[House Report 107-88]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     107-88

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



 
 WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT OF 
                                  2001

                                _______
                                

  June 6, 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. 1000]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1000) to adjust the boundary of the William Howard Taft 
National Historic Site in the State of Ohio, to authorize an 
exchange of land in connection with the historic site, and for 
other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as 
amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``William Howard Taft National Historic 
Site Boundary Adjustment Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. EXCHANGE OF LANDS AND BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT, WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT 
                    NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, OHIO.

  (a) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Historic site.--The term ``historic site'' means the 
        William Howard Taft National Historic Site in Cincinnati, Ohio, 
        established pursuant to Public Law 91-132 (83 Stat. 273; 16 
        U.S.C. 461 note).
          (2) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled ``Proposed 
        Boundary Map, William Howard Taft National Historic Site, 
        Hamilton County, Cincinnati, Ohio,'' numbered 448/80,025, and 
        dated November 2000.
          (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park 
        Service.
  (b) Authorization of Land Exchange.--
          (1) Exchange.--The Secretary may acquire a parcel of real 
        property consisting of less than one acre, which is depicted on 
        the map as the ``Proposed Exchange Parcel (Outside Boundary)'', 
        in exchange for a parcel of real property, also consisting of 
        less than one acre, which is depicted on the map as the 
        ``Current USA Ownership (Inside Boundary)''.
          (2) Equalization of values.--If the values of the parcels to 
        be exchanged under paragraph (1) are not equal, the difference 
        may be equalized by donation, payment using donated or 
        appropriated funds, or the conveyance of additional land.
          (3) Adjustment of boundary.--The Secretary shall revise the 
        boundary of the historic site to reflect the exchange upon its 
        completion.
  (c) Additional Boundary Revision and Acquisition Authority.--
          (1) Inclusion of parcel in boundary.--Effective on the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, the boundary of the historic site 
        is revised to include an additional parcel of real property, 
        which is depicted on the map as the ``Proposed Acquisition''.
          (2) Acquisition authority.--The Secretary may acquire the 
        parcel referred to in paragraph (1) by donation, purchase from 
        willing sellers with donated or appropriated funds, or 
        exchange.
  (d) Availability of Map.--The map shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park 
Service.
  (e) Administration of Acquired Lands.--Any lands acquired under this 
section shall be administered by the Secretary as part of the historic 
site in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R.1000 is to adjust the boundary of the 
William Howard Taft National Historic Site in the State of 
Ohio, to authorize an exchange of land in connection with the 
historic site, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The William Howard Taft National Historic Site, located in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, was established on December 2, 1969. The 
historic site commemorates the only man to serve as President 
and Chief Justice of the United States. The site includes the 
restored home where Taft was born and the Taft Educational 
Center. Total visitation to the historic site in 1999 was 5,960 
people.
    H.R. 1000 would authorize the Secretary of Interior to 
acquire a parcel of private property consisting of less than 
one acre adjacent to the National Historic Site (NHS) currently 
owned by Sabis Educational Systems, Inc. in exchange for a 
parcel of property consisting of less than one acre half a 
block away from the NHS currently owned by the National Park 
Service. The exchange of land would provide for more contiguous 
plots of land adjacent to the NHS for anticipated expansion. 
The bill would also authorize the acquisition of an additional 
parcel of property adjacent to the NHS where an apartment 
building exists. The property is currently owned by Sanning 
LLC. The Secretary would acquire the parcel of land only by 
donation, purchase from willing sellers with donated funds, or 
exchange.
    Once the additional land is acquired, the Secretary would 
revise the boundary of the William Howard Taft NHS to reflect 
the exchange. If the values of the parcels to be exchanged are 
not of equal value, the difference may be equalized by 
donation, payment using donated or appropriated funds, or the 
conveyance of additional land.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1000 was introduced on March 13, 2001, by Congressman 
Rob Portman (R-OH). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. On April 26, 
2001, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 16, 
2001, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. 
The Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public 
Lands was discharged from further consideration of the bill by 
unanimous consent. Congressman Joel Hefley (R-CO) offered an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute that made two changes 
to the original bill: (1) It corrected the map number used for 
the ``Proposed Boundary Map,'' and (2) it authorized the 
National Park Service to use appropriated funds to acquire the 
Sanning LLC. parcel of land adjacent to the park. The amendment 
was adopted by voice vote. 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, and Article IV, section 3, 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, or credit authority. According to the Congressional 
Budget Office, enactment of H.R. 1000 could affect receipts 
through a cash equalization payment for the land exchanged for 
the addition to the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. 
However, any changes in receipts would be ``insignificant.''
    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 adjust the boundary of the William 
Howard Taft National Historic Site in the State of Ohio and to 
authorize an exchange of land in connection with the historic 
site.
    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, May 24, 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. 1000, the William 
Howard Taft National Historic Site Boundary Adjustment Act of 
2001.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                        Steven M. Lieberman
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1000--William Howard Taft National Historic Site Boundary 
        Adjustment Act of 2001

    H.R. 1000 would revise the boundary of the William Howard 
Taft National Historic Site (Taft NHS). Assuming appropriation 
of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the 
legislation would cost the federal government between $0.9 
million and $1.4 million over the next three years. The bill 
also could affect receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures 
would apply, but we expect any change in receipts would be 
insignificant.
    The bill 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.
    H.R. 1000 would expand the boundary of the Taft NHS to 
include a small parcel of contiguous land, which the National 
Park Service (NPS) could then acquire by purchase, donation, or 
exchange. The bill also would authorize the NPS to acquire an 
additional contiguous property in exchange for a similarly 
sized tract within the NHS. The site's boundary would then be 
redrawn to reflect the transfer. Any difference in the values 
of the two properties could be equalized by a donation to the 
government from the current property owner, or by a cash 
payment to that party from the NPS.
    Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming 
appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that the 
cost of acquiring the property added to the Taft NHS by the 
bill would be between $0.7 million and $1.2 million over the 
next three years. Because a cash equalization payment would be 
authorized by the bill, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. 
We expect that the exchange for the second panel of land would 
have no significant effect on the federal budget, however, 
because the properties are similar in value. CBO estimates that 
additional costs to develop the property that would be acquired 
under the bill would total $0.2 million over the next three 
years, and that annual costs to administer the new lands would 
be minimal.
    The 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

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


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