[House Report 110-248]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    110-248

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



 
NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NETWORK TO FREEDOM AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2007

                                _______
                                

 July 23, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1239]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1239) to amend the National Underground Railroad 
Network to Freedom Act of 1998 to provide additional staff and 
oversight of funds to carry out the Act, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

  The amendments are as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``National Underground Railroad Network 
to Freedom Amendments Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZING APPROPRIATIONS FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES.

  The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 (16 
U.S.C. 469l et seq.) is amended--
          (1) by striking section 3(d);
          (2) by striking section 4(d); and
          (3) by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

  ``(a) Amounts.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act $2,500,000 for each fiscal year, to be allocated as follows:
          ``(1) $2,000,000 is to be used for the purposes of section 3.
          ``(2) $500,000 is to be used for the purposes of section 4.
  ``(b) Restrictions.--No amounts may be appropriated for the purposes 
of this Act except to the Secretary for carrying out the 
responsibilities of the Secretary as set forth in this Act.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

  The amendments made by section 2 shall take effect at the beginning 
of the fiscal year immediately following the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

  Amend the title so as to read:

      A bill to amend the National Underground Railroad Network 
to Freedom Act of 1998 to authorize additional funding to carry 
out the Act, and for other purposes.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 1239, as ordered reported, is to amend 
the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 
1998 to authorize additional funding to carry out the Act, and 
for other purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Underground Railroad was a historic protest movement 
against slavery in the United States that helped escaped slaves 
find freedom in northern states and Canada. Until the passage 
of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 
1998 (Public Law 105-203), the Underground Railroad had not 
been officially recognized. In 1990, Congress passed 
legislation directing the National Park Service to conduct a 
study of options for commemorating the Underground Railroad. 
The study was completed in 1996, and focused on sites, routes, 
and other resources that remain throughout the United States. 
That study found the Underground Railroad to be nationally 
significant and suitable for inclusion in the National Park 
System.
    The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 
1998 required that the Secretary of the Interior establish in 
the National Park Service the National Underground Railroad 
Network to Freedom program. Under the Act, the National Park 
Service is required to develop and distribute materials and 
enter into cooperative agreements with appropriate entities to 
provide technical assistance in the preservation and 
interpretation of the Underground Railroad. The authorization 
of appropriations to carry out the 1998 Act was limited to not 
more than $500,000 annually.
    The Department of the Interior and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act of 2001 included a section with language 
from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Act, 
introduced as H.R. 2919 in the 106th Congress. This language 
amended the 1998 Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior 
to make grants for the preservation of historic sites or 
structures and authorized $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2001 and 
subsequent fiscal years. However, not more than $500,000 
annually has been appropriated for this program.
    Today, the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom 
encompasses over 250 programs, sites, and partners in 27 states 
and the District of Columbia. H.R. 1239, as amended by the 
Committee, raises the general authorization for the National 
Underground Railroad Network Program from $500,000 to 
$2,000,000 and lowers the authorization for the preservation of 
historic sites and structures from $2,500,000 to $500,000.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 1239 was introduced on February 28, 2007, by 
Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL). The bill was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to 
the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. 
On May 15, 2007, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. 
On June 28, 2007, the Natural Resources Committee met to 
consider the measure and the Subcommittee was discharged from 
further consideration of the bill.
    National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee 
Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute to make changes to the bill as 
introduced based on concerns raised by the Administration.
    The Grijalva substitute was adopted by a voice vote. The 
bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by voice vote.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 entitles the bill the ``National Underground 
Railroad Network to Freedom Amendments Act of 2007''.

Section 2. Authorizing appropriations for specific purposes

    Section 2 amends the National Underground Railroad Network 
to Freedom Act of 1998 by striking sections 3(d) and 4(d) of 
the 1998 Act and adding a new section 5 to authorize $2,500,000 
for each year to carry out the Act, including $2,000,000 for 
the purposes of section 3, and $500,000 for the purposes of 
section 4 of the Act.

Section 3. Effective date

    Section 3 states that the amendments made in section 2 
shall take effect at the beginning of the fiscal year 
immediately following the date of the enactment of this Act.

            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 Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 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. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to amend the National Underground 
Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 to authorize additional 
funding to carry out the Act, 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. 1239--National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Amendments 
        Act of 2007

    Summary: H.R. 1239 would authorize the appropriation of 
$2.5 million a year to carry out activities of the National 
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, a program administered 
by the National Park Service (NPS) that is dedicated to the 
preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of Underground 
Railroad history. Under the legislation, $2 million of the 
amounts authorized for each year would be spent on NPS projects 
and $0.5 million would be provided to nonfederal entities for 
historic preservation of eligible sites.
    Assuming appropriation of the authorized amount, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 1239 would cost $2 million in 
2008 and $12.5 million over the 2008-2012 period. Enacting the 
legislation would have no effect on direct spending or 
revenues.
    H.R. 1239 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental 
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. 1239 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 
(natural resources and environment).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
                                                                       2008     2009     2010     2011     2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Authorization Level................................................        3        3        3        3        3
Estimated Outlays..................................................        2        3        3        3        3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
legislation will be enacted before the start of fiscal year 
2008 and that the authorized amount will be appropriated for 
each year.
    H.R. 1239 would amend the National Underground Railroad 
Network to Freedom Act to authorize the appropriation of $2.5 
million per year to carry out activities under the program. The 
Network to Freedom encompasses over 250 programs, sites, and 
partners in 27 States and the District of Columbia. For fiscal 
year 2007, NPS received an appropriation of $500,000 for that 
purpose.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1239 
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 and David 
Reynolds; Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Leo 
Lex; Impact on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           Earmark Statement

    H.R. 1239 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.

                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 italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NETWORK TO FREEDOM ACT OF 1998

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 3. NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NETWORK TO FREEDOM PROGRAM.

  (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  [(d) Appropriations.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
to carry out this Act not more than $500,000 for each fiscal 
year. No amounts may be appropriated for the purposes of this 
Act except to the Secretary for carrying out the 
responsibilities of the Secretary as set forth in section 
3(a).]

SEC. 4. PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC SITES OR STRUCTURES.

  (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  [(d) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary for purposes of this section $2,500,000 for fiscal 
year 2001 and each subsequent fiscal year. Amounts authorized 
but not appropriated in a fiscal year shall be available for 
appropriation in subsequent fiscal years.]

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

  (a) Amounts.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out this Act $2,500,000 for each fiscal year, to be 
allocated as follows:
          (1) $2,000,000 is to be used for the purposes of 
        section 3.
          (2) $500,000 is to be used for the purposes of 
        section 4.
  (b) Restrictions.--No amounts may be appropriated for the 
purposes of this Act except to the Secretary for carrying out 
the responsibilities of the Secretary as set forth in this Act.

                                  
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