[House Report 107-743]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     107-743

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                KATE MULLANY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE ACT

                                _______
                                

October 11, 2002.--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. 464]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 464) to establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site 
in the State of New York, 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 H.R. 464 is to establish the Kate Mullany 
National Historic Site in the State of New York, and for other 
purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Kate Mullany House, recently designated a National 
Historic Landmark, is found in Troy, New York. Kate Mullany 
organized and led the first all female labor union. Troy was 
the site of the nation's first commercial laundry and produced 
the majority of white starched shirts, collars and cuffs in 
America. When employers installed new machinery that stepped up 
production, but made the working conditions worse, Kate Mullany 
decided to fight for better wages and improved working 
conditions. Work days were 12-14 hours per day earning 3-4 
dollars per week. She led 300 workers in a week long labor 
strike in February of 1864 that resulted in the owners 
conceding to all of their demands. Unlike many other unions of 
the day, the ``Collar Laundry Union'' stayed organized long 
after their initial battle, helping other unions along the way. 
In 1868 Kate Mullany gained national recognition when William 
Sylvis appointed her to the National Labor Union office, making 
her the first woman to be appointed to that office.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 464 was introduced on February 6, 2001 by Congressman 
Michael McNulty (D-NY). The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. On September 12, 
2002, the Full Committee met to consider the bill and the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands 
was discharged from further consideration of the bill. No 
amendments were offered and the bill was then ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

            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. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to establish the Kate Mullany 
National Historic Site in the State of New York, and for other 
purposes.
    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 8, 2002.
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. 464, the Kate 
Mullany National Historic Site Act.
    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.

H.R. 464--Kate Mullany National Historic Site Act

    H.R. 464 would establish the Kate Mullany National Historic 
Site in New York as a unit of the National Park System. The 
bill would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to acquire 
by donation, purchase, or exchange the Kate Mullany house and 
any additional real and personal property needed for park 
purposes. The NPS would be authorized to execute cooperative 
agreements with public and private entities interested in the 
preservation, interpretation, and use of the site. The agency 
would have two years to complete a general management plan for 
the new historic site, which would include recommendations for 
related regional exhibits.
    The costs of implementing H.R. 464 are uncertain because 
the bill does not designate an official boundary for the new 
historic site. Based on information provided by the NPS and 
assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates 
that the cost of acquiring and developing real and personal 
property for the site would be about $5 million. We expect that 
most of this amount would be used to renovate the Kate Mullany 
house (which is currently used as an apartment building) and 
develop it for visitor use. We estimate that once the site has 
been restored (which could take several years) the cost of 
operating it would be between $500,000 and $750,000 a year 
(also assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts). 
Enacting H.R. 464 would not affect revenues or direct spending.
    H.R. 464 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no significant costs of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate 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 any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                
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