[House Report 108-201]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
 1st Session          HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                108-201
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 TO AUTHORIZE AN EXCHANGE OF LAND AT FORT FREDERICA NATIONAL MONUMENT, 
                         AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 July 14, 2003.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1113]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1113) to authorize an exchange of land at Fort Frederica 
National Monument, 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. EXCHANGE OF LANDS.

  (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary of the Interior is authorized to convey to Christ Church of 
St. Simons Island, Georgia, the approximately 6.0 acres of land within 
the boundary of Fort Frederica National Monument adjacent to Christ 
Church and depicted as ``NPS Lands for Exchange'' on the map entitled 
``Fort Frederica National Monument 2003 Boundary Revision'' numbered 
369/80016, and dated April 2003, in exchange for approximately 8.7 
acres of land to be acquired by Christ Church, which is depicted as 
``Private Lands for Addition'' on the same map.
  (b) Map Availability.--The map referred to in subsection (a) shall be 
on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices 
of the National Park Service.
  (c) Boundary Adjustment.--Upon completion of the land exchange under 
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall revise the boundary 
of Fort Frederica National Monument to reflect the exchange and shall 
administer the land acquired through the exchange as part of that 
monument.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 1113 is to authorize an exchange of 
land at Fort Frederica National Monument, and for other 
purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Located adjacent to the Fort Frederica National Monument on 
St. Simons Island, Georgia, The Christ Church has doubled in 
size over the last nine years. To address its need to expand, 
the Church has arranged to acquire, then exchange, 8.7 acres of 
historically significant land to the National Park Service for 
4.8 acres in the Monument. The 8.7 acres to be exchanged is 
contiguous to the Monument.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1113 was introduced on March 6, 2003, by Congressman 
Jack Kingston (R-GA). 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 8, 2003, 
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On June 11, 2003, 
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 Radanovich offered an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute that increased the acreage to be 
conveyed by the Secretary of the Interior to Christ Church of 
St. Simons Island from 4.6 to 6.0 acres, and revised the map 
date and boundary cited in the bill to reflect the changes made 
my amendment. The amendment was agreed to by unanimous consent. 
The bill as amended was 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 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, 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, June 19, 2003.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
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. 1113, a bill to 
authorize an exchange of land at Fort Frederica National 
Monument.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                       Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1113--A bill to authorize the exchange of land at Fort Frederica 
        National Monument

    H.R. 1113 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) 
to exchange 6 acres of land within the boundary of the Fort 
Frederica National Monument in Georgia for 8.7 acres of nearby 
property owned by the Christ Church. The bill would direct the 
NPS to adjust the boundaries of the monument to reflect the 
exchange when completed.
    Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that the NPS would spend about $200,000 over the year 
or two following acquisition of the 8.7-acre site to identify 
possible historic resources and determine how to exhibit them. 
Depending on the outcome of the archaeological studies and the 
level of future appropriations, the NPS might spend additional 
funds to develop the new parcel. Based on information provided 
by the agency, CBO estimates that such development costs would 
not exceed $1 million. We estimate that additional costs to 
operate and maintain any facilities that might be developed 
(such as access roads and interpretive kiosks) would be less 
than $200,000 annually.
    Although final appraisals have not been completed, CBO 
expects that the properties to be exchanged under H.R. 1113 
would be determined by NPS to be roughly equal in value. If the 
appraisals indicate that the parcels' values are different, 
however, existing law would require that the party receiving 
the more valuable land provide a cash equalization payment. CBO 
estimates that any such payment, whether a receipt to the 
government from Christ Church or an appropriated payment to the 
church, would not be substantial.
    H.R. 1113 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 for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, 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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