[House Report 109-586]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     109-586

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 TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO ESTABLISH A DEMONSTRATION 
  PROGRAM TO FACILITATE LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PROGRAMS WITHIN CERTAIN 
 UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM ESTABLISHED BY LAW TO PRESERVE AND 
  INTERPRET RESOURCES ASSOCIATED WITH AMERICAN HISTORY, AND FOR OTHER 
                                PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 July 20, 2006.--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. 5411]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 5411) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
establish a demonstration program to facilitate landscape 
restoration programs within certain units of the National Park 
System established by law to preserve and interpret resources 
associated with American history, 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. 5411 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to establish a demonstration program to facilitate 
landscape restoration programs within certain units of the 
National Park System established by law to preserve and 
interpret resources associated with American history, and for 
other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Over 130 units of the National Park System are represented 
by National Battlefields, National Battlefields Parks and 
Sites, National Military Parks and National Historical Parks 
and Sites, such as Pea Ridge National Military Park and 
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. As directed by Congress, 
the National Parks Service (NPS) is to preserve many of these 
sites as they appeared at the time of a battle or historic 
moment in our Nation's history. Part of the landscape 
restoration program for these park units requires NPS personnel 
from time to time to remove trees as well as other flora from a 
unit to maintain its historic landscape or to reduce the 
hazardous fuel load. Currently, the National Park Service 
Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 3) authorizes the Secretary of the 
Interior, ``upon terms and conditions to be fixed by him, to 
sell or dispose of timber in those cases where in his judgment 
the cutting of such timber is required in order to control the 
attacks of insects or diseases or otherwise conserve the 
scenery or the natural or historic objects in any such park, 
monument, or reservation.'' Prior to restoring any landscape, 
park superintendents are required to comply with all National 
Environmental Protection Act requirements and may have to be 
issued a Special Use Permit from NPS headquarters.
    Should any park unit remove timber and sell it, all 
proceeds from the sale must be forwarded to the General 
Treasury. According to the NPS, the following are the receipts 
for the last six years for the sale of timber: Fiscal Year (FY) 
2000, $24,932; FY 2001, $8,252; FY 2002, $4,410; FY 2003, 
$12,207; FY 2004, $3,403; FY 2005, $5,957 ($59,161 total).
    H.R. 4612 would establish a four-year demonstration program 
involving 24 National Battlefields, Battlefield Parks, Military 
Parks and Battlefield Sites to provide that receipts from any 
timber sales will be retained for expenditure within the unit 
from which the timber is removed as part of any approved plan 
for the restoration or protection of park resources or values. 
The bill specifies that any retained funds must be used in 
direct connection with landscape restoration and directs the 
Secretary of the Interior to submit a report to the Committee 
on Resources establishing a time line for landscape restoration 
work in all 24 units.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 5411 was introduced on May 17, 2006, by Congressman 
Stevan Pearce (R-NM) following a December 19, 2005, field 
hearing of the Subcommittee on National Parks at Pea Ridge 
National Military Park on landscape restoration programs within 
the National Park System. The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on National Parks. On June 21, 2006, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill, at which time the 
Subcommittee on National Parks 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.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article IV, section 3, clause 2 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, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enactment of this bill would increase direct spending ``by 
negligible amounts'' over the 2007-2011 time period.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to establish a demonstration program to facilitate 
landscape restoration programs within certain units of the 
National Park System established to preserve and interpret 
resources associated with American history.
    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. 5411--A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish 
        a demonstration program to facilitate landscape restoration 
        programs within certain units of the National Park System 
        established by law to preserve and interpret resources 
        associated with American history

    H.R. 5411 would direct the National Park Service (NPS) to 
implement a demonstration program for landscape restoration and 
other projects at national battlefields. CBO estimates that 
enacting H.R. 5411 would increase direct spending by negligible 
amounts over the 2007-2011 period.
    Under H.R. 5411, the NPS would carry out projects such as 
landscape restoration at 24 national battlefields or similar 
sites using receipts earned from sales of timber at those park 
units. Sales receipts used for such projects would be available 
without further appropriation. Authority to retain and spend 
timber receipts at battlefield units would expire after four 
years.
    Based on recent timber receipts at the affected park units, 
CBO estimates that the NPS would spend, without further 
appropriation, less than $20,000 annually over the 2007-2011 
period for the projects authorized by the bill. Such amounts--
generally between $3,000 and $25,000 a year--are currently 
deposited in the U.S. Treasury and cannot be used without 
further appropriation.
    H.R. 5411 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state, 
local, and tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Leigh Angres 
and 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

    If enacted, this bill would not make changes to existing 
law.

                                  
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