[Senate Report 109-157]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 249
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-157
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ANGEL ISLAND IMMIGRATION STATION RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION ACT
_______
October 19, 2005.--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 H.R. 606]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 606) to authorize appropriations to the
Secretary of the Interior for the restoration of the Angel
Island Immigration Station in the State of California, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of H.R. 606 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to provide up to $15 million in grants to help
restore the Angel Island Immigration Station in California.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of
the 20th century, millions of people came to America in pursuit
of a better way of life. On the east coast, most of the
immigrants were met by the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
On the west coast, between 1910 and 1940, most entered the
United States through the wooden buildings of Angel Island, in
the San Francisco Bay. These immigrants were Australians and
New Zealanders, Canadians, Mexicans, Central and South
Americans, Russians, and in particular, Asians. There, during
this period of the great migrations, they met with a reception
quite unlike that given to European immigrants on the east
coast.
Around the middle of the 19th century, immigrants from
southern China began arriving in the United States in large
numbers, fleeing from a land stricken by both natural and man-
made disasters and a collapsing rural economy. Almost all of
these immigrants arrived in San Francisco. Though initially
welcomed, when the California economy took a downturn in the
1870s, economic problems were laid at the feet of this highly
visible minority by organized labor, newspapers, and
politicians. A number of laws were passed at the local and
State levels targeting the Chinese. In addition, Congress
passed several laws targeting immigration from Asia. With the
passing of the first of these laws, the Chinese Exclusion Act
of 1882, America had limited immigration on the basis of
nationality or race for the first time. Subsequent laws
severely curtailed each successive wave of immigration from
Asia which came to replace Chinese immigrant workers.
The question soon arose of how to actually implement the
Chinese Exclusion Act. Initially, customs service officers
individually and arbitrarily administered exclusion policies;
in time, procedures became standardized by the Bureau of
Immigration. As part of this system, Immigration officials
planned a new facility on Angel Island, the largest island in
the San Francisco Bay, far from the mainland. The Angel Island
facility prevented Chinese immigrants from communicating with
those in San Francisco, isolated immigrants with communicable
diseases, and, like the prison on nearby Alcatraz Island, was
escape proof. In January 1910, over the objections of Chinese
community leaders, this hastily-built immigration station was
opened on the northeastern edge of Angel Island, ready to
receive its first immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion Act was
finally repealed in 1943, although immigration from China was
strictly limited until 1965.
The Angel Island Immigration Station was eventually closed
after a fire destroyed many of the buildings in 1940. It was
later used as a prisoner of war processing center during World
War II. Following the war, the site was abandoned. In 1963 the
State of California established Angel Island as a State park.
In 1997, the Angel Island Immigration Station was
designated as a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of
the Interior. In 1999, Save America's Treasures, a project of
the National Trust and the White House Millennium Council,
designated the Angel Island Immigration Station as one of its
Official Projects, providing $500,000 for the preservation of
the Chinese poems carved into the barracks walls. In March
2000, California voters passed a State bond measure that set
aside $15 million specifically for restoration of the Angel
Island Immigration Station.
H.R. 606 would authorize $15 million in matching Federal
funds to be utilized for the restoration of the Angel Island
Immigration Station.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 606 was introduced by Representative Woolsey on
February 2, 2005. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 606
by a voice vote on May 23, 2005. Identical legislation, S. 262,
was introduced by Senators Feinstein, Boxer, and Akaka on
February 2, 2005. Similar legislation, S. 2833, was introduced
by Senator Feinstein in the 108th Congress. The House of
Representatives passed a similar measure in the 108th Congress,
H.R. 4469, sponsored by Congresswoman Woolsey. The House passed
the bill by a voice vote on September 28, 2004, although no
further action occurred in the Senate.
The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 262
on April 28, 2005 (S. Hrg. 109-74). At its business meeting on
September 28, 2005 the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources ordered H.R. 606 favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on September 28, 2005, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 606 as
described herein.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 entitles the bill ``Angel Island Immigration
Station Restoration and Preservation Act''.
Section 2 sets forth congressional findings.
Section 3 authorizes the appropriation of $15 million to
the Secretary of the Interior for the restoration of the Angel
Island Immigration Station, in coordination with the Angel
Island Immigration Station Foundation and the California
Department of Parks and Recreation. This section also requires
that Federal funding not exceed 50 percent of the total from
all sources spent to restore the Angel Island Immigration
Station.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 606--Angel Island Immigration Station Restoration and Preservation
Act
H.R. 606 would authorize the appropriation of $15 million
to restore the Angel Island Immigration Station, a California
state park in the San Francisco Bay. Assuming appropriation of
this amount, CBO estimates that the National Park Service would
disburse the $15 million over the next three or four years as
grants to the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, a
local nonprofit organization. Most of this funding would be
used to restore the station hospital.
H.R. 606 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.
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 H.R. 606. 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 H.R. 606, as ordered reported.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The views of the Administration on S. 262 were included in
testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill on
April 28, 2005 as follows:
Statement of Michael Soukup, Associate Director, Natural Resource
Stewardship and Science, 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 H.R. 606, to authorize appropriations to the
Secretary of the Interior for the restoration of the Angel
Island Immigration Station in the State of California. This
legislation would authorize appropriations of $15 million for
restoration of the Angel Island Immigration Station Hospital
and for other station facilities if excess funds remained.
The Department commends the work that is being done to
restore the Angel Island Immigration Station at Angel Island
State Park and to make it more accessible to visitors. In fact,
the National Park Service has been an active partner in that
effort. However, we oppose this legislation. We believe it is
inappropriate to use limited National Park Service
appropriations to pay for restoration projects for non-National
Park Service structures. We encourage the State of California,
California State Parks, and the Angel Island Immigration
Station Foundation to continue seeking other sources of funding
for this very worthy project.
For many years, the Department has opposed legislation
authorizing appropriations for non-National Park Service
construction projects. Many of these projects, like the
restoration of the Angel Island Immigration Station, represent
an important contribution to the preservation of our Nation's
history. However, each time such legislation is enacted and
appropriations follow, it further reduces a limited amount of
discretionary funds available to address the priority needs of
our national parks and other programs administered by the
National Park Service. With the emphasis we have placed on the
President's initiative to reduce the deferred maintenance
backlog, it has become more important than ever to avoid
authorizing funding for non-National Park Service projects that
would likely draw funds from the National Park Service's
budget.
Angel Island is located in San Francisco Bay, not far from
Alcatraz Island. The Federal Government built the Angel Island
Immigration Station in Winslow Cove and operated it between
1910 and 1940 to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act. Over one
million new arrivals to the United States, including Russians,
Chinese, Japanese, Hispanics, and others, were processed
through the immigration station, although some never set foot
on the island.
The most poignant history associated with Angel Island is
that of detained Chinese immigrants. Angel Island is often
referred to as the ``Ellis Island of the West,'' although
unlike Ellis Island, where immigrants typically spent one day,
many of the Chinese immigrants were detained for weeks, months
or even years. The Chinese Exclusion Act, in effect from 1882
until 1943, required Chinese immigrants to go to extra lengths
to prove that they met the necessary requirements to be allowed
to stay. Over 100 poems carved by detainees on walls of the
Detention Barracks, expressing the fear, hopes, and despair of
those with uncertain futures, provide a first-hand historical
commentary on the plight of these immigrants.
The immigration station was closed in 1940 after a fire
destroyed the Administration Building and American policy
shifted in support of China in World War II. The U.S. Army used
the buildings during World War II for internment of prisoners.
The Army later vacated the site, and it fell into disrepair.
Angel Island, which also had other military installations, was
declared surplus to Federal needs and transferred to the State
of California for park purposes in 1963. Today, on the 13-acre
site, only the Detention Barracks, Hospital, Power House, Pump
House and Mule Barn remain intact, and only the Detention
Barracks is open to visitors. Angel Island State Park is
reached by ferry and used for sightseeing, hiking, picnicking,
educational trips, and limited camping.
The Secretary of the Interior designated the Angel Island
Immigration Station as a National Historic Landmark in 1997. In
late 1998, Congress appropriated $100,000 for the National Park
Service to evaluate the feasibility and desirability of
preserving and interpreting sites within Golden Gate National
Recreation Area, including Angel Island Immigration Station,
that are related to immigration; we are continuing to work to
complete this study. A few months later, the National Park
Service, California State Parks, and the Angel Island
Immigration Station Foundation formed a partnership consortium
to undertake two major projects: (1) develop a restoration and
interpretation strategy for restoration work at the Angel
Island Immigration Station, and (2) explore the feasibility of
developing a Pacific Coast Immigration Museum to provide
interpretation and education related to immigration and
migration to the West Coast. The consortium's efforts led to
securing $15 million in state funds and $1 million in grants
and donations for restoration work on the immigration station.
The National Park Service has also contributed technical
assistance and managed contracts for reports that were
completed in 2002--an Historic Structures Report, Building
Condition Assessments, a Poem Preservation Study, and Cultural
Landscape Report for the immigration station. These reports
were intended to serve as baseline studies to guide
preservation and use decisions. In addition, in 2000, the Angel
Island Immigration Station received a $500,000 grant for
conservation work through the National Park Service's Save
America's Treasures program.
As a follow through on the consortium's agenda, the
National Park Service has also been the conduit for
appropriations from Congress of $280,000 in FY 2002 and
$385,000 in FY 2004 for in-depth feasibility studies for the
Pacific Coast Immigration Museum.
As the activities listed above show, the National Park
Service is playing an active role in promoting the
commemoration of immigration history on the West Coast, which
is unquestionably a nationally significant story, by working in
partnership with the State of California and the Angel Island
Immigration Station Foundation. We are proud of the work the
Service is doing toward planning and promoting the restoration
of the immigration station and the Pacific Coast Immigration
Museum, as these two entities will make an important
contribution to the understanding of immigration history in
this part of the country--and they will be significant
additions to the historical attractions within Golden Gate
National Recreation Area. However, we do not believe it is
appropriate for the National Park Service budget to be used as
a major funding source for the restoration of the Angel Island
Immigration Station, a state property.
Mr. Chairman, that completes my statement. I would be happy
to answer any questions you or the other members of the
committee may 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 Act H.R. 606, as
ordered reported.