[House Report 109-142]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    109-142

======================================================================
 
PROVIDING FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE HISTORIC CONFINEMENT SITES WHERE 
  JAPANESE AMERICANS WERE DETAINED DURING WORLD WAR II, AND FOR OTHER 
                                PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 June 21, 2005.--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. 1492]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1492) to provide for the preservation of the historic 
confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during 
World War II, 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. PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC CONFINEMENT SITES.

  (a) Preservation Program.--The Secretary shall create a program 
within the National Park Service to encourage, support, recognize, and 
work in partnership with citizens, Federal agencies, State, local, and 
tribal governments, other public entities, educational institutions, 
and private nonprofit organizations for the purpose of identifying, 
researching, evaluating, interpreting, protecting, restoring, 
repairing, and acquiring historic confinement sites in order that 
present and future generations may learn and gain inspiration from 
these sites and that these sites will demonstrate the Nation's 
commitment to equal justice under the law.
  (b) Grants.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Japanese 
American National Heritage Coalition, shall make grants to State, 
local, and tribal governments, other public entities, educational 
institutions, and private nonprofit organizations to assist in carrying 
out subsection (a).
  (c) Property Acquisition.--
          (1) Authority.--Federal funds made available under this 
        section may be used to acquire non-Federal property for the 
        purposes of this section, in accordance with section 3, only if 
        that property is within the areas described in paragraph (2).
          (2) Property descriptions.--The property referred to in 
        paragraph (2) is the following:
                  (A) Jerome, depicted in Figure 7.1 of the Site 
                Document.
                  (B) Rohwer, depicted in Figure 11.2 of the Site 
                Document.
                  (C) Topaz, depicted in Figure 12.2 of the Site 
                Document.
                  (D) Honouliuli, located on the southern part of the 
                Island of Oahu, Hawaii, and within the land area 
                bounded by H1 to the south, Route 750 (Kunia Road) to 
                the east, the Honouliuli Forest Reserve to the west, 
                and Kunia town and Schofield Barracks to the north.
          (3) No effect on private property.--The authority granted in 
        this subsection shall not constitute a Federal designation or 
        have any effect on private property ownership.
  (d) Matching Fund Requirement.--The Secretary shall require a 25 
percent non-Federal match for funds provided under this section.
  (e) Sunset of Authority.--This Act shall have no force or effect on 
and after the date that is 2 years after the disbursement to grantees 
under this section of the total amount of funds authorized to be 
appropriated under section 4.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  For purposes of this Act the following definitions apply:
          (1) Historic confinement sites.--(A) The term ``historic 
        confinement sites'' means the 10 internment camp sites referred 
        to as Gila River, Granada, Heart Mountain, Jerome, Manzanar, 
        Minidoka, Poston, Rohwer, Topaz, and Tule Lake and depicted in 
        Figures 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, 8.4, 9.2, 10.6, 11.2, 12.2, and 
        13.2, respectively, of the Site Document; and
          (B) other historically significant locations, as determined 
        by the Secretary, where Japanese Americans were detained during 
        World War II.
          (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.
          (3) Site document.--The term ``Site Document'' means the 
        document titled ``Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of 
        World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites'', published by 
        the Western Archeological and Conservation Center, National 
        Park Service, in 1999.

SEC. 3. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.

  No Federal funds made available to carry out this Act may be used to 
acquire any real property or any interest in any real property without 
the written consent of the owner or owners of that property or interest 
in property.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

  There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $38,000,000 
to carry out this Act. Such sums shall remain available until expended.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 1492 is to provide for the preservation 
of the historic confinement sites where Japanese Americans were 
detained during World War II, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Two years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President 
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that called for all 
people of Japanese ancestry residing on the west coast, most of 
whom were American citizens, to be placed in relocation camps 
(1942-1945). This action represented the largest forced 
relocation in U.S. history--over 120,000 Japanese-American 
citizens and Japanese aliens were uprooted from their homes and 
interned in sites throughout the country. While there are two 
units in the National Park System that preserve and interpret 
the internment period (Manzanar National Historic Site and 
Minidoka Internment National Monument) there are many who 
believe that other internment sites should also be preserved 
whether or not they become a unit of the National Park System. 
With the passage of time, much of the sites' physical 
infrastructure has been lost. In addition, those persons with 
memories of the confinement are increasingly being lost.
    H.R. 1492 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
establish a 25% matching grant program within the National Park 
Service to support partnerships with governmental and 
nongovernmental organizations to identify, protect, interpret 
and restore historic confinement sites. The bill expressly 
makes 10 internment sites eligible for the grant program; they 
are the relocation centers that are known as Gila River, 
Granada, Heart Mountain, Jerome, Manzanar, Minidoka, Poston, 
Rohwer, Topaz, and Tule Lake. The bill also makes other 
confinement sites eligible for the grant program if they are 
determined by the Secretary to be historically significant. The 
bill would also authorize $38 million to conduct the grant 
program. Examples of such other historically significant sites 
include, but are not limited to, any of the assembly centers or 
U.S. Department of Justice or military installations where 
people were detained pursuant to Executive Order 9066 during 
World War II.
    The Committee recognizes that H.R. 1492 grants the 
Secretary of the Interior the authority to approve additional 
historic confinement sites, and therefore these too would then 
be eligible for funds under the Act. Examples of sites that may 
be approved include, but are not limited to, any of the 
assembly centers, the Crystal City World War II Alien Family 
Internment Camp in Texas, or the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation 
Site in Arizona. Grants would be made subject to agreements 
with the Secretary of the Interior assuring that funds will be 
used consistent with the purposes of the Act. Further, any 
property acquired using federal grants under the Act will be 
subject to agreements or easements in perpetuity that ensure 
the use of such lands are also consistent with the purposes of 
the Act.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1492 was introduced on April 6, 2005, by Congressman 
William M. Thomas (R-CA). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on National Parks. On April 14, 2005, the 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 1492. On 
May 18, 2005, the Resources Committee met to consider the bill, 
at which time the Subcommittee was discharged from further 
consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. Chairman 
Richard Pombo (R-CA) offered an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute that was agreed to by unanimous consent. The 
amendment clarifies the location of lands which are eligible 
for purchase using grant funds, and specifies that purchases of 
these lands may occur only on a willing seller basis. The 
amendment also clarifies that H.R. 1492 creates no federal 
designation or limitations on private lands. H.R. 1492, 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 grant 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. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to provide for the preservation of 
the historic confinement sites where Japanese Americans were 
detained during World War II, and for other purposes.
    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:

H.R. 1492--A bill to provide for the preservation of the historic 
        confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during 
        World War II

    Summary: H.R. 1492 would direct the National Park Service 
(NPS) to provide grants to nonfederal entities to restore and 
preserve sites associated with the internment of Japanese 
Americans during World War II. The grants would be used for up 
to 75 percent of the costs of protecting significant sites, 
including those to identify, acquire, and interpret them. For 
this purpose, the bill would authorize the appropriation of $38 
million. Assuming appropriation of the authorized amount, CBO 
estimates that implementing the bill would cost $38 million 
over the 2006-2010 period.
    Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or 
revenues. H.R. 1492 contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 1492 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 
(natural resources and environment). For this estimate, CBO 
assumes that the authorized amount would be appropriated over 
the next five years and paid to nonprofit organizations and 
other entities as needed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
                                                                       2006     2007     2008     2009     2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Authorization Level................................................        8        8        8        8        6
Estimated Outlays..................................................        6        8        8        8        8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1492 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Deborah Reis. Impact 
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie Miller. 
Impact on the Private Sector: Jean Talarico.
    Estimate 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 to existing 
law.

                                  
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