[Senate Report 107-260]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 577
107th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     107-260
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          HOMESTEAD NATIONAL MONUMENT OF AMERICA ADDITIONS ACT

                                _______
                                

               September 9, 2002.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany H.R. 38]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 38) to provide for additional lands to 
be included within the boundaries of the Homestead National 
Monument of America in the State of Nebraska, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 38 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to acquire approximately 18.98 acres of privately 
owned land and 13.9 acres of State-owned land to be included 
within the boundaries of the Homestead National Monument of 
America in the State of Nebraska.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Homestead National Monument of America, located in 
southeast Nebraska near the town of Beatrice, commemorates one 
of the first documented Nebraska homesteads claimed after the 
passage of the Homestead Act of 1862. The Homestead Act 
provided that any citizen or intended citizen could claim 160 
acres of surveyed government land. The Homestead National 
Monument is located on the site of the original land claim of 
Daniel Freeman, a Union Scout and one of the first claimants 
under the Homestead Act. Homestead National Monument includes a 
pioneer cabin, an old school house, nearly one hundred acres of 
restored tall grass prairie, and a visitor center.
    H.R. 38 authorizes the acquisition of four additional 
parcels of land for the Monument, the total amount of which 
would be less than 30 acres. The two private landowners 
involved have agreed in principle to the proposed legislation 
and the State of Nebraska has also agreed to donate its lands 
as provided in the bill.
    The two privately owned parcels of land to be added to the 
Monument are the Graff property and the Pioneer Acres Green. 
The Graff property consists of approximately 15.98 acres 
adjacent to the Monument grounds. This acquisition will protect 
a portion of the Nation's second oldest restored prairie. In 
addition, it will provide an alternative location, outside of 
the flood plain, to house the Monument's primary cultural 
resources. The new Homestead Heritage Center visitor facility 
on the acquired land would hold the Monument's collections, 
exhibits, public research facilities and administrative 
offices. Funds to build the visitor center were appropriated in 
fiscal year 2001, but the National Park Service intends to wait 
to build the new center until land above the flood plain has 
been acquired.
    The second privately owned property, Pioneer Acres Green, 
consists of approximately 3 acres of land. The purpose of this 
addition is to limit development of lands immediately adjacent 
to major park historical resources.
    The two publicly owned parcels of land to be added to the 
Monument are a segment of State Highway 4 and the property 
known as State Triangle. The National Park Service has arranged 
with the Nebraska Department of Roads to move State Highway 4 
from the monument and create the Homestead Heritage Parkway. 
The Parkway would allow for educational displays along the road 
as well as pedestrian and bicycle path that would connect the 
park to Beatrice, four miles to the east.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 38 was introduced by Representative Bereuter on 
January 3, 2001 and was passed by the House of Representatives 
on December 11, 2001. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on H.R. 38 on June 12, 2002. At its business meeting on 
July 31, 2002, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
ordered H.R. 38 to be favorably reported.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on July 31, 2002, by voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 38.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title, the ``Homestead 
National Monument of America Additions Act.''
    Section 2 provides a series of definitions.
    Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary to acquire private 
lands from willing sellers only, and State-owned lands by 
donation only.
    Subsection (b) describes the four parcels of land the 
Secretary may acquire.
    Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to modify the 
boundary of the Monument after acquiring the land and to 
administer the new parcels included within the boundary.
    Subsection (d) requires the Secretary to purchase the Graff 
property within 5 years after enactment of this Act. If the 
property is not acquired within 5 years, the authority expires 
and it will not become part of the Monument.
    Subsection (e) requires the National Park Service to keep 
on file a map to reflect these additions to the Monument.
    Subsection (f) authorizes $400,000 to carry out the Act.
    Section 4 authorizes the Secretary to enter into 
cooperative agreements with State and local governments and 
other interested entities for the operation, maintenance, 
interpretation, recreation, and other purposes for the proposed 
Homestead Heritage Highway.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, August 8, 2002.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
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 H.R. 38, the Homestead 
National Monument of America Additions 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.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

H.R. 38--Homestead National Monument of America Additions Act

    H.R. 38 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire four parcels of land totaling almost 33 acres in 
Nebraska. The land would be added to the Homestead National 
Monument of America in Gage County, Nebraska. The legislation 
would allow the Secretary to acquire approximately 19 acres of 
privately owned land by donation or purchase. The Secretary 
would be permitted to acquire approximately 14 acres of state-
owned property by donation only. Finally, section 3 would 
authorize the appropriation of $400,000 to implement the 
legislation.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 38 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. The $400,000 needed 
to purchase the two parcels of privately owned land for the 
monument was already appropriated for fiscal year 2001, and we 
estimate that annual costs to manage those parcels (and any 
property donated by the state) would not be significant. The 
legislation would not affect direct spending; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply.
    H.R. 38 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. 
Any actions taken by the state of Nebraska or local governments 
in the state as a result of this legislation, including 
donating land for the monument, would be voluntary.
    On December 4, 2001, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 38 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources 
on November 28, 2001. The two versions of the legislation are 
identical, as are the estimated costs.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah, Reis. 
The 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 H.R. 38. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
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 the 
enactment of H.R. 38.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    On July 30, 2002, 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 H.R. 38. These reports had not been 
received at the time the report on H.R. 38 was filed. The 
testimony provided by the National Park Service at the 
Subcommittee hearing follows:

Statement of P. Daniel Smith, Assistant to the Director, National Park 
                  Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
views of the Department of H.R. 38. This bill provides for 
additional lands to be included within the boundaries of 
Homestead National Monument of America in the State of 
Nebraska. The House passed this legislation on December 11, 
2001.
    The Department supports the enactment of H.R. 38, as passed 
by the House, Acquisition of these additional lands has been 
recommended by the Homestead National Monument of America's 
1999 General Management Plan, and costs to administered this 
boundary modification are expected to be minimal. Funding to 
acquire the privately owned properties was included in the 
Fiscal Year 2001 Interior Appropriations Act, and we anticipate 
that management of the acquired lands can be accomplished with 
existing park resources.
    Homestead National Monument of America (Monument) was 
established in 1936. The Monument's enabling legislation states 
that the purpose of the Monument is to establish ``* * * a 
proper memorial emblematical of the hardships and the pioneer 
life through which the early settlers passed in settlement, 
cultivation, and civilization of, the Great West * * *'' The 
legislation also specifies that the Secretary of the Interior 
will ``* * * erect suitable buildings to be used as a specific 
museum in which shall be preserved literature applying to such 
settlement and agriculture implements used to bring the western 
plains to its present state of high civilization, and to use 
the said tract of land for such other objects and purposes as 
in his judgment may perpetuate the history of this country 
mainly developed by the homestead law.''
    If enacted, the bill will add four small, but important, 
parcels of land to the Monument. These additions will allow the 
opportunity for greater protection of the Monument's primary 
cultural resource, will protect the Monument from encroaching 
development, and will provide the opportunity for improved 
visitor and interpretive services. The total amount of land to 
be added is approximately 33 acres. The private landowners 
affected have agreed in principle to this proposed legislation 
and the State of Nebraska has agreed, as well, to donate its 
lands as provided for in the bill.
    The four parcels to be added to the Monument and the 
purposes for the addition of each are as follows:
    The Graff property: This privately owned parcel consists of 
approximately 15.98 acres adjacent to and overlooking the 
Monument's grounds. Addition of the property would serve two 
purposes. First, it would ensure protection for the nation's 
second oldest restored prairie, which holds important 
educational, research, and scientific values. Second, this 
property, located on higher ground, could be used as an 
alternative location, outside of the floodplain, for the 
Monument's primary cultural resource, the Palmer-Epard cabin, 
as well as the visitor facility.
    Pioneer Acres Green: This parcel consists of approximately 
3 acres of privately owned land. Inclusion of this property in 
the boundary will provide additional protection to park 
resources from nearby development.
    Segment of State Highway 4: This parcel consists of 
approximately 5.6 acres of Nebraska State Highway and its 
addition will protect natural and archaeological resources and 
provide a site to support education efforts through 
interpretive wayside exhibits. The State of Nebraska is 
currently examining proposals to reroute State Highway 4, which 
would allow for this existing road to serve as an access road 
to the Monument.
    State Triangle: This parcel consists of approximately 8.3 
acres and is bounded by the Monument on two sides and by State 
Highway 4 on the third side. The property is immediately 
adjacent to the site of the original homestead cabin and will 
allow for maximizing interpretive efforts and maintaining the 
integrity of the Monument's boundaries.
    At the request of the landowner, the property described in 
subsection (b)(1)--the Graff Property--must be acquired within 
five years after the date of the enactment of this Act. The 
family, which has been a strong supporter of the Monument, made 
this request in order to better plan for the future and to 
minimize the impacts on their lives. If this legislation is 
enacted, meeting the requests should not be difficult since the 
funds for acquisition have already been appropriated.
    Mr. Chairman, the Department supports the enactment of H.R. 
38, as passed by the House, and we thank you again for the 
opportunity to appear today. This concludes my prepared 
remarks. I will be pleased to answer any questions you or other 
committee members might have.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing laws are made by the Act H.R. 38 as ordered 
reported.

                                
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