally mandated 
        activities.--The Secretary shall coordinate the trail 
        study with the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 
        Historic Preservation study authorized under section 
        603 of Public Law 104-333 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5 note), and 
        the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network 
        authorized under title V of Public Law 105-312 (16 
        U.S.C. 461 note). Such coordination shall extend to any 
        research needed to complete the studies and any 
        findings and implementation actions that result from 
        the studies. The Secretary shall utilize available 
        resources to the greatest extent possible to avoid 
        unnecessary duplication of effort.

                                  
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