[House Report 107-222]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 107-222
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LONG WALK NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL STUDY ACT
_______
September 28, 2001.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1384]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 1384) to amend the National Trails System Act to
designate the Navajo Long Walk to Bosque Redondo as a national
historic trail, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended
do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Long Walk National Historic Trail
Study Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Beginning in the fall of 1863 and ending in the winter of
1864, the United States Government forced thousands of Navajos
and Mescalero Apaches to relocate from their ancestral lands to
Fort Sumner, New Mexico, where the tribal members were held
captive, virtually as prisoners of war, for over 4 years.
(2) Thousands of Native Americans died at Fort Sumner from
starvation, malnutrition, disease, exposure, or conflicts
between the tribes and United States military personnel.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION FOR STUDY.
Section 5(c) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(c)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(____) The Long Walk Trail, a series of routes which the Navajo and
Mescalero Apache Indian tribes were forced to walk beginning in the
fall of 1863 as a result of their removal by the United States
Government from their ancestral lands, generally located within a
corridor extending through portions of Canyon de Chelley, Arizona, and
Albuquerque, Canyon Blanco, Anton Chico, Canyon Piedra Pintado, and
Fort Sumner, New Mexico.''.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to designate
the route in Arizona and New Mexico which the Navajo and
Mescalero Apache Indian tribes were forced to walk in 1863 and
1864, for study for potential addition to the National Trails
System.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1384, as ordered reported, is to amend
the National Trails System Act to designate the route in
Arizona and New Mexico which the Navajo and Mescalero Apache
Indian tribes were forced to walk in 1863 and 1864, for study
for potential addition to the National Trails System.
Background and Need for Legislation
In the fall of 1863, Colonel Christopher ``Kit'' Carson,
under the direction of the United States Army, initiated a
military campaign against the Navajo people. Approximately
8,000 Navajos and 500 members of the Mescalero tribe were
forced to make a 350-mile forced march from their ancestral
lands in northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico to a
desolate strip of land known as the Bosque Redondo in the
eastern region of New Mexico. This military campaign is often
called ``The Long Walk.''
Intended to be a reservation, the ill-planned site, named
for a grove of cottonwoods by the river, turned into a virtual
prison camp for the Native Americans. More than 3,000 Navajo
people died due to starvation, malnutrition, exposure to
freezing temperatures, disease, or by gunfire during the tragic
years of the Long Walk.
The Navajos were interred in the camp for four years until
President Ulysses Grant, appalled by the abysmal conditions,
issued an Executive Order demanding the termination of the
military suppression. The United States and the Navajo tribes
executed the Treaty of 1868 recognizing the Navajo Nation as it
exists today.
As ordered reported, H.R. 1384 will require the National
Park Service to study the areas specified in the bill to
determine if they are suitable for designation as a National
Historic Trail.
Committee Action
H.R. 1384 was introduced on April 3, 2001, by Congressman
Tom Udall (D-NM). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. On May 8, 2001,
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 17, 2001,
the Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. Congressman Udall
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to address
two concerns raised at the hearing. First, the amendment
specified that instead of an outright designation of the route
for inclusion in the National Trails System, the Secretary of
the interior was authorized to examine the suitability of
designating the route for potential inclusion in the National
Trails System. The original bill added the trails to the
National Trails System without first requesting a study.
Second, the original title of the bill referred to the route as
``the Navajo Long Walk to Bosque Redondo.'' The amendment
modified the title to reflect that there were other Native
American tribes in addition to the Navajo who were affected by
the events described in the bill. The amendment in the nature
of a substitute was adopted by voice vote. The bill as amended
was then ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee. On
September 12, 2001, the Full Resources Committee met to
consider the bill. No further amendments were offered and the
bill, as amended, was then 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 of the Constitution of the United
States grants 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. General Performance Goals and Objectives.--This bill
does not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
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, September 21, 2001.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1384, the Long
Walk National Historic Trail Study Act of 2001.
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,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 1384--Long Walk National Historic Trail Study Act of 2001
H.R. 1384 would amend the National Trails System Act (NTSA)
to add the Long Walk Trail to the list of routes to be studied
for possible inclusion in the National Trails System. Under the
NTSA, the Secretary of the Interior would have three years to
conduct a study of trail, which is composed of several routes
located in Arizona and New Mexico.
Based on information provided by the National Park Service
and assuming appropriation of the necessary amount, CBO
estimates that it would cost the federal government about
$400,000 over the next three years to conduct the required
study. H.R. 1384 would not affect direct spending or receipts;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
The 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 any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 5 OF 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:
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(____) The Long Walk Trail, a series of routes which the
Navajo and Mescalero Apache Indian tribes were forced to walk
beginning in the fall of 1863 as a result of their removal by
the United States Government from their ancestral lands,
generally located within a corridor extending through portions
of Canyon de Chelley, Arizona, and Albuquerque, Canyon Blanco,
Anton Chico, Canyon Piedra Pintado, and Fort Sumner, New
Mexico.
* * * * * * *