[Senate Report 108-295]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 614
108th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     108-295

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



 
                KATE MULLANY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE ACT

                                _______
                                

                  July 7, 2004.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1241]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1241) to establish the Kate Mullany 
National Historic Site in the State of New York, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do 
pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Kate Mullany National Historic Site 
Act''.

 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) Center.--The term ``Center'' means the American Labor 
        Studies Center.
          (2) Historic site.--The term ``historic site'' means the Kate 
        Mullany National Historic Site established by section 3(a).
          (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.

 SEC. 3. KATE MULLANY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.

  (a) Establishment.--
          (1) In general.--There is established as an affiliated area 
        of the National Park System the Kate Mullany National Historic 
        Site in the State of New York.
          (2) Components.--The historic site shall consist of the home 
        of Kate Mullany, located at 350 Eighth Street in Troy, New 
        York.
  (b) Administration.--
          (1) In General.--The Center shall own, administer, and 
        operate the historic site.
          (2) Applicability of national park system laws.--The historic 
        site shall be administered in accordance with--
                  (A) this Act; and
                  (B) the laws generally applicable to units of the 
                National Park System, including--
                          (i) the Act of August 25, 1916 (commonly 
                        known as the ``National Park Service Organic 
                        Act'') (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and
                          (ii) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 
                        461 et seq.).
  (c) Cooperative Agreements.--(1) The Secretary may enter into 
cooperative agreements with the Center under which the Secretary may 
provide to the Center technical, planning, interpretive, construction, 
and preservation assistance for--
          (A) the preservation of the historic site; and
          (B) educational, interpretive, and research activities 
        relating to the historic site and any related sites.
  (2) The Secretary may provide to the Center financial assistance in 
an amount equal to not more than $500,000 to assist the Center in 
acquiring from a willing seller the structure adjacent to the historic 
site, located at 352 Eighth Street in Troy, New York. On acquisition of 
the structure, the Secretary shall revise the boundary of the historic 
site to reflect the acquisition. The non-Federal share of the total 
cost of acquiring the structure shall be at least 50 percent.
  (d) General Management Plan.--
          (1) In general.--Not later than 3 full fiscal years after the 
        date on which funds are made available to carry out this Act, 
        the Secretary, in cooperation with the Center, shall develop a 
        general management plan for the historic site.
          (2) Contents.--The general management plan shall define the 
        role and responsibilities of the Secretary with respect to the 
        interpretation and preservation of the historic site.
          (3) Applicable law.--The general management plan shall be 
        prepared in accordance with section 12(b) of the Act of August 
        18, 1970 (16 U.S.C. 1a-7(b)).

 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

  There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to 
carry out this Act.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of S. 1241, as ordered reported, is to 
establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in the State 
of New York as an affiliated area of the National Park System.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Irish immigrant Kate Mullany organized and led the first 
all female labor union in the United States. In the 1860s, the 
city of Troy, New York was the site of the Nation's first 
commercial laundry and produced most of the white starched 
shirts, collars and cuffs in America. Most of the workers at 
the laundry were women who typically labored twelve to fourteen 
hours per day and earned about three dollars per week. When 
employers installed new machinery that stepped up production, 
but significantly worsened working conditions, Kate Mullany 
stepped forward to fight for better wages and improved working 
conditions. In February 1864, she led 300 workers in a week 
long labor strike that resulted in the owners conceding all of 
their demands. Unlike many other unions of the day, the 
``Collar Laundry Union'' stayed organized long after their 
initial battle, assisting other fledgling unions in the fight 
to improve working conditions. 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.
    The Kate Mullany House in Troy, New York is currently on 
the National Register of Historic Places and has been 
designated as a National Historic Landmark. The National 
Historic Theme Study on American Labor History concluded that 
the Kate Mullany House meets the criteria of national 
significance, suitability and feasibility for inclusion in the 
National Park System.
    S. 1241 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
provide financial and technical assistance to the American 
Labor Studies Center to enhance the preservation and 
interpretation of the Kate Mullany House. The establishment of 
the Kate Mullany National Historic Site as an affiliated area 
of the National Park System would interpret for the benefit and 
education of the American people the history of immigration, 
industrial development and women workers in the United States.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1241 was introduced by Senators Clinton and Schumer on 
June 11, 2003. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 
1241 on October 30, 2003 (S. Hrg. 108-278).
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, ordered S. 
1241, as amended, favorably reported on June 16, 2004.
    Companion legislation, H.R. 305, was introduced by 
Representative McNulty on January 8, 2003.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 
open business session on June 16, 2004, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
1241, if amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 1241, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute 
amendment makes several clarifying changes and removes the 
statement of purposes and findings contained in section 1 of 
the original bill. The amendment makes a substantive change by 
designating the Kate Mullany National Historic Site as an 
affiliated area of the National Park System. The original 
language designated the site as a unit of the National Park 
System, rather than a unit of the system. Affiliated areas 
comprise a variety of locations in the United States and Canada 
that preserve significant properties outside the National Park 
System. Some of these have been recognized by Acts of Congress, 
others have been designated national historic sites by the 
Secretary of the Interior under authority of the Historic Sites 
Act of 1935. As an affiliated area of the National Park System, 
the Kate Mullany National Historic Site may draw on technical 
or financial assistance provided by the Secretary of the 
Interior, while remaining in private or state ownership, and 
would be administered consistent with the laws generally 
applicable to the National Park Service. The amendment is 
described in detail in the section-by-section analysis below.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 entitles this bill the ``Kate Mullany National 
Historic Site Act.'' Section 2 defines key terms used in this 
Act. Section 3 establishes the Kate Mullany National Historic 
Site in the State of New York as an affiliated area of the 
National Park System. The site consists of the Kate Mullany 
home, comprising approximately .06 acres, located at 350 Eighth 
Street in Troy, New York. The site will be administered in 
accordance with laws generally applicable to the National Park 
System but will be owned and operated by the American Labor 
Studies Center (Center).
    This section also authorizes the Secretary of the Interior 
(Secretary) to enter into cooperative agreements with the 
Center and describes the types of assistance that may be 
provided to the Center under those agreements. The Secretary is 
authorized to provide not more than $500,000 to the Center to 
acquire the property adjacent to the historic site. The non-
Federal share of the cost of this acquisition must be at least 
50%.
    Subsection (d) directs the Secretary to develop a General 
Management Plan in cooperation with the Center, and to submit 
the plan to Congress not later than 3 full fiscal years after 
the date that funds are made available to carry out this Act. 
Subsection (d) also describes the contents and requirements for 
the plan.
    Section 4 authorizes appropriation of such funds as are 
necessary to carry out this Act.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 22, 2004.
Hon. Pete V. Domenici,
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 S. 1241, 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,
                                      Elizabeth M. Robinson
                               (For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 1241--Kate Mullany National Historic Site Act

    S. 1241 would establish the Kate Mullany National Historic 
Site in New York as an affiliated area of the National Park 
System. The site would continue to be owned and operated by the 
American Labor Studies Center. The bill would authorize the 
National Park Service (NPS) to provide the center with 
technical and financial assistance for planning, development, 
interpretation, and preservation of the site, including up to 
$500,000 for acquiring the adjacent half of the Kate Mullany 
house. The NPS would be required to prepare a general 
management plan for the site within three years of receiving 
funding. Finally, the bill would authorize the appropriation of 
whatever amounts are necessary for these purposes.
    Based on historical experience with other affiliated areas 
and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 1241 would cost the federal 
government about $2.5 million over the next five years. We 
expect that $2 million of this amount would be spent to help 
restore the Kate Mullany house and develop interpretive 
materials and programs; the balance would be used by the NPS to 
develop a management plan for the area and to contribute funds 
towards the purchase of the adjacent property. We estimate 
that, once the site has been restored, the NPS would contribute 
about $100,000 annually for operating funds (also assuming the 
availability of appropriated funds).
    S. 1241 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. 
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 S. 1241. 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 S. 1241, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    On May 19, 2004, 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 S. 1241. These reports had not been 
received at the time the report on S. 1241 was filed. when the 
reports become available, the Chairman will request that they 
be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the 
Senate. The testimony provided by the Department of the 
Interior at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

  Statement of Durand Jones, Deputy Director, National Park Service, 
                       Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before your committee to present the views of the Department of 
the Interior on S. 1241, a bill to establish the Kate Mullany 
National Historic Site in the State of New York. The Department 
opposes enactment of the legislation.
    The bill proposes establishment of a Kate Mullany National 
Historic site as a new unit of the National Park System. The 
site would comprise approximately \1/20\ of an acre at 350 
Eighth Street, in Troy, New York, and would include the 
southern half of a three-story brick apartment house now 
designated as the Kate Mullany House National Historic 
Landmark. The bill would authorize the Secretary to acquire the 
site and additional real and personal property, to administer 
the site, and to enter into cooperative agreements with the 
Hudson-Mohawk Urban Cultural Park Commission and other public 
and private entities to facilitate preservation and 
interpretation of the site and related historic resources.
    The Department opposes enactment of this bill for three 
main reasons. First, there are already authorities and 
mechanisms in place, at the federal, state, and local level, to 
support the preservation and interpretation of the Kate Mullany 
House National Historic Landmark. Second, the National Park 
Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1 a-5) and National Park Service 
Management Policies 2001 state that areas should not be added 
to the National Park System if preservation and management 
alternatives exist. And third, to meet the President's 
Initiative to eliminate the deferred maintenance backlog, we 
need to continue to focus our resources on caring for existing 
areas in the National Park System.
    The building at 350-35 Eighth Street is the only surviving 
structure known to be associated with Catherine A. (Kate) 
Mullany--an immigrant laundry worker who organized and led 
Troy's Collar Laundry Union from 1864 through 1870. The Collar 
Laundry union was one of the first all-female unions in the 
United States to operate over a sustained period. Mullany was 
recognized in 1868 and 1869 at the meetings of the newly formed 
National Labor Union both for her work with the Collar Laundry 
Union and for that union's support and financial contributions 
to striking union iron molders in Troy and bricklayers in New 
York City. Kate Mullany lived with her widowed mother and 
sister in an apartment on the top floor of 350 Eighth Street 
from 1869-75, inherited the house when her mother died in 1876, 
moved away, returned in 1903, and died there in 1906.
    The southern half of 350-352 Eighth Street was designated 
as the Kate Mullany House National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 
1998. The building remained in private ownership until the 
spring of 2003 when the southern half (the NHL portion) was 
purchased by the New York AFL-CIO on behalf of the newly 
established American Labor Studies Center, a 501(c)(3) 
educational corporation.
    The 1997 National Park Service (NPS) theme study on 
American Labor History noted that the Mullany House should be 
considered further for inclusion in the NPS system because it 
illustrated previously underrepresented stories. A 
reconnaissance Study, underway by the Northeast Region of the 
National Park Service in 2003, suggests that while the Mullany 
House is nationally significant, there are questions regarding 
the suitability and the need for NPS management. Additionally, 
the cost to operate the site and to provide adequate visitor 
services would be more than if the site was near an existing 
NPS unit where administrative functions could be shared.
    Section 8 of the National Park Service Organic Act (16 
U.S.C. 1a-5) and NPS Management Policies (Management Policies 
2001) state that studies evaluating the suitability and 
feasibility of areas proposed for inclusion in the National 
Park System ``shall consider whether direct National Park 
Service management or alternative protection by other public 
agencies or the private sector is appropriate for the area'' 
and ``identify what alternative or combination of alternatives 
would be most effective and efficient in protecting significant 
resources and providing for public enjoyment.'' In this 
instance, several authorities and mechanisms already exist for 
the protection of the Kate Mullany House and the public 
interpretation of her work and the larger story of the labor 
movement in the Hudson-Mohawk region and the nation as a whole. 
Given the overlapping local, state, and federal designations 
and active interest by a non-profit organization, establishing 
the site as a unit of the National Park System would be 
redundant.
    NPS acquisition or management of the Kate Mullany House is 
not recommended because funding and technical support for its 
preservation and interpretation are already available through 
the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, New York 
State's Hudson-Mohawk Heritage Area (RiverSpark), grant 
programs administered by the New York State Office of Parks, 
Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and existing non-profit 
organizations--particularly the New York AFL-CIO and its 
American Labor Studies Center. The site has also received 
assistance and funding from the National Historic Landmarks and 
Save America's Treasures programs.
    Given the funding and personnel needs of existing units of 
the National Park System, the fact that the site has been 
purchased by the AFL-CIO, the existence of established 
authorities and mechanisms to support the preservation and 
interpretation of the Kate Mullany House National Historic 
Landmark, and direction from the NPS Organic Act and Management 
Policies that areas not be added to the system if preservation 
and management alternatives exist, we respectfully oppose 
enactment of S. 1241.
    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to comment. 
This concludes my prepared remarks and I will be happy 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 law are made by the bill S. 1241 as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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