[House Report 108-255]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    108-255

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  MARTIN LUTHER KING, JUNIOR, NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE LAND EXCHANGE ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 3, 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. 1616]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1616) to authorize the exchange of certain lands within 
the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site for 
lands owned by the City of Atlanta, Georgia, 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. 1616 is to authorize the exchange of 
certain lands within the Martin Luther King, Junior, National 
Historic Site for lands owned by the City of Atlanta, Georgia, 
and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site 
Visitor Center and Museum is located in downtown Atlanta and 
has no emergency ingress or egress, making it virtually 
impossible for firefighting and other emergency equipment to 
reach the Historic Site. To address this problem, the City of 
Atlanta would exchange a parcel of land owned by the City for a 
vacant lot owned by the National Park Service, which has been 
deemed to have no historic significance. The acquisition of the 
city-owned property would enable the National Park Service to 
establish easy street access to the Historic Site Visitor 
Center, and would benefit the City by exchanging property that 
the City could develop.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1616 was introduced on April 3, 2003, by Congressman 
John Lewis (D-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 June 17, 2003, 
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On July 9, 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. No amendments were offered and the bill 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, August 11, 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. 1616, the Martin 
Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site Land Exchange Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerly,
                                       Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1616--Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site Land 
        Exchange Act

    H.R. 1616 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) 
to acquire land within for the Martin Luther King, Junior, 
National Historic Site by exchange. The new authority would 
enable the NPS to exchange a small parcel of land owned by the 
agency for a parcel owned by the city of Atlanta that is less 
than 0.5 acres. The newly acquired tract would be used for 
access to the historic site.
    Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming the 
availability of appropriations, CBO estimates that it would 
cost the federal government about $200,000 over the next fiscal 
year to complete the exchange and pave the new property. For 
this estimate, CBO assumes that the properties to be exchanged 
would be determined by NPS to be roughly equal in value.
    H.R. 1616 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. 
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 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 (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change 
is proposed is shown in roman):

                SECTION 2 OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 10, 1980

 AN ACT To establish the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic 
         Site in the State of Georgia, and for other purposes.

  Sec. 2. (a) * * *
  (b)(1) Within the national historic site the Secretary is 
authorized to acquire by donation, purchase with donated or 
appropriated funds, transfer, or exchange, lands and interests 
therein, except that property owned by the State of Georgia or 
any political subdivision thereof may be acquired only by 
donation[.] or exchange.

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